Greek coin of the Kingdom of Macedonia
<="" font="" color="#000000" face="Times New Roman"> Philip V - King: 221-179 B.C.
Bronze 17mm (4.19 grams) Struck circa 221-179 B.C.
Reference: SNGCop 239
 Head of Hero Perseus right wearing helmet with adorned with Griffin's head.
ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ above and below horse prancing right.

Son of Demetrios II, Philip V came to power in 221 B.C. on the death of Antigonos Doson. He was a vigorous ruler and maintained the power of the Macedonian kingdom in the earlier part of his reign. However, he made the mistake of arousing the enmity of the Romans, and in 197 B.C. his power was crushed at the battle of the Kynoskephalai by the Roman general T. Quinctius Flamininus. After this his power and territory were severely curtailed by Rome, and the days of the Macedonian kingdom were numbered.

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Perseus, the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans , was the first of the heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians . Perseus was a demi-god, the Greek hero who killed the Gorgon Medusa , and claimed Andromeda , having rescued her from a sea monster sent by Poseidon . Cassiopeia declaring that her daughter, Andromeda, was more beautiful than the Nereids is what initially resulted in Andromeda being plagued by Poseidon's sea monster.

Etymology

Because of the obscurity of the name Perseus and the legendary character of its bearer, most etymologists pass it by, on the presumption that it might be pre-Greek; however, the name of Perseus’ native city was Greek and so were the names of his wife and relatives. There is some prospect that it descended into Greek from the Proto-Indo-European language . In that regard Robert Graves has espoused the only Greek derivation available. Perseus might be from the Greek verb, "πέρθειν" (perthein), “to waste, ravage, sack, destroy”, some form of which appears in Homeric epithets. According to Carl Darling Buck (Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin), the –eus suffix is typically used to form an agent noun, in this case from the aorist stem, pers-. Pers-eus therefore is a sacker of cities; that is, a soldier by occupation, a fitting name for the first Mycenaean warrior.

The origin of perth- is more obscure. J. B. Hofmann lists the possible root as *bher-, from which Latin ferio, "strike".^[1] This corresponds to Julius Pokorny ’s *bher-(3), “scrape, cut.” Ordinarily *bh- descends to Greek as ph-. This difficulty can be overcome by presuming a dissimilation from the –th– in perthein; that is, the Greeks preferred not to say *pherthein. Graves carries the meaning still further, to the perse- in Persephone , goddess of death. John Chadwick in the second edition of Documents in Mycenaean Greek speculates as follows about the goddess pe-re-*82 of Pylos tablet Tn 316, tentatively reconstructed as *Preswa:

”It is tempting to see...the classical Perse ...daughter of Oceanus ...; whether it may be further identified with the first element of Persephone is only speculative.”

A Greek folk etymology connected the name of the Persian (Pars) people, whom they called the Persai. The native name, however has always had an -a- in Persian . Herodotus recounts this story, devising a foreign son, Perses, from whom the Persians took the name. Apparently the Persians themselves knew the story, as Xerxes tried to use it to suborn the Argives during his invasion of Greece, but ultimately failed to do so.

Origin at Argos

Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danaë , who by her very name, was the archetype of all the Danaans . Danaë was the daughter of Acrisius , King of Argos . Disappointed by his lack of luck in having a son, Acrisius consulted the oracle at Delphi , who warned him that he would one day be killed by his daughter's intoxicating son with Zeus. Danaë was childless and to keep her so, he imprisoned her in a bronze chamber open to the sky in the courtyard of his palace: This mytheme is also connected to Ares, Oenopion , Eurystheus , etc. Zeus came to her in the form of a shower of gold, and impregnated her. Soon after, their child was born; Perseus—"Perseus Eurymedon, for his mother gave him this name as well" (Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica IV).

Fearful for his future but unwilling to provoke the wrath of the gods by killing Zeus's offspring and his own daughter, Acrisius cast the two into the sea in a wooden chest. Danaë's fearful prayer made while afloat in the darkness has been expressed by the poet Simonides of Ceos . Mother and child washed ashore on the island of Seriphos , where they were taken in by the fisherman Dictys ("fishing net"), who raised the boy to manhood. The brother of Dictys was Polydectes ("he who receives/welcomes many"), the king of the island.

Overcoming the Gorgon

The Baleful Head (1887), part of a series of Perseus paintings by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones , playing with the theme of the reflected gaze

When Perseus was grown, Polydectes came to fall in love with the beautiful Danaë. Perseus believed Polydectes was less than honourable, and protected his mother from him; then Polydectes plotted to send Perseus away in disgrace. He held a large banquet where each guest was expected to bring a gift.^{[note 1]} Polydectes requested that the guests bring horses, under the pretense that he was collecting contributions for the hand of Hippodamia , "tamer of horses". Perseus had no horse to give, so he asked Polydectes to name the gift; he would not refuse it. Polydectes held Perseus to his rash promise and demanded the head of the only mortal Gorgon ,^[9] Medusa , whose eyes turned people to stone. Ovid's account of Medusa's mortality tells that she had once been a woman, vain of her beautiful hair, who had lain with Poseidon in the Temple of Athena .^[10] In punishment for the desecration of her temple, Athena had changed Medusa's hair into hideous snakes "that she may alarm her surprised foes with terror".

 

"Perseus with the head of Medusa'" is a common subject for sculpture, here in an 1801 example by Antonio Canova

Athena instructed Perseus to find the Hesperides , who were entrusted with weapons needed to defeat the Gorgon. Following Athena's guidance, Perseus sought out the Graeae , sisters of the Gorgons , to demand the whereabouts of the Hesperides , the nymphs tending Hera's orchard . The Graeae were three perpetually old women, who had to share a single eye. As the women passed the eye from one to another, Perseus snatched it from them, holding it for ransom in return for the location of the nymphs. When the sisters led him to the Hesperides, he returned what he had taken.

From the Hesperides he received a knapsack (kibisis) to safely contain Medusa's head. Zeus gave him an adamantine sword and Hades' helm of darkness to hide. Hermes lent Perseus winged sandals to fly, while Athena gave him a polished shield. Perseus then proceeded to the Gorgons' cave.

In the cave he came upon the sleeping Medusa . By viewing Medusa's reflection in his polished shield, he safely approached and cut off her head. From her neck sprang Pegasus ("he who sprang") and Chrysaor ("bow of gold"), the result of Poseidon and Medusa's meeting. The other two Gorgons pursued Perseus, but, wearing his helm of darkness, he escaped.

Marriage to Andromeda

Perseus and Andromeda.

On the way back to Seriphos Island, Perseus stopped in the kingdom of Ethiopia . This mythical Ethiopia was ruled by King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia . Cassiopeia, having boasted her daughter Andromeda equal in beauty to the Nereids , drew down the vengeance of Poseidon , who sent an inundation on the land and a sea serpent, Cetus , which destroyed man and beast. The oracle of Ammon announced that no relief would be found until the king exposed his daughter Andromeda to the monster, and so she was fastened naked to a rock on the shore. Perseus slew the monster and, setting her free, claimed her in marriage.

In the classical myth, he flew using the flying sandals. Renaissance Europe and modern imagery has generated the idea that Perseus flew mounted on Pegasus (though not in the paintings by Piero di Cosimo and Titian ).

Perseus married Andromeda in spite of Phineus , to whom she had before been promised. At the wedding a quarrel took place between the rivals, and Phineus was turned to stone by the sight of Medusa's head that Perseus had kept. Andromeda ("queen of men") followed her husband to Tiryns in Argos , and became the ancestress of the family of the Perseidae who ruled at Tiryns through her son with Perseus, Perses . After her death she was placed by Athena amongst the constellations in the northern sky, near Perseus and CassiopeiaSophocles and Euripides (and in more modern times Pierre Corneille ) made the episode of Perseus and Andromeda the subject of tragedies, and its incidents were represented in many ancient works of art.

As Perseus was flying in his return above the sands of Libya , according to Apollonius of Rhodes ,^[17] the falling drops of Medusa's blood created a race of toxic serpents, one of whom was to kill the Argonaut Mopsus . On returning to Seriphos and discovering that his mother had to take refuge from the violent advances of Polydectes, Perseus killed him with Medusa's head, and made his brother Dictys, consort of Danaë, king.

The oracle fulfilled

Perseus frees Andromeda (detail), by Piero di Cosimo , 1515 (Uffizi)

Perseus then returned his magical loans and gave Medusa's head as a votive gift to Athena , who set it on Zeus' shield (which she carried), as the Gorgoneion (see also: Aegis ).

The fulfillment of the oracle^{[note 4]} was told several ways, each incorporating the mythic theme of exile. In Pausanias he did not return to Argos, but went instead to Larissa , where athletic games were being held.

He had just invented the quoit and was making a public display of them when Acrisius, who happened to be visiting, stepped into the trajectory of the quoit and was killed: thus the oracle was fulfilled. This is an unusual variant on the story of such a prophecy, as Acrisius' actions did not, in this variant, cause his death.

In the Bibliotheca , the inevitable occurred by another route: Perseus did return to Argos, but when he learned of the oracle, went into voluntary exile in Pelasgiotis (Thessaly). There Teutamides, king of Larissa , was holding funeral games for his father. Competing in the discus throw Perseus' throw veered and struck Acrisius, killing him instantly.

In a third tradition, Acrisius had been driven into exile by his brother, Proetus . Perseus turned the brother into stone with the Gorgon's head and restored Acrisius to the throne. Having killed Acrisius, Perseus, who was next in line for the throne, gave the kingdom to Megapenthes ("great mourning") son of Proetus and took over Megapenthes' kingdom of Tiryns . The story is related in Pausanias, which gives as motivation for the swap that Perseus was ashamed to become king of Argos by inflicting death.

In any case, early Greek literature reiterates that manslaughter, even involuntary, requires the exile of the slaughterer, expiation and ritual purification. The exchange might well have been a creative solution to a difficult problem; however, Megapenthes would have been required to avenge his father, which, in legend, he did, but only at the end of Perseus' long and successful reign.

King of Mycenae

 

Perseus rescuing Andromeda from Cetus, depicted on an amphora in the Altes Museum , Berlin

The two main sources regarding the legendary life of Perseus—for he was an authentic historical figure to the Greeks— are Pausanias and the Bibliotheca , but from them we obtain mainly folk-etymology concerning the founding of Mycenae. Pausanias^[22] asserts that the Greeks believed Perseus founded Mycenae. He mentions the shrine to Perseus that stood on the left-hand side of the road from Mycenae to Argos, and also a sacred fountain at Mycenae called Persea. Located outside the walls, this was perhaps the spring that filled the citadel's underground cistern. He states also that Atreus stored his treasures in an underground chamber there, which is why Heinrich Schliemann named the largest tholos tomb the Treasury of Atreus .

Apart from these more historical references, we have only folk-etymology: Perseus dropped his cap or found a mushroom (both named myces) at Mycenae, or perhaps the place was named from the lady Mycene, daughter of Inachus , mentioned in a now-fragmentary poem, the Megalai Ehoiai . For whatever reasons, perhaps as outposts, Perseus fortified Mycenae according to Apollodorus along with Midea , an action that implies that they both previously existed. It is unlikely, however, that Apollodorus knew who walled in Mycenae; he was only conjecturing. In any case, Perseus took up official residence in Mycenae with Andromeda.

Descendants of Perseus

 

Perseus and the head of Medusa in a Roman fresco at Stabiae

Perseus and Andromeda had seven sons: Perses , Alcaeus , Heleus , Mestor , Sthenelus , Electryon , and Cynurus , and two daughters, Gorgophone , and Autochthe . Perses was left in Aethiopia and became an ancestor of the Persians . The other descendants ruled Mycenae from Electryon down to Eurystheus , after whom Atreus got the kingdom. However, the Perseids included the great hero, Heracles , stepson of Amphitryon , son of Alcaeus . The Heraclides, or descendants of Heracles, successfully contested the rule of the Atreids.

A statement by the Athenian orator, Isocrates helps to date Perseus roughly. He said that Heracles was four generations later than Perseus, which corresponds to the legendary succession: Perseus, Electryon , Alcmena , and Heracles , who was a contemporary of Eurystheus . Atreus was one generation later, a total of five generations.

Perseus on Pegasus

The replacement of Bellerophon as the tamer and rider of Pegasus by the more familiar culture hero Perseus was not simply an error of painters and poets of the Renaissance . The transition was a development of Classical times which became the standard image during the Middle Ages and has been adopted by the European poets of the Renaissance and later: Giovanni Boccaccio 's Genealogia deorum gentilium libri (10.27) identifies Pegasus as the steed of Perseus, and Pierre Corneille places Perseus upon Pegasus in Andromède.^[26] Modern representations of this image include sculptor Émile Louis Picault 's 1888 sculpture, Pegasus.

Modern uses of the theme and pop culture

 

Perseus saves Andromeda in this painting by Edward Burne-Jones

In Hermann Melville 's Moby-Dick , the narrator asserts that Perseus was the first whaleman , when he killed Cetus to save Andromeda. Operatic treatments of the subject include Persée by Lully (1682) and Persée et Andromède by Ibert (1921).

Chimera , the 1972 National Book Award-winning novel by John Barth , includes a novella called Perseid that is an inventive, postmodern retelling of the myth of Perseus.

In film, the myth of Perseus was loosely adapted numerous times. The first being the 1963 Italian film Perseus The Invincible (which was dubbed and released to the U.S as Medusa Against The Son of Hercules in 1964). The second was the 1981 fantasy/adventure film Clash of the Titans , and the third was that film's 2010 remake Clash of the Titans , which was followed by a sequel called Wrath of the Titans in 2012. In 2010 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief told the story of a Demi God named after Perseus—the only hero to have a happy ending. He also be-heads Medusa in the movie, but is actually a son of Poseidon. The movie was made based on the series of books written by Rick Riordan . A follow up film Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is due to be released in August 7th 2013. Perseus was featured in the unreleased movie Dan Alstro and the 4 Diadems. He was portrayed by James Van Aardt.

Perseus was also featured in comics. Outside of a comic book adaptation of the 1981 Clash of the Titans film published by Western Publishing and a graphic novel called Perseus: Destiny's Call published in 2012 by Campfire Books, the story of Perseus continued in a couple of comic book series from Bluewater Comics . The first was the 2007 miniseries Wrath of the Titans, (which also spawned a one-shot comic called Wrath of the Titans: Cyclops), while the second is the 2011 miniseries Wrath of the Titans: Revenge of Medusa. Perseus is featured in the video game God of War II , voiced by Harry Hamlin .

Philip V (Greek: Φίλιππος Ε΄) (238 BC - 179 BC) was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome . Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man. A dashing and courageous warrior, he was inevitably compared to Alexander the Great and was nicknamed the darling of Hellas (Greek: η αγάπη μου για Ελλάδα).

 Early life

The son of Demetrius II and Chryseis, Philip was nine years old at his father's death in 229 BC. He had an elder paternal half sister called Apame .  His cousin, Antigonus Doson , administered the kingdom as regent until his death in 221 BC when Philip was seventeen years old.

On his ascent to the throne, Philip quickly showed that while he was young, this did not mean that Macedon was weak. In the first year of his rule, he pushed back the Dardani and other tribes in the north of the country.

 The Social War

In the Social War (220 BC-217 BC), the Hellenic League of Greek states was assembled at Philip V’s instigation in Corinth . He then led the Hellenic League in battles against Aetolia , Sparta and Elis. At the same time he was able to stamp on his own authority amongst his own ministers. His leadership during the Social War made him well-known and respected both within his own kingdom and abroad.

 First Macedonian War

After the Peace of Naupactus in 217 BC, Philip V tried to replace Roman influence along the eastern shore of the Adriatic , forming alliances or lending patronage to certain island and coastal provinces such as Lato on Crete. He first tried to invade Illyria from the sea, but with limited success. His first expedition in 216 BC had to be aborted, while he suffered the loss of his whole fleet in a second expedition in 214 BC. A later expedition by land met with greater success when he captured Lissus in 212 BC.

In 215 BC he entered into a treaty with Hannibal , the Carthaginian general then in the middle of an invasion of Roman Italy. Their treaty defined spheres of operation and interest, but achieve little of substance or value for either side. Philip became heavily involved in assisting and protecting his allies from attacks from the Spartans , the Romans and their allies.

Rome's alliance with the Aetolian League in 211 BC effectively neutralised Philip's advantage on land. The intervention of Attalus I of Pergamum on the Roman side further exposed Philip's position in Macedonia.

Philip was able to take advantage of the withdrawal of Attalus from the Greek mainland in 207 BC, along with Roman inactivity and the increasing role of Philopoemen , the strategos of the Achaean League . After sacking Thermum, the religious and political centre of Aetolia , Philip was able to force the Aetolians to accept his terms in 206 BC. The following year he was able to conclude the Peace of Phoenice with Rome and its allies.

 Expansion in the Aegean

Following an agreement with the Seleucid king Antiochus III to capture Egyptian held territory from the boy king Ptolemy V , Philip was able to gain control of Egyptian territory in the Aegean Sea and in Anatolia . This expansion of Macedonian influence created alarm in a number of neighbouring states, including Pergamum and Rhodes . Their navies clashed with Philip’s off Chios and Lade (near Miletus ) in 201 BC. At around the same time, the Romans were finally the victorious over Carthage.

 Second Macedonian War

Kingdom of Macedon on the eve of the Second Macedonian War, circa 200 BC.

In 200 BC, with Carthage no longer a threat, the Romans declared war on Macedon arguing that they were intervening to protect the freedom of the Greeks. After campaigns in Macedonia in 199 BC and Thessaly in 198 BC, Philip and his Macedonian forces were decisively defeated at the Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BC. The war also proved the superiority of the Roman legion over the Greek phalanx formation .

 Alliance with Rome

The resulting peace treaty between Philip V and the Romans confined Philip to Macedonia and required him to pay 1000 talents indemnity , surrender most of its fleet and provide a number of hostages, including his younger son Demetrius. After this, Philip cooperated with the Romans and sent help to them in their fight against the Spartans under King Nabis in 195 BC. Philip also supported the Romans against Antiochus III (192 BC-189 BC).

In return for his help when Roman forces under Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus and his brother Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus moved through Macedon and Thrace in 190 BC, the Romans forgave the remaining indemnity that he had to pay and his son Demetrius was freed. Philip then focused on consolidating power within Macedon. He reorganised the country's internal affairs and finances, mines were reopened and a new currency was issued.

 Final years

However, Rome continued to be suspicious of Philip's intentions. Accusations by Macedon's neighboring states, particularly Pergamum , led to constant interference from Rome. Feeling the threat growing that Rome would invade Macedon and remove him as king, he tried to extend his influence in the Balkans by force and diplomacy. However, his efforts were undermined by the pro-Roman policy of his younger son Demetrius, who was encouraged by Rome to consider the possibility of succession ahead of his older brother, Perseus . This eventually led to a quarrel between Perseus and Demetrius which forced Philip to reluctantly decide to execute Demetrius for treason in 180 BC. This decision had a severe impact on Philip's health and he died a year later at Amphipolis .

He was succeeded by his eldest son Perseus , who ruled as the last king of Macedon .

Macedonia or Macedon (from Greek : Μακεδονία, Makedonía) was an ancient kingdom , centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula ^, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paionia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. For a brief period, after the conquests of Alexander the Great , it became the most powerful state in the world, controlling a territory that included most of Greece and Persia , stretching as far as the Indus River ; at that time it inaugurated the Hellenistic period of history .

Name

The name Macedonia (Greek: Μακεδονία, Makedonía) is related to the ancient Greek word μακεδνός (Makednos). It is commonly explained as having originally meant 'a tall one' or 'highlander', possibly descriptive of the people . The shorter English name variant Macedon developed in Middle English, based on a borrowing from the French form of the name, Macédoine.

History

Early history and legend

The lands around Aegae, the first Macedonian capital, were home to various peoples. Macedonia was called Emathia (from king Emathion) and the city of Aiges was called Edessa, the capital of fabled king Midas. According to legend, Caranus, accompanied by a multitude of Greeks came to the area in search for a new homeland ^[5] took Edessa and renamed it to Aegae. Subsequently, he expelled Midas and other kings off the lands and he formed his new kingdom. According to Herodot, it was Dorus, the son of Hellen who led his people to Histaeotis, whence they were driven off by the Cadmeians into Pindus, where they settled as Macedonians. Later, a branch would migrate further south to be called Dorians ^[6] .

It seems that the first Macedonian state emerged in the 8th or early 7th century BC under the Argead Dynasty , who, according to legend, migrated to the region from the Greek city of Argos in Peloponnesus (thus the name Argead).^[7] It should be mentioned that the Macedonian tribe ruled by the Argeads, was itself called Argead (which translates as "descended from Argos").

The kingdom was situated in the fertile alluvial plain, watered by the rivers Haliacmon and Axius , called Lower Macedonia, north of the mountain Olympus . Around the time of Alexander I of Macedon , the Argead Macedonians started to expand into Upper Macedonia , lands inhabited by independent Macedonian tribes like the Lyncestae and the Elmiotae and to the West, beyond Axius river, into Eordaia , Bottiaea , Mygdonia , and Almopia -, regions settled by, among others, many Thracian tribes.^[8] Near the modern city of Veria , Perdiccas I (or, more likely, his son, Argaeus I ) built his capital, Aigai (modern Vergina ). After a brief period under Persian rule under Darius Hystaspes , the state regained its independence under King Alexander II (495–450 BC).

Macedon during the Peloponnesian Warr around 431 BC.

In the long Peloponnesian War Macedon was a secondary power that alternated in support between Sparta and Athens.

Involvement in the Greek world

Prior to the 4th century BC , the kingdom covered a region approximately corresponding to the province of Macedonia of modern Greece Amyntas III (c. 393 –370 BC), though it still retained strong contrasts between the cattle-rich coastal plain and the fierce isolated tribal hinterland, allied to the king by marriage ties. They controlled the passes through which barbarian invasions came from Illyria to the north and northwest. It became increasingly Atticised during this period, though prominent Athenians appear to have regarded the Macedonians as uncouth.^[10] Before the establishment of the League of Corinth , even though the Macedonians apparently spoke a dialect of the Greek language and claimed proudly that they were Greeks, they were not considered to fully share the classical Greek culture by many of the inhabitants of the southern city states, because they did not share the polis based style of government of the southerners.^[9] Herodotus , being one of the foremost biographer in antiquity who lived in Greece at the time when the Macedonian king Alexander I was in power, mentioned: "I happen to know, and I will demonstrate in a subsequent chapter of this history, that these descendants of Perdiccas are, as they themselves claim, of Greek nationality. This was, moreover, recognized by the managers of the Olympic games , on the occasion when Alexander wished to compete and his Greek competitors tried to exclude him on the ground that foreigners were not allowed to take part. Alexander, however, proved his Argive descent, and so was accepted as a Greek and allowed to enter for the foot-race. He came in equal first"..^[11]

Over the 4th century Macedon became more politically involved with the south-central city-states of Ancient GreecePella , resembling Mycenaean culture more than classic Hellenic city-states, and other archaic customs, like Philip's multiple wives in addition to his Epirote queen Olympias , mother of Alexander.

Another archaic remnant was the very persistence of a hereditary monarchy which wielded formidable – sometimes absolute – power, although this was at times checked by the landed aristocracy, and often disturbed by power struggles within the royal family itself. This contrasted sharply with the Greek cultures further south, where the ubiquitous city-states mostly possessed aristocratic or democratic institutions; the de facto monarchy of tyrants , in which heredity was usually more of an ambition rather than the accepted rule; and the limited, predominantly military and sacerdotal, power of the twin hereditary Spartan kings. The same might have held true of feudal institutions like serfdom , which may have persisted in Macedon well into historical times. Such institutions were abolished by city-states well before Macedon's rise (most notably by the Athenian legislator Solon 's famous σεισάχθεια seisachtheia laws)..

Amyntas had three sons; the first two, Alexander II and Perdiccas III reigned only briefly. Perdiccas III's infant heir was deposed by Amyntas' third son, Philip II of Macedon , who made himself king and ushered in a period of Macedonian dominance of Greece. Under Philip II, (359–336 BC), Macedon expanded into the territory of the Paionians , Thracians , and Illyrians . Among other conquests, he annexed the regions of Pelagonia and Southern Paionia .^[12]]

Kingdom of Macedon after Philip's II death.

Philip redesigned the army of Macedon adding a number of variations to the traditional hoplite hetairoi , a well armoured heavy cavalry, and more light infantry, both of which added greater flexibility and responsiveness to the force. He also lengthened the spear and shrank the shield of the main infantry force, increasing its offensive capabilities.

Philip began to rapidly expand the borders of his kingdom. He first campaigned in the north against non-Greek peoples such as the IllyriansAmphipolis , which controlled the way into Thracee and also was near valuable silver mines. This region had been part of the Athenian Empire , and Athens still considered it as in their sphere. The Athenians attempted to curb the growing power of Macedonia, but were limited by the outbreak of the Social War . They could also do little to halt Philip when he turned his armies south and took over most of Thessaly .

Control of Thessaly meant Philip was now closely involved in the politics of central Greece. 356 BCE saw the outbreak of the Third Sacred War that pitted Phocis against Thebes and its allies. Thebes recruited the Macedonians to join them and at the Battle of Crocus Field Phillip decisively defeated Phocis and its Athenian allies. As a result Macedonia became the leading state in the Amphictyonic League and Phillip became head of the Pythian Games, firmly putting the Macedonian leader at the centre of the Greek political world.

In the continuing conflict with Athens Philip marched east through Thrace in an attempt to capture Byzantium and the Bosphorus , thus cutting off the Black Sea grain supply that provided Athens with much of its food. The siege of Byzantium failed, but Athens realized the grave danger the rise of Macedon presented and under Demosthenes built a coalition of many of the major states to oppose the Macedonians. Most importantly Thebes, which had the strongest ground force of any of the city states, joined the effort. The allies met the Macedonians at the Battle of Chaeronea and were decisively defeated, leaving Philip and the Macedonians the unquestioned master of Greece.

Empire

Alexander's empire at the time of its maximum expansion

The entrance to one of the royal tombs at Vergina, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Philip's son, Alexander the Great (356–323 BC), managed to briefly extend Macedonian power not only over the central Greek city-states, but also to the Persian empire , including Egypt and lands as far east as the fringes of India . Alexander's adoption of the styles of government of the conquered territories was accompanied by the spread of Greek culture and learning through his vast empire. Although the empire fractured into multiple Hellenic regimes shortly after his death, his conquests left a lasting legacy, not least in the new Greek-speaking cities founded across Persia's western territories, heralding the Hellenistic Diadochi, Macedonia fell to the Antipatrid dynasty , which was overthrown by the Antigonid dynasty after only a few years, in 294 BC..

Hellenistic era

Antipater and his son Cassander gained control of Macedonia but it slid into a long period of civil strife following Cassander's death in 297 BC . It was ruled for a while by Demetrius I (294–288 BC) but fell into civil war.

Demetrius' son, Antigonus II (277–239 BC), defeated a Galatian invasion as a condottiere , and regained his family's position in Macedonia; he successfully restored order and prosperity there, though he lost control of many of the Greek city-states. He established a stable monarchy under the Antigonid dynasty . Antigonus III ((239–221 BC) built on these gains by re-establishing Macedonian power across the region.

What is notable about the Macedonian regime during the Hellenistic times is that it was the only successor state to the Empire that maintained the old archaic perception of Kingship, and never adopted the ways of the Hellenistic Monarchy. Thus the king was never deified in the same way that Ptolemies and Seleucids were in Egypt and Asia respectively, and never adopted the custom of Proskynesis . The ancient Macedonians during the Hellenistic times were still addressing their kings in a far more casual way than the subjects of the rest of the Diadochi, and the Kings were still consulting with their aristocracy (Philoi) in the process of making their decisions.

Conflict with Rome

Kingdom of Macedon under Philip V.

Under Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC Perseus of Macedon (179–168 BC), the kingdom clashed with the rising power of the Roman Republic . During the 2nd and 1st centuries BC , Macedon fought a series of wars with Rome. Two major losses that led to their inevitable defeat were in 197 BC when Rome defeated Philip V, and 168 BC when Rome defeated Perseus. The overall losses resulted in the defeat of Macedon, the deposition of the Antigonid dynasty and the dismantling of the Macedonian kingdom. Andriscus ' brief success at reestablishing the monarchy in 149 BCC was quickly followed by his defeat the following year and the establishment of direct Roman rule and the organization of Macedon as the Roman province of Macedonia .

Institutions

éthnē), and between the two, the districts. The study of these different institutions has been considerably renewed thanks to epigraphy , which has given us the possibility to reread the indications given us by ancient literary sources such as Livy and Polybius . They show that the Macedonian institutions were near to those of the Greek federal states, like the Aetolian and Achaeann leagues, whose unity was reinforced by the presence of the king.

 

The Vergina Sun , the 16-ray star covering what appears to be the royal burial larnax of Philip II of Macedon, discovered in Vergina, Greece.

The King

The king Βασιλεύς, Basileús) headed the central administration: he led the kingdom from its capital, Pella, and in his royal palace was conserved the state's archive. He was helped in carrying out his work by the Royal Secretary (βασιλικὸς γραμματεύς, basilikós grammateús), whose work was of primary importance, and by the Council .

The king was commander of the army, head of the Macedonian religion, and director of diplomacy. Also, only he could conclude treaties, and, until Philip V , mint coins.

The number of civil servants was limited: the king directed his kingdom mostly in an indirect way, supporting himself principally through the local magistrates, the epistates, with whom he constantly kept in touch.

Successionon

Royal succession in Macedon was hereditary, male, patrilineal and generally respected the principle of primogeniture . There was also an elective element: when the king died, his designated heir, generally but not always the eldest son, had first to be accepted by the council and then presented to the general Assembly to be acclaimed king and obtain the oath of fidelity.

Perdiccas III, slain by the Illyrians , Philip II assassinated by Pausanias of Orestis , Alexander the Great , suddenly died of malady, etc. Succession crises were frequent, especially up to the 4th century BC , when the magnate families of Upper Macedonia still cultivated the ambition of overthrowing the Argaead dynasty and to ascend to the throne.

 

An atrium with a pebble-mosaic paving, in Pella, Greece

Financesces

The king was the simple guardian and administrator of the treasure of Macedon and of the king's incomes (βασιλικά, basiliká), which belonged to the Macedonians: and the tributes that came to the kingdom thanks to the treaties with the defeated people also went to the Macedonian people, and not to the king. Even if the king was not accountable for his management of the kingdom's entries, he may have felt responsible to defend his administration on certain occasions: Arrian tells us that during the mutiny of Alexander's soldiers at Opis in 324 BC BC , Alexander detailed the possessions of his father at his death to prove he had not abused his charge.

 

It is known from Livy and Polybius that the basiliká included the following sources of income:

• The mines of gold and silver (for example those of the Pangaeus ), which were the exclusive possession of the king, and which permitted him to strike currency, as already said his sole privilege till Philip V, who conceded to cities and districts the right of coinage for the lesser denominations, like bronze.
• The forests, whose timber was very appreciated by the Greek cities to build their ships: in particular, it is known that Athens made commercial treaties with Macedon in the 5th century BC to import the timber necessary for the construction and the maintenance of its fleet of war.
• The royal landed properties, lands that were annexed to the royal domain through conquest, and that the king exploited either directly, in particular through servile workforce made up of prisoners of war, or indirectly through a leasing system.
• The port duties on commerce (importation and exportation taxes).

The most common way to exploit these different sources of income was by leasing: the Pseudo-Aristotle reports in the Oeconomica that Amyntas III (or maybe Philip II) doubled the kingdom's port revenues with the help of Callistratus , who had taken refuge in Macedon, bringing them from 20 to 40 talents per year. To do this, the exploitation of the harbour taxes was given every year at the private offering the highest bidding. It is also known from Livy that the mines and the forests were leased for a fixed sum under Philip V, and it appears that the same happened under the Argaead dynasty: from here possibly comes the leasing system that was used in Ptolemaic Egypt .

Except for the king's properties, land in Macedon was free: Macedonians were free men and did not pay land taxes on private grounds. Even extraordinary taxes like those paid by the Athenians in times of war did not exist. Even in conditions of economic peril, like what happened to Alexander in 334 BC< and Perseus in 168 BC , the monarchy did not tax its subjects but raised funds through loans, first of all by his Companions, or raised the cost of the leases.

The king could grant the atelíē (ἀτελίη), a privilege of tax exemption, as Alexander did with those Macedonian families which had losses in the battle of the Granicus in May 334334 : they were exempted from paying tribute for leasing royal grounds and commercial taxes.

Extraordinary incomes came from the spoils of war, which were divided between the king and his men. At the time of Philip II and Alexander, this was a considerable source of income. A considerable part of the gold and silver objects taken at the time of the European and Asian campaigns were melted in ingots and then sent to the monetary foundries of Pella Amphipolis, most active of the kingdom at that time: an estimate judges that during the reign of Alexander only the mint of Amphipolis struck about 13 million silver tetradrachms .

The Assembly

All the kingdom's citizen-soldiers gather in a popular assembly, which is held at least twice a year, in spring and in autumn, with the opening and the closing of the campaigning season.

This assembly (koinê ekklesia or koinon makedonôn), of the army in times of war, of the people in times of peace, is called by the king and plays a significant role through the acclamation of the kings and in capital trials; it can be consulted (without obligation) for the foreign politics (declarations of war, treaties) and for the appointment of high state officials. In the majority of these occasions, the Assembly does nothing but ratify the proposals of a smaller body, the Council. It is also the Assembly which votes the honors, sends embassies, during its two annual meetings. It was abolished by the Romans at the time of their reorganization of Macedonia in 167 BC , to prevent, according to Livy, that a demagogue could make use of it as a mean to revolt against their authority.

The Friends (philoi) or the king's Companions (basilikoi hetairoi ) were named for life by the king among the Macedonian aristocracy.cy.

The most important generals of the army (hégémones tôn taxéôn), also named by the king.

The king had in reality less power in the choice of the members of the Council than appearances would warrant; this was because many of the kingdom's most important noblemen were members of the Council by birth-right.

The Council primarily exerted a probouleutic function with respect to the Assembly: it prepared and proposed the decisions which the Assembly would have discussed and voted, working in many fields such as the designation of kings and regents, as of that of the high administrators and the declarations of war. It was also the first and final authority for all the cases which did not involve capital punishment.

 

The Council gathered frequently and represented the principal body of government of the kingdom. Any important decision taken by the king was subjected before it for deliberation.on.

Inside the Council ruled the democratic principles of iségoria (equality of word) and of parrhésia (freedom of speech), to which even the king subjected himself.

After the removal of the Antigonid dynasty by the Romans in 167 BC , it is possible that the synedrion remained, unlike the Assembly, representing the sole federal authority in Macedonia after the country's division in four merides.

Regional districts (Merides)

The creation of an intermediate territorial administrative level between the central government and the cities should probably be attributed to Philip II: this reform corresponded with the need to adapt the kingdom's institutions to the great expansion of Macedon under his rule. It was no longer practical to convene all the Macedonians in a single general assembly, and the answer to this problem was the creation of four regional districts, each with a regional assembly. These territorial divisions clearly did not follow any historical or traditional internal divisions; they were simply artificial administrative lines.

This said, it should be noted that the existence of these districts is not attested with certainty (by numismatics ) before the beginning of the 2nd century BC .

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