PHILIP OF MACEDON, B.C. 359-336.
The internal dissensions of Greece produced their natural fruits; and
we shall have now to relate the downfall of her independence and her
subjugation by a foreign power. This power was Macedonia, an obscure
state to the north of Thessaly, hitherto overlooked and despised, and
considered as altogether barbarous, and without the pale of Grecian
civilization. But though the Macedonians were not Greeks, their
sovereigns claimed to be descended from an Hellenic race, namely, that
of Temenus of Argos; and it is said that Alexander I. proved his Argive
descent previously to contending at the Olympic games. Perdiccas is
commonly regarded as the founder of the monarchy; of the history of
which, however, little is known till the reign of Amyntas I., his fifth
successor, who was contemporary with the Pisistratidae at Athens.
Under Amyntas, who submitted to the satrap Megabyzus, Macedonia became
subject to Persia, and remained so till after the battle of Plataea.
The reigns of the succeeding sovereigns present little that is
remarkable, with the exception of that of Archelaus (B.C. 413). This
monarch transferred his residence from AEgae to Pella, which thus
became the capital. He entertained many literary men at his court,
such as Euripides, who ended his days at Pella. Archelaus was
assassinated in B.C. 399, and the crown devolved upon Amyntas II., a
representative of the ancient line. Amyntas left three sons, the
youngest being the celebrated Philip, of whom we have now to speak.
It has been already mentioned that the youthful Philip was one of the
hostages delivered to the Thebans as security for the peace effected by
Pelopidas. His residence at Thebes gave him some tincture of Grecian
philosophy and literature; but the most important lesson which he
learned at that city was the art of war, with all the improved tactics
introduced by Epaminondas. Philip succeeded to the throne at the age of
23 (B.C. 359), and displayed at the beginning of his reign his
extraordinary energy and abilities. After defeating the Illyrians he
established a standing army, in which discipline was preserved by the
severest punishments. He introduced the far-famed Macedonian phalanx,
which was 16 men deep, armed with long projecting spears.
Philip's views were first turned towards the eastern frontiers of his
dominions, where his interests clashed with those of the Athenians. A
few years before the Athenians had made various unavailing attempts to
obtain possession of Amphipolis, once the jewel of their empire, but
which they had never recovered since its capture by Brasidas in the
eighth year of the Peloponnesian war. Its situation at the mouth of
the Strymon rendered it also valuable to Macedonia, not only as a
commercial port, but as opening a passage into Thrace. The Olynthians
were likewise anxious to enrol Amphipolis as a member of their
confederacy, and accordingly proposed to the Athenians to form an
alliance for the purpose of defending Amphipolis against their mutual
enemy. An alliance between these two powerful states would have proved
an insurmountable obstacle to Philip's views: and it was therefore
absolutely necessary to prevent this coalition. Here we have the first
instance of Philip's skill and duplicity in negotiation. By secretly
promising the Athenians that he would put Amphipolis into their hands
if they would give him possession of Pydna, he induced them to reject
the overtures of the Olynthians; and by ceding to the latter the town
of Anthemus, he bought off their opposition. He now laid siege to
Amphipolis, which, being thus left unaided, fell into his hands (B.C.
358). He then forthwith marched against Pydna, which surrendered to
him; but on the ground that it was not the Athenians who had put him in
possession of this town, he refused to give up Amphipolis to them.
Philip had now just reason to dread the enmity of the Athenians, and
accordingly it was his policy to court the favour of the Olynthians,
and to prevent them from renewing their negotiations with the
Athenians. In order to separate them more effectually, he assisted the
Olynthians in recovering Potidaea, which had formerly belonged to their
confederacy, but was now in the hands of the Athenians. On the capture
of the town he handed it over to the Olynthians. Plutarch relates that
the capture of Potidaea was accompanied with three other fortunate
events in the life of Philip, namely, the prize gained by his chariot
at the Olympic games, a victory of his general Parmenio over the
Illyrians, and the birth of his son Alexander. These events happened
in B.C. 356.
Philip now crossed the Strymon, on the left bank of which lay Pangaeus,
a range of mountains abounding in gold-mines. He conquered the
district, and founded there a new town called Philippi, on the site of
the ancient Thracian town of Crenides. By improved methods of working
the mines he made them yield an annual revenue of 1000 talents, nearly
250,000l.
Meanwhile Athens was engaged in a war with her allies, which has been
called the SOCIAL WAR; and which was, perhaps, the reason why she was
obliged to look quietly on whilst Philip was thus aggrandizing himself
at her expense. This war broke out in B.C. 357. The chief causes of
it seem to have been the contributions levied upon the allies by the
Athenian generals. The war lasted three years; and as Artaxerxes, the
Persian king, threatened to support the allies with a fleet of 300
ships, the Athenians were obliged to consent to a disadvantageous
peace, which secured the independence of the more important allies
(B.C. 355).
Another war, which had been raging during the same time, tended still
further to exhaust the Grecian states, and thus pave the way for
Philip's progress to the supremacy. This was the SACRED WAR, which
broke out between Thebes and Phocis in the same year as the Social War
(B.C. 357). An ill-feeling had long subsisted between those two
countries. The Thebans now availed themselves of the influence which
they possessed in the Amphictyonic council to take vengeance upon the
Phocians and accordingly induced this body to impose a heavy fine upon
the latter people, because they had cultivated a portion of the
Cirrhaean plain, which had been consecrated to the Delphian god, and
was to lie waste for ever. The Phocians pleaded that the payment of the
fine would ruin them; but instead of listening to their remonstrances,
the Amphictyons doubled the amount, and threatened, in case of their
continued refusal to reduce them to the condition of serfs. Thus
driven to desperation, the Phocians resolved to complete the sacrilege
with which they had been branded, by seizing the very temple of Delphi
itself. The leader and counsellor of this enterprise was Philomelus,
who, with a force of no more than 2000 men, surprised and took Delphi.
At first, however, he carefully abstained from touching the sacred
treasure; but being hard pressed by the Thebans and their allies, he
threw off the scruples which he had hitherto assumed, and announced
that the sacred treasures should be converted into a fund for the
payment of mercenaries. On the death of Philomelus, who fell in
battle, the command was assumed by his brother Onomarchus, who carried
on the war with vigour and success. But he was checked in his career
by Philip, who had previously been extending his dominion over
Thessaly, and who now assumed the character of a champion of the
Delphic god, and made his soldiers wear wreaths of laurel plucked in
the groves of Tempe. He penetrated into Thessaly, and encountered the
Phocians near the gulf of Pagassae. In the battle which ensued,
Onomarchus was slain, and his army totally defeated (B.C. 352). This
victory made Philip master of Thessaly. He now directed his march
southwards with the view of subduing the Phocians; but upon reaching
Thermopylae he found the pass guarded by a strong Athenian force, and
was compelled, or considered it more prudent, to retreat.
After his return from Thessaly Philip's views were directed towards
Thrace and the Chersonese. It was at this juncture that Demosthenes
stepped forwards as the proclaimed opponent of Philip, and delivered
the first of those celebrated orations which from their subject have
been called "the Philippics." This most famous of all the Grecian
orators was born in B.C. 382-381. Having lost his father at the early
age of seven, his guardians abused their trust, and defrauded him of
the greater part of his paternal inheritance. This misfortune,
however, proved one of the causes which tended to make him an orator.
Demosthenes, as he advanced towards manhood, perceived with indignation
the conduct of his guardians, for which he resolved to make them
answerable when the proper opportunity should arrive, by accusing them
himself. His first attempt to speak in public proved a failure, and he
retired from the bema amidst the hootings and laughter of the citizens.
The more judicious and candid among his auditors perceived, however,
marks of genius in his speech, and rightly attributed his failure to
timidity and want of due preparation. Eunomus, an aged citizen, who
met him wandering about the Piraeus in a state of dejection at his ill
success, bade him take courage and persevere. Demosthenes now withdrew
awhile from public life, and devoted himself perseveringly to remedy
his defects. They were such as might be lessened, if not removed, by
practice, and consisted chiefly of a weak voice, imperfect
articulation, and ungraceful and inappropriate action. He derived much
assistance from Satyrus the actor, who exercised him in reciting
passages from Sophocles and Euripides. He studied the best rhetorical
treatises and orations, and is said to have copied the work of
Thucydides with his own hand no fewer than eight times. He shut
himself up for two or three months together in a subterranean chamber
in order to practise composition and declamation. His perseverance was
crowned with success; and he who on the first attempt had descended
from the bema amid the ridicule of the crowd, became at last the most
perfect orator the world has ever seen.
Demosthenes had established himself as a public speaker before the
period which we have now reached; but it is chiefly in connexion with
Philip that we are to view him as a statesman as well as an orator.
Philip had shown his ambition by the conquest of Thessaly, and by the
part he had taken in the Sacred War; and Demosthenes now began to
regard him as the enemy of the liberties of Athens and of Greece. In
his first "Philippic" Demosthenes tried to rouse his countrymen to
energetic measures against this formidable enemy; but his warnings and
exhortations produced little effect, for the Athenians were no longer
distinguished by the same spirit of enterprise which had characterized
them in the days of their supremacy. No important step was taken to
curb the growing power of Philip; and it was the danger of Olynthus
which first induced the Athenians to prosecute the war with a little
more energy. In 350 B.C., Philip having captured a town in Chalcidice,
Olynthus began to tremble for her own safety, and sent envoys to Athens
to crave assistance. Olynthus was still at the head of thirty-two
Greek towns, and the confederacy was a sort of counterpoise to the
power of Philip. It was on this occasion that Demosthenes delivered
his three Olynthaic orations, in which he warmly advocated an alliance
with Olynthus.
Demosthenes was opposed by a strong party, with which Phocion commonly
acted. Phocion is one of the most singular and original characters in
Grecian history. He viewed the multitude and their affairs with a
scorn which he was at no pains to disguise; receiving their anger with
indifference, and their praises with contempt. His known probity also
gave him weight with the assembly. He was the only statesman of whom
Demosthenes stood in awe; who was accustomed to say, when Phocion rose,
"Here comes the pruner of my periods." But Phocion's desponding views,
and his mistrust of the Athenian people, made him an ill statesman at a
period which demanded the most active patriotism. He doubtless injured
his country by contributing to check the more enlarged and patriotic
views of Demosthenes; and though his own conduct was pure and
disinterested, he unintentionally threw his weight on the side of those
who, like Demades and others, were actuated by the basest motives.
This division of opinion rendered the operations of the Athenians for
the aid of the Olynthians languid and desultory. Town after town of
the confederacy fell before Philip; and in 347 Olynthus itself was
taken. The whole of the Chalcidian peninsula thus became a Macedonian
province.
The prospects of Athens now became alarming, her possessions in the
Chersonese were threatened, as well as the freedom of the Greek towns
upon the Hellespont. The Athenians had supported the Phocians in the
Sacred War, and were thus at war with Thebes. In order to resist
Philip the attention of the Athenians was now directed towards a
reconciliation with Thebes, especially since the treasures of Delphi
were nearly exhausted, and on the other hand the war was becoming every
year more and more burthensome to the Thebans. Nor did it seem
improbable that a peace might be concluded not only between those two
cities, but among the Grecian states generally. It seems to have been
this aspect of affairs that induced Philip to make several indirect
overtures to the Athenians in the summer of B.C. 347. In spite of
subsidies from Delphi the war had been very onerous to them, and they
received these advances with joy, and eventually agreed to the terms of
a peace. Having thus gained over the Athenians, Philip marched through
Thermopylae, and entered Phocis, which surrendered unconditionally at
his approach. He then occupied Delphi, where he assembled the
Amphictyons to pronounce sentence upon those who bad been concerned in
the sacrilege committed there. The council decreed that all the cities
of Phocia, except Abae, should be destroyed, and their inhabitants
scattered into villages containing not more than fifty houses each.
Sparta was deprived of her share in the Amphictyonic privileges; the
two votes in the council possessed by the Phocians were transferred to
the kings of Macedonia; and Philip was to share with the Thebans and
Thessalians the honour of presiding at the Pythian games (B.C. 346).
The result of the Sacred War rendered Macedon the leading state in
Greece. Philip at once acquired by it military glory, a reputation for
piety, and an accession of power. His ambitious designs were now too
plain to be mistaken. The eyes of the blindest among the Athenians
were at last opened; the promoters of the peace which had been
concluded with Philip incurred the hatred and suspicion of the people;
whilst on the other hand Demosthenes rose higher than ever in public
favour.
Philip was now busy with preparations for the vast projects which he
contemplated, and which embraced an attack upon the Athenian colonies,
as well as upon the Persian empire. For this purpose he had organized
a considerable naval force as well as an army; and in the spring of 342
B.C. he set out on an expedition against Thrace. His progress soon
appeared to menace the Chersonese and the Athenian possessions in that
quarter; and at length the Athenian troops under Diopithes came into
actual collision with the Macedonians. In the following year Philip
began to attack the Greek cities north of the Hellespont. He first
besieged and captured Selymbria on the Propontis, and then turned his
arms against Perinthus and Byzantium. This roused the Athenians to
more vigorous action. War was formally declared against Philip, and a
fleet equipped for the immediate relief of Byzantium. Philip was forced
to raise the siege not only of that town but of Perinthus also, and
finally to evacuate the Chersonesus altogether. For these acceptable
services the grateful Byzantians erected a colossal statue in honour of
Athens.
After this check Philip undertook an expedition against the Thracians;
but meantime his partisans procured for him an opportunity of marching
again into the very heart of Greece.
Amphissa, a Locrian town, having been declared by the Amphictyonic
council guilty of sacrilege, Philip was appointed by the council as
their general to inflict punishment on the inhabitants of the guilty
town. Accordingly he marched southwards early in B.C. 338; but instead
of proceeding in the direction of Amphissa, he suddenly seized Elatea,
the chief town in the eastern part of Phocis, thus showing clearly
enough that his real design was against Boeotia and Attica.
Intelligence of this event reached Athens at night, and caused
extraordinary alarm, In the following morning Demosthenes pressed upon
the assembly the necessity for making the most vigorous preparations
for defence, and especially recommended them to send an embassy to
Thebes, in order to persuade the Thebans to unite with them against the
common enemy.
The details of the war that followed are exceedingly obscure. Philip
appears to have again opened negotiations with the Thebans, which
failed; and we then find the combined Theban and Athenian armies
marching out to meet the Macedonians. The decisive battle was fought
on the 7th of August, in the plain of Chaeronea in Boeotia, near the
frontier of Phocis (B.C. 338). In the Macedonian army was Philip's
son, the youthful Alexander, who was intrusted with the command of one
of the wings; and it was a charge made by him on the Theban sacred band
that decided the fortune of the day. The sacred band was cut to
pieces, without flinching from the ground which it occupied, and the
remainder of the combined army was completely routed. Demosthenes, who
was serving as a foot-soldier in the Athenian ranks, has been absurdly
reproached with cowardice because he participated in the general flight.
The battle of Chaeronea crushed the liberties of Greece, and made it in
reality a province of the Macedonian monarchy. To Athens herself the
blow was almost as fatal as that of AEgospotami. But the manner in
which Philip used his victory excited universal surprise. He dismissed
the Athenian prisoners without ransom, and voluntarily offered a peace
on terms more advantageous than the Athenians themselves would have
ventured to propose. Philip, indeed, seems to have regarded Athens
with a sort of love and respect, as the centre of art and refinement,
for his treatment of the Thebans was very different, and marked by
great harshness and severity. They were compelled to recall their
exiles, in whose hands the government was placed, whilst a Macedonian
garrison was established in the Cadmea.
A congress of the Grecian states was now summoned at Corinth, in which
war was declared against Persia, and Philip was appointed generalissimo
of the expedition.
In the spring of B.C. 336 Philip sent some forces into Asia, under the
command of Attalus, Parmenio, and Amyntas, which were designed to
engage the Greek cities of Asia in the expedition. But before quitting
Macedonia, Philip determined to provide for the safety of his dominions
by celebrating the marriage of his daughter with Alexander of Epirus.
It was solemnized at AEgae, the ancient capital of Macedonia, with much
pomp, including banquets, and musical and theatrical entertainments.
The day after the nuptials was dedicated to theatrical entertainments.
The festival was opened with a procession of the images of the twelve
Olympian deities, with which was associated that of Philip himself.
The monarch took part in the procession, dressed in white robes, and
crowned with a chaplet. Whilst thus proceeding through the city, a
youth suddenly rushed out of the crowd, and, drawing a long sword which
he had concealed under his clothes, plunged it into Philip's side, who
fell dead upon the spot. The assassin was pursued by some of the royal
guards, and, having stumbled in his flight, was despatched before he
could reach the place where horses had been provided for his escape.
His name was Pausanias. He was a youth of noble birth, and we are told
that his motive for taking Philip's life was that the king had refused
to punish an outrage which Attalus had committed against him.
Thus fell Philip of Macedon in the twenty-fourth year of his reign and
forty-seventh of his age (B.C. 336). When we reflect upon his
achievements, and how, partly by policy and partly by arms, he
converted his originally poor and distracted kingdom into the mistress
of Greece, we must acknowledge him to have been an extraordinary, if
not a great man, in the better sense of that term. His views and his
ambition were certainly as large as those of his son Alexander, but he
was prevented by a premature death from carrying them out; nor would
Alexander himself have been able to perform his great achievements had
not Philip handed down to him all the means and instruments which they
required.