Philip II and The Rise of Macedon Week 10

What was the landscape of Macedon like?

• Rich is resources 

• Lowlands 

• Mountains + hills w/ forests 

Why was Macedon “chronically unstable”?

• It was difficult for a king to assert dominance 

• There was no fixed rule for inheritance of a king 

• Kings were often murdered/challenged 

• Constantly attacked by their neighbors

Did the ancient Greeks think that Macedonians were Greeks?

• No, were not accepted by greeks 

What were court politics like in Macedonia?

• Highly unstable 

• King was supreme authority but relied on his court 

• Many kings were killed by men from their own court for power as there was no rule for succession

Who are the Predecessors of Philip II?

• The people that led macedon before philip were Peridiccas (brother of philip who died in battle) 

• Then it was Amyntas (child king) who was too young to rule effectively 

• Then Philip took over

Why was Philip held “hostage” in Thebes?

• Macedon was politically unstable and needed to secure good relations with Thebes (strong after the defeating sparta) 

• Philip was sent to Thebes as a Guarantee of Macedonian Loyalty (a political hostage) 

What greek kingdoms did Philip II conquer?

4 greek kingdoms

• Paeonians 

• Illyrians 

• Epirus 

• Thrace

Who were these coins made in honour of? 

King Philip II

What is Sarissa and the Syntagma? 

• Sarissa: Extremely long javelin like weapon 

• Syntagma: Military formation with spears and would plow into their opponents

How was Cavalry used?

• The cavalry would accompany the syntagma and would strike the opponents 

Who are the Royal Companions?

• Elite Macedonian nobles who were the king's closest advisors 

What are the Royal Pages? 

• Teenage sons of Macedonian nobles who served at court 

• Trained to serve the king directly 

What is the 3rd Sacred War?

• A fight over the control of religious sanctuary, Delphi 

• Phocis seized delphi after refusing to pay a heavy fine imposed by the Delphic League (led by Thebes)

• Macedon intervened in the war and used conflict to expand the Macedonian influence by supporting Thebes

• War ended with Phocis surrendered and Philip demanding to be part of the Delphic Council

What is the Theoric fund of Athens?

• Public money system in athens used to pay citizens so they could attens festivals and public events 

Who is Demosthenes and what did his Philippics say?

• An athenian politician who created speeches called the Philippics

• The Philippics warned Athens about Philip II of Macedon and argued that public money from the Theoric Fund should be redirected from festivals to military defence. 

Who is this a statue of?

Demosthenes

What is the aftermath of the peace of philocrates?

• The peace was a treaty between Athens and Philip

• Peace broke down and Philip declared war on Athens 

Who fought in the battle of Chaeronea?

• Athens and Thebes vs Macedon 

What is this drawing of?

• The burial of the Thebans at Chaeronea

Document 10.2 - The Sacred band of Thebes

• Elite military unit from Thebes, made up of 150 pairs of male lovers 

What were Philip's plans for Greece? 

• He installed Macedonian garissons 

• Created the Corinthian League

What is the Corinthian league?

• Philip insisted all Greek Polis must be a part of this league 

• There would be yearly meetings where laws could be discussed and disputed 

What was the first order of business declared by the Corinthian League?

• To declare war on Persia 

What does Philip promote with the Corinthian league?

• Panhellenism 

How did Philip die? 

• Assassinated by a Pausanias, a member of his own bodyguard 

Who is Alexander the Great

• Successor after Philip

• Son of Philip and Olympius

What did Alexander do to Thebes? What message was sent?

• A rumour spread that Alexander died along with Philip so Thebes revolted 

• Alexander crushed a revolt by Thebes and “flattened” the city by destroying all buildings.

• Served as a warning to other Greek states not to rebel against Macedonian rule. 

What was the one building that Alexander did not destroy?

• The building of a poet he looked up to 

What are the Royal Tombs at Vergina?

• Burial Place of Macedonian Kings

• One tomb is believed to be Philips tomb

• There are three tombs 

What is a tumulus?

• When a tomb is built into the side of a hill 

What style was the royal tomb in?

• Doric style 

What is this object and what is its importance?

• Larnax 

• Inside: cremated remains of man and woman 

• Possibly Philip

What were crowns often made of?

• Parsley 

How many people did Alexander bring to invade Asia?

• 37 000

How did Alexander plan on paying his troops?

• With the money he gets from looting/invading due to having lack of funds 

What is the Battle of Granicus?

• The first major battle of Alexander the Great and Persia 

• Happened at the Granicus River 

• Persia (the satrap) tried to trap Alexander to prevent his retreat 

What was the treatment of the Non greeks as Alexander conquered?

• He often appointed local (including Persian) elites in positions of authority to build his empire 

• Greeks did NOT like this 

What is the Battle of Issus?

• Alexander the Great vs Persian king Darius III

• Macedonia won 

• Persian king flees

What is this battle of?

Battle of Issus 

What does each symbol and colour rep?

Black = Alexanders forces

Gold = Persians 

The straight long lines = infantry 

Triangle = Cavalry

Dots = Protasts 

Dot w/ circle = Persian King 

Triangle w/ circle = Alexander

How did Alexander use his formation techniques to fight the Persians?

• Since his infantry was smaller, he used the his cavalry and protasts to line up against Persia's infantry 

What was Alexander's great innovation w/ his cavalry?

• To use them to charge across battlefield, not to win the battle , but to cause confusion 

Why did Alexander go to Egypt?

• To capture every single harbour 

What is the Gordian Knot?

• Extremely complex knot tied in the city of Gordium 

• Legend: Whoever could untie the knot would be the ruler of Asia 

• Alexander's solution to untie it was to slice the knot with his sword 

What was Darius III offer?

• He will let Alexander marry one of his daughters

• Make Alexander his heir 

• Give him half of the Persian empire 

• Alex. rejected

Battle of Gaugamela 

• Final battle between Alexander and Darius 

• Darius fled battlefield and was assassinated 

• Alexander won and became ruler of persia 

Burning of Persepolis 

• Persepolis was burned by Alexander 

• Possible reason: gesture of revenge when they burned Athens 

What was the struggle for Bactria and Sogdiana?

• Prolonged war where alex faced lots of resistance from Central Asia 

Why was there Macedonian unrest?

• Troops became reluctant to advance into India as they had campaigned for so long and wanted to go home 

• Dissatisfaction among nobles caused by Alexanders long absence 

Document 11.1 - The Divinity of Alexander 

• the growing perception that his power was so vast that he began to be treated like a divine figure, especially in eastern traditions. 

What is Proskynesis?

• Persian court ritual of bowing before king as an extreme sign of submission 

• Alexander tried introducing it to Greece but they resisted the idea

Battle of Hydaspes

• Major battle in India fought between Alexander and Porus

• Alexander won, but it was very difficult and costly 

• Porus was impressed w/ Alexanders bravery 

• Alexander allowed Prous to keep ruling as a subordinate king 

• The difficulty and cost caused Alexander to not conquer any farther 

March down to the Indus River 

• His army refused to advance

• Alexander marched south down the Indus River to secure his Indian conquests, reach the Indian Ocean, and prepare for the return to Persia. 

The March through the Gedrosian desert

• On the way back to persia, Alex decided to lead his army through the Gedrosian desert 

• Very difficult return and disastrous episode due to extreme heat, lack of water, and harsh terrain

Reorganization of the Empire 

• Alexander realized many of the satraps he appointed were corrupt so he had them executed 

Uniting Greek and “Barbarian”

• Alexander made his soldiers marry Asian women 

• He himself married many persian women 

• Tried to create a multicultural empire under his rule 

Death in Babylon of Alexander

• Alexander fell ill at a party 

• Suffered a fever 

• Passed away 

• Left no plans for who would be his successor 

• He said “when i die, the greatest competition the world has ever seen will take place”, aka WAR

Why was Alexander often depicted with horns?

• They said he was the son of a god that had a face of a ram 

Why did future kings depict themselves with horns? 

• They wanted to look/be like Alexander since he was the “gold standard”

What is Cosmopolis?

• Alexander's concept of having a vast empire with different cultures under one empire 

What is the Alexander Romance?

• Collection of myths and fictional stories about Alexander the Great