Philip II and the Rise of Macedon
When Philip II took the throne of Macedon in 359 BCE, the kingdom faced attack from multiple directions and its army had recently suffered humiliating defeats. Philip was twenty-three years old and had spent time as a hostage in Thebes, where he studied under the brilliant general Epaminondas. What he learned there he applied to transform Macedonian military power. Philip reformed the Macedonian infantry into the phalanx armed with the sarissa — a pike eighteen to twenty-one feet long, far longer than Greek hoplite spears. Macedonian infantry trained year-round, moving in disciplined formation. Philip combined this heavy infantry with powerful cavalry, particularly the Companion Cavalry, into a coordinated combined-arms force that Greek city-states were unprepared to counter. Philip expanded Macedon methodically. He conquered Amphipolis and its gold mines, giving him revenue to maintain his professional army. He maneuvered Thessaly into accepting his leadership, giving him fertile grain-producing territory and excellent cavalry. He pushed east through Thrace. He interfered repeatedly in quarrels among Greek city-states, always presenting himself as an arbiter of stability. Athens recognized the threat. The orator Demosthenes delivered his Philippics — passionate speeches warning Athenians that Philip was an existential danger to Greek freedom. Philip replied with dexterity through diplomacy, bribery, and strategic timing. By 340 BCE war between Philip and an Athenian-Theban alliance was inevitable. The confrontation would come at Chaeronea in 338 BCE.
- Year: 359 BCE
- Category: Political
