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FROM THE ACCESSION OF PHILIP TO THE END OF THE SACRED WAR.

§ 1. State of Greece. § 2. Description of Macedonia. §3. Kings of Macedon. 4. Character of Philip. § 5. He subdues the Pæonians and Illyrians. § 6. His military discipline. §7. Capture of Amphipolis, and foundation of Philippi. §8. The Social War. §9. Commencement of the Sacred War. The Phocians seize Delphi. 10. Successes of the Phocians. § 11. Philip interferes in the war. Conquers Thessaly. 12. Philip in Thrace. Demosthenes. § 13. The Olynthian War. 14. Character of Phocion. Fall of Olynthus. § 15. Progress of the Sacred War. Embassy to Philip. § 16. Conquest of Phocis by Philip. Sentence of the Amphictyonic Council on the Phocians.

§ 1. THE internal dissensions of Greece, which have formed the subject of the two preceding books, are now about to produce their natural fruits; and in the present book we shall have to

relate the downfall of her independence and her subjugation by a foreign power. We have first of all seen Sparta exercising a sort of empire of opinion over the other Grecian states, and looked up to by them with willing obedience as their traditional and chosen leader. After the Persian wars Athens contests the palm with her, and, through the confederacy of Delos, becomes virtually the head of Greece in material power, if not recognised as such by the public opinion of the nation. But Sparta and most of the other Grecian states, from jealousy of the Athenian supremacy, league together for the purpose of crushing Athens. After a long struggle, Athens falls into the power of her enemies; and Sparta becomes the ruler of Greece. The power which she has thus acquired, she exercises with harshness, cruelty, and corruption; her own allies desert her; and in little more than thirty years after the battle of Ægospotami she is in her turn not only deprived of the supremacy, but even stripped of a considerable portion of her own ancient territory, chiefly through the power and influence of Thebes. For a little while Thebes becomes the predominant state; but she owes her position solely to the abilities and genius of Epaminondas, and after his death sinks down to her former level. The state of exhaustion into which Greece had been thrown by these protracted intestine dissensions is already shown by her having condescended to throw herself at the feet of Persia, and to make her hereditary enemy the arbiter of her quarrels. Athens alone, during the comparative state of tranquillity afforded her through the mutual disputes of her neighbours, has succeeded in regaining some portion of her former strength, and becomes the leading power in the struggle which now threatens to overwhelm the whole of Greece. This new danger comes from an obscure northern state, hitherto overlooked and despised, and considered as altogether barbarous, and without the pale of Grecian civi

lization.

§ 2. Macedonia-for that is the country of which we are speaking-had various limits at different times. Properly, however, it may be regarded as separated from Thessaly on the south by the Cambunian mountains; from Illyria on the west by the great mountain chain called Scardus and Bernus, and which, under the name of Pindus, also separates Thessaly from Epirus; from Masia on the north by the mountains called Orbelus and Scomius; and from Thrace on the east by the river Strymon. It is drained by three rivers of considerable size, the Axius, the Lydias, and the Haliacmon; each of which has its separate valley, formed by two mountain ranges running southeastwards from the mountains that divide Illyria and Macedonia.

All these rivers discharge themselves into the Thermaic gulf. The origin of the people who inhabited this tract of country has been much disputed. The Greeks themselves looked upon them as barbarians, that is, as not of Hellenic origin. They were probably an Illyrian people, and the similarity of the manners and customs, as well as of the languages, so far as they are known, of the early Macedonians and Illyrians, seems to establish the identity of the races.

§3. 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 Pisistratidæ at Athens. Under Amyntas, who submitted to the satrap Megabyzus, Macedonia became subject to Persia, and remained so till after the battle of Platea. The reigns of the succeeding sovereigns down to Philip II. present little that is remarkable, with the exception of that of Archelaus (B.c. 413). This monarch effected much for Macedonia by improving the condition of the army, by erecting fortresses to check the incursions of his barbarous neighbours, by constructing roads, and by endeavouring to diffuse among his subjects a taste for literature and art. He transferred his residence from Æga to Pella, which thus became the capital, and he employed Zeuxis to adorn his palace there with paintings. He entertained many literary men at his court; such as Agathon and Euripides, the latter of whom 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: Alexander II., who was assassinated by Ptolemy Alorites; Perdiccas III., who recovered his brother's throne by slaying Ptolemy, and who fell in battle against the Illyrians; and lastly, the celebrated Philip, of whom we have now to speak.

§ 4. 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. It seems probable that he made the personal acquaintance of Plato; and he undoubtedly acquired that command over the Greek language which put him on a level with the best orators of the day. But the most important lesson which he learned at Thebes was the art of war, with all the improved tactics introduced by Epaminondas. At the time of Philip's residence, moreover, Thebes

was the centre of political interest, and he must accordingly have had opportunities to become intimately acquainted with the views and policy of the various Grecian powers. The genius and character of Philip were well calculated to derive advantage from these opportunities. He had great natural acuteness and sagacity, so as to perceive at a glance the men to be employed, and the opportunities to be improved. His boundless ambition was seconded by an iron will, which no danger could daunt and no repulse dishearten; and when he had once formed a project he pursued it with untiring and resistless energy. His handsome person, spontaneous eloquence, and apparently frank deportment, were of great assistance to him in the prosecution of his schemes; whilst under these seducing qualities lurked no inconvenient morality to stand between his desires and their gratification. Corruption was his instrument as frequently as force; and it was one of his favourite boasts that he had taken more towns with silver than with iron.* Yet when force was necessary no man could wield it better; for with the skill of a general he united a robustness of constitution which enabled him to bear all the hardships of a campaign as well as the meanest soldier.

§ 5. Such was the man who at the age of 23 assumed the government of Macedonia (B.c. 359). It had probably been intrusted to him when his brother Perdiccas set out on the expedition against the Illyrians in which he fell; and after that event he became the guardian of his brother's infant son. This minority induced two pretenders to claim the crown: Pausanias, who was supported by the king of Thrace; and Argæus, whose claims were backed by the Athenians with a force of 3000 hoplites, because he had engaged to put them in possession of Amphipolis. But by his promises and address Philip contrived to propitiate both the king of Thrace and the Athenians; to the latter of whom he made the same offers as Argæus had done. The two pretenders being thus deprived of their supporters, were easily got rid of, and Philip was left at liberty to turn his arms against the Pæonians and Illyrians, who were threatening Macedonia with invasion. The former people were easily subdued, and Philip then marched against the Illyrians with a force of 10,000 men. He was met by Bardylis, the aged chief of Illyria, with an army of about the same strength. This was the first important engagement fought by Philip. He displayed in it the military skill which he had acquired in the school of Epa

66 'diffidit urbium

Portas vir Macedo et subruit æmulos

Reges muneribus."-HOR. Carm. iii. 16. 13.

minondas, and, like that commander, gained the victory by concentrating his forces on one point of the enemy's line. Nearly two-thirds of the Illyrian army were destroyed; and they were consequently compelled to submit unconditionally, and to place in the hands of Philip the principal mountain passes between the two countries. It was after these victories that Philip seems to have deposed his nephew, and to have assumed the crown of Macedon. This revolution, however, was unattended with harshness or cruelty. Philip continued to bring up his nephew at court, and ultimately gave him one of his daughters in marriage.

§ 6. It was natural that success acquired with so much ease should prompt a youthful and ambitious monarch to further undertakings. In anticipation of future conquests he devoted the greatest attention to the training and discipline of his army. It was in his Illyrian wars that he is said to have introduced the far-famed Macedonian phalanx. But perhaps the greatest of his military innovations was the establishment of a standing army. We have already noticed certain bodies of this description at Argos and Thebes. Philip, however, seems to have retained on foot the 10,000 men which he had employed against the Illyrians; and this standing force was gradually enlarged to double the number. Among the soldiers discipline was preserved by the severest punishments. Thus we hear of a youth of noble birth being scourged for leaving the ranks to get a draught of wine at a tavern; and of another who, though a favourite at court, was put to death for a similar offence, aggravated by a breach of positive orders.

§ 7. Philip's views were now 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

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