CONTENTS Sect. I. The birth and infancy of Philip. His first conquests. Sect. II. The sacred war. Sequel of the history of Philip Sect. III. Demosthenes harangues the Athenians against Phi- lip. That prince takes Olynthus Sect. IV. Philip declares for Thebes against the Phocans. Sect. V. Philip extends his conquests into Illyria and Thrace. Character of Phocion. His success against Philip Sect. VI. Philip appointed generalissimo of the Greeks. Athenians and Thebans unite against him. He gains a bat- Sect. VII. Philip declared generalissimo of the Greeks against the Persians. His death Egypt. Is declared son of Ju; iter Sect. IX. Alexander takes Arbela, Babylon, Susa, Persepo- lis; and finds immense riches in those cities Sect. XII. Lacedæmonia revolts from the Macedonians. An- tipater defeats Agis. Alexander marches against Bessus Sect. XIII. Alexander builds a city near the laxarthes. De- feats the Scythians Takes the city of Petra. Sect. XIV. Death of Clitus. Expeditions of Alexander. He commands worship to be paid to himself Sect. XV. Alexander sets out for India. Besieges and takes se veral cities. Defeats Porus, whom he restores to his throne 231 Sect. XVI. Alexander advances into India. He is exposed to great danger at the siege of Oxydrace Sect. XVII. Alexander is grievously distressed by famine. He marries Statira, the daughter of Darius Sect. XVIII. Alexander enters Babylon. His death. His corpse conveyed to the temple of Jupiter Ammon Sect. XIX. The judgment we are to form of Alexander Sect. I. Troubles which followed the death of Alexander. Sect. II. Revolt of the Greeks in upper Asia. Antipater goes into Greece. Flight and death of Demosthenes Sect. Ill. Procession of Alexander's funeral. Ptolemy, Cra- terus, Antipater, and Antigonus, confederate against each Sect. V. Phocion's death. Olympias causes Aridæus to be slain. She is murdered. Eumenes put to death THE HISTORY OF PHILIP. SECT. I. The birth and infancy of Philip. Beginning of his reign. His first conquests. The birth of Alexander. ACEDON was an hereditary kingdom, situated in an tains of Thessaly; on the east by Boeotia and Pieria; on the west by the Lyncestæ ; and on the north by Mygdonia and Pelagonia. But after Philip had conquered part of Thrace and Illyrium, this kingdom extended from the Adriatic Sea to the river Strymon. Edessa was at first the capital of it, but afterwards resigned that honour to Pella, famous for giving birth to Philip and Alexander. Philip, whose history we are going to write, was the son of Amyntas II. who is reckoned the sixteenth king of Macedon from Caranus, who had founded that kingdom about 430 years before; that is, in the year of the world 3210, and before Christ 794. The history of all these monarchs is sufficiently obscure, and includes little more than several wars with the Illyrians, the Thracians, and other neighbouring people. The kings of Macedon pretended to descend from Hercules by Caranus, and consequently to be Greeks by extraction. Notwithstanding this, Demosthenes often styles them Barbarians, especially in his invectives against Philip. The Greeks, indeed, gave this name to all other nations, without excepting the Macedonians. a Alexander, king of Macedon, in the reign of Xerxes, was excluded, upon pretence of his being a Barbarian, from the Olympic games; and was not admitted to share in them, till after having proved his being descended originally from Argos. The above-mentioned Alexander, when he went over from the Persian camp to that of the Greeks, in order to acquaint the latter that Mardonius was determined to surprise them at day-break, justified his perfidy by his ancient descent, which he declared to be from the Greeks. The ancient kings of Macedon did not think it beneath them to live at different times under the protection of the Athenians, Thebans, and Spartans, changing their alliances as it suited their interest. Of this we have several instances in Thucydides. One of them, named Perdiccas, with whom the Athenians were dissatisfied, became their tributary; which continued from their settling a colony in Amphipolis, under Agnon the son of Nicias, about 48 years before the Peloponnesian war, till Brasidas, the Lacedæmonian general, about the fifth or sixth year of that war, raised that whole province against them, and drove them from the frontiers of Macedon. We shall soon see this Macedon, which formerly had paid tribute to Athens, become, under Philip, the arbiter of Greece; and triumph, under Alexander, over all the forces of Asia. a Amyntas, father of Philip, began to reign the third year of the ninety-sixth Olympiad. Having the very year after been warmly attacked by the Illyrians, and dispossessed of a great part of his kingdom, which he thought it scarcely possible for him ever to recover again, he had addressed himself to the Olynthians; and, in order to engage them the more firmly in his interest, had given up to them a considerable tract of land in the neighbourhood of their city. According to some authors, Argæus, who was of the blood royal, being supported by the Athenians, and taking advantage of the troubles which broke out in Macedonia, reigned there two years. Amyntas was restored to the throne by the Thessalians; upon which he was desirous of resuming the possession of the lands, which nothing but the unfortunate situation of his affairs had obliged him to resign to the Olynthians. This occasioned a war; but Amyntas, not being strong enough to make head singly against so powerful a people, the Greeks, and the Athenians in particular, sent him succours, and enabled him to weaken the power of the Olynthians, who threatened him with a total and impending ruin. It was then that Amyntas, in an assembly of the Greeks, to which he had sent a deputation, engaged to unite with them in enabling the Athenians to possess themselves of Amphipolis, declaring that this city belonged to the lastmentioned people. This close alliance was continued after his death with queen Eurydice, his widow, as we shall soon see. Philip, one of the sons of Amyntas, was born the same year this monarch declared war against the Olynthians. This Philip was father of Alexander the Great; for, we Ant. J. C. 398, a A. M 3606. d A. M. 3621. Ant, J. C. 383. cannot distinguish him better than by calling him the father of such a son, as a Cicero observes of the father of Cato of Utica. Amyntas died, after having reigned 24 years. He left three legitimate children, whom Eurydice had brought him, viz. Alexander, Perdiccas, and Philip, and a natural son named Ptolemy. Alexander succeeded his father as eldest son. In the very beginning of his reign, he was engaged in a sharp war against the Illyrians, neighbours to, and perpetual enemies ef, Macedonia. Having concluded a peace with them, he put Philip, his younger brother, an infant, into their hands, by way of hostage, who was soon sent back to him. Alexander reigned but one year. c The crown now belonged by right to Perdiccas, his brother, who was become eldest by his death; but Pausanias, a prince of the blood royal, who had been exiled, disputed it with him, and was supported by a great number of Macedonians. He began by seizing some fortresses. Happily for the new king, Iphicrates was then in that country, whither the Athenians had sent him with a small fleet; not to besiege Amphipolis as yet, but only to take a view of the place, and make the necessary preparations for besieging it. Eurydice, hearing of his arrival, besought him to pay her a visit, intending to request his assistance against Pausanias. When he was come into the palace, and had seated himself, the afflicted queen, the better to excite his compassion, takes her two children, Perdiccas and Philip, and sets the former in the arms and the latter on the knees of Iphicrates; and then thus addresses him : "Remember, Iphicrates, that Amyntas, the father of these unhappy orphans, had always a love for your country, and adopted you for his son. "This double tie lays you under a double obligation. The "amity which that king entertained for Athens requires that you should acknowledge us publicly for your friends; and "the tenderness which that father had for your person "claims from you the heart of a brother towards these chil"dren." Iphicrates, moved with this sight and discourse, expelled the usurper, and restored the lawful sovereign. Perdiccas did not long continue in tranquillity. A new enemy, more formidable than the first, soon invaded his rea M. Cato sententiam dixit, hujus nostri Catonis pater. Ut enim cæteri ex patribus sic hic, qui lumen illud progenuit, ex filio est nominandus. De Offic. I. iii. n. 66. b A. M. 3629. Ant. J. C. 375. Diod. p. 373. Justin. l. vii. c. 4. c A. M. 3630. Ant. J. C. 374 Esch. de Fals. Legat. p. 399, 400. d Philip was not then less than nine years old. e Plutarch. in Pelop. p. 292. f Plutarch supposes, that it was with Alexander that Ptolemy disputed the empire, which cannot be made to agree with the relation of Eschines, who being his contemporary, is more worthy of credit. I have therefore thought proper to substitute Perdiccas instead of Alexander. |