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M A C E D O N. 
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nians, were much 3 efs formidable than the Illyrians, being 
ftill in a very rude and uncivilized ftate, incapable of unit¬ 
ing under one head in fucli a manner as to bring any for¬ 
midable army into the field. While the Illyrians there¬ 
fore gave up the campaign' through mere caprice and un- 
fteadhiefs, Philip himfelf applied to the Paeonians, and 
by fair promifes and flattery prevailed upon them to de- 
filt. The king of Thrace, by means of a fum of money, 
was eafily prevailed upon to abandon the caufe of Paufa- 
nias; fothat Philip, freed from thefe barbarians, was now 
left at liberty to oppofe the Athenians, who fupported 
Argseus, and threatened a very formidable invafion. 
The appearance of the Athenian fleet before Methone, 
with that of Argseus at the head of a numerous army in 
Pieria, filled the whole country with confternation ; and 
Philip, who was by no means deficient in talents neceflary 
to recommend himfelf to the good graces of the people, 
took the opportunity of getting Amyntas fet alide, and 
himfelf declared king} for which indeed the clanger of 
the times afforded a very plaufibie pretext. Argmus, in 
the mean time, advanced with his Athenian allies towards 
Edeffa or Asge, the ancient capital of the Macedonian 
empire, where he hoped to have been amicably received 5 
but, finding the gates fliut againft him, he returned back 
to Methone. Philip haraffed him in his retreat, cutting 
off great numbers of his men, and afterwards defeated 
him in a general engagement; in which Argasus himfelf, 
with the flower of his army, was cut in pieces, and all the 
jeft'taken prifoners. 
This firlt inftance of fuccefs contributed greatly to raife 
the fpirits of Philip’s party ; and he himfelf took care to 
improve it in the bell manner poflible. Having taken a 
great number of prifoners, both Macedonians and Athe¬ 
nians, he determined, by his treatment of them, to ingra¬ 
tiate himfelf with both parties. The former were called 
into his prefence, and, after a gentle reprimand, admitted 
to fwear allegiance to him ; after which they were diftri- 
Tbuted through the army; the Athenians were entertained 
at his table, difmified without ranfom, and their baggage 
reftored. The prifoners were juft allowed time to return 
to their native city and to fpread abroad the news of Phi¬ 
lip’s generality, when they were followed by ambaffadors 
from Macedon with propofals for peace. As he knew 
that the lofs of Ainphipolis had greatly irritated them, he 
now thought proper to renounce his jurifdiftion over that 
iftty; and it was accordingly declared free and indepen¬ 
dent, fubjeft only to the government of its own free 
and equitable laws. This artful conduft, together with 
bis kind treatment of the prifoners, fo wrought upon the 
minds of the Athenians, that they confented to the re¬ 
newal of a treaty which had formerly fubfifted between 
them and his father Amyntas. Thus he found means to 
remove all jealoufy of his ambition or the fchemes he 
might afterwards undertake to their prejudice; and not 
only this, but to induce them to engage in a ruinous 
war with their allies, which occupied their attention un¬ 
til Philip had an opportunity of getting his power fo well 
effablilhed that it was iinpoflible to (hake it. 
Diodorus Siculus, and all the Roman writers who have 
treated of the hiftory of Greece, affert that Philip, in the 
firlt year of his reign, inftituted the Macedonian phalanx; 
a body of 6000 men armed with fliort (words fitted either 
for cutting or dabbing, having alfo ilrong bucklers four 
feet long and two and a half broad, and pikes fourteen feet 
long; ulitally marching fixteen men deep. But this opi¬ 
nion is controverted by others. Dr. Gillies fuppofes that 
theopinibn had arifen from the Romans meeting with the 
phalanx in its complete form in Macedon ; and, as they 
became acquainted with Greece and Macedon pretty nearly 
at the fame time, it was natural for them to fuppofe that it 
had been invented among the Macedonians. The pha¬ 
lanx, he fays, is nothing different from the armour and ar¬ 
rangement which had always prevailed among th$ Greeks, 
amAvhich Philip adopted in their mod perfect form ; “nor 
is there reafon (fays he) to think that a prince, who knew 
the danger of changing what the experience of ages had 
approved, made any alteration in the weapons or taffies 
of that people. The improvement in the countermarch, 
to which Philip gave the appearance of advancing inftead 
of retreating, mentioned by ^Elian in his T' tics, cap. 
xxviii. was borrowed, as this author tells us, from the La¬ 
cedemonians. If Philip increafed the phalanx, ufually 
lefs numerous, to 6000 men, this was far from an improve¬ 
ment ; and the latter kings of Maoedon, who fweiled it 
to 16,000, only rendered that order of battle more un¬ 
wieldy and inconvenient.” Inftead of this, Philip, ac¬ 
cording -to our author, employed himfelf in procuring 
arms, horfes, and other neceflary materials for war; and 
in introducing a more fevere and exadt military difeipline 
than had formerly been known in Macedon. 
Of the exploits of this great captain we have taken a ge¬ 
neral view under the article Greece, vol. viii. p. 921-935. 
In military talents, ambition, and bad faith, he more re- 
fembled the hero of recent hiftory, Napoleon Bonaparte, 
than any charafter that can be quoted. This we think 
will be very evident from the particulars related in that 
article, as well as from fucli as remain to be prefented to 
the reader in this place. 
Philip had no fooner reduced the Paeonians and Illyrians, 
than lie began to putin execution greater defigns than any 
he had yet attempted. The rich confts to the fouthward 
of Macedon, inhabited’chiefly by Greeks, prefented a ftrong- 
temptation to his ambition and avarice. The confederacy 
of Olynthus, after having thrown off the yoke of Sparta, 
was become more powerful than ever, and could fend into 
the field an army of 10,000 heavy-armed troops, befidesa 
number of cavalry in proportion. Mod of the towns in 
Chalcidice were become its allies or fubjefts ; fo that this 
populous and wealthy province, together with Pangteus 
on the right and Pieria on the left, of both which the ci¬ 
ties were either independent or fubject to the Athenians, 
formed a barrier not only fuffleient to guard againft any 
incurfions of the Macedonians, but which was even formi¬ 
dable to them. But.thoughPhilip was fenfible enough of the 
importance of thole places, he confidered the conqneft of 
Ainphipolis as more neceflary at the prefent time. By the- 
poffeffion of this place Macedon would be connected with 
the fea, and would be fecured in many commercial advan¬ 
tages, which could not but contribute greatly to the prof- 
perity of the kingdom at large;. a road was likewife opened 
to the woods and mines of Pangteus, the former of which 
were fo neceflary to the railing of a naval power, and the 
latter for the eltabliftiment of a proper force. This city- 
had indeed been declared independent by Philip himfelf 
in the beginning of His reign ; but this was only to pre¬ 
vent a rupture with the Athenians, who ftill afierted their 
right to it as an ancient colony; though, by reafon of the 
perfidy of Charidemus, a native of Euboea, they had hi¬ 
therto failed in their attempts to recover it. The Amphi- 
politans, however, having once enjoyed the fweets of li¬ 
berty, prepared to maintain themfelves in their independ¬ 
ence. In the mean time the hoftile defigns of Philip, 
which all his precaution had not been able to conceal, 
alarmed the inhabitants to fucli a degree, that they thought 
proper to put themfelves under the protection of the Glyii- 
thians. By them they were readily received into the con¬ 
federacy ; and, truftingto the ftrength of their new allies, 
behaved in fuch aninlolent manner to Philip, that he was 
not long in finding a lpecious pretext for hoftility; uoon 
which the Olynthians fentambafiadors to Athens, reo 11 eff¬ 
ing their afliftance againft (uch a powerful enemy. 'Phi¬ 
lip, however, juftly alarmed at fuch a formidable confoi- 
racy, fent agents to Athens with fuch expedition, that 
they arrived there before any thing could be concluded 
■with the Olynthian deputies. Having gained over the 
popular leaders and orators, he deceived and flattered the 
magiftrates and fenate in fucli an artful manner, that a 
negociation was inftantly fet on foot, by which Philip en¬ 
gaged to conquer Ainphipolis for the Athenians, upon 
condition that they lurrendered to him the Itrong fortreft 
of 
