Why Did Macedon Gain Dominance Over Greece?
How did Macedon gain dominance over Greece? What methods did Philip use to increase his power? “The end of the Peloponnesian War did not bring an end to conflict among prominent Greek city-states contending for power over each other. In the fifty years following the war, Sparta, Thebes, and Athens struggled militarily to win a preeminent position without, in the end, achieving anything more than weakening each other and creating a vacuum of power on the international level. That void was filled by the unexpected rise to military and political power of the kingdom of Macedonia during the reign of Philip I1 (ruled 359-336 B.c.)” [1]. This is not surprising that would be a new rise to power after a war of the size and impact as the Peloponnesian
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“ Macedonia was a rough land of mountains and lowland valleys just to the north of Greece, and life there was harder than in Greece because the climate was colder and more dangerous and because the Macedonians' western and northern neighbors periodically launched devastating raids into Macedonian territory. The Macedonian population was especially vulnerable to such raids because they generally lived in small villages and towns without protective walls” [2]. Philip was determined to ensure that the Macedonian people were viewed and treated with respect and that they were taking seriously throughout Greece. He was willing to do anything and everything to make sure of that fact did not go unnoticed. “Demosthenes spoke so forcefully against Philip I1 because he recognized how ambitious was this king, the person most responsible for making Macedonia into an international power and doing so against heavy odds. For one thing, strife in the royal family and disputes among the leading families had always been so common that Macedonia before Philip's reign had never been sufficiently united to mobilize its full military strength” [3]. This would at first seem to be a huge loss for Philip II and the Macedonian military but there would lay a twist that would change the course of history for Philip
“ Macedonia was a rough land of mountains and lowland valleys just to the north of Greece, and life there was harder than in Greece because the climate was colder and more dangerous and because the Macedonians' western and northern neighbors periodically launched devastating raids into Macedonian territory. The Macedonian population was especially vulnerable to such raids because they generally lived in small villages and towns without protective walls” [2]. Philip was determined to ensure that the Macedonian people were viewed and treated with respect and that they were taking seriously throughout Greece. He was willing to do anything and everything to make sure of that fact did not go unnoticed. “Demosthenes spoke so forcefully against Philip I1 because he recognized how ambitious was this king, the person most responsible for making Macedonia into an international power and doing so against heavy odds. For one thing, strife in the royal family and disputes among the leading families had always been so common that Macedonia before Philip's reign had never been sufficiently united to mobilize its full military strength” [3]. This would at first seem to be a huge loss for Philip II and the Macedonian military but there would lay a twist that would change the course of history for Philip