four thousand men in the late action with the Illyrians. He succeeded in these points, by the artfulness of his addresses, and the force of his eloquence, of which he was a great master. His next step was to train and exercise them, and reform their discipline; and it was at this time that he instituted the famous Macedonian phalanx, which did so much execution. It was an improvement upon the ancient manner of fighting among the Grecians, who generally drew up their foot so close, as to stand the shock of the enemy without being broken. The complete phalanx was thought to contain sixteen thousand three hundred and eighty-four men; though it was also taken in general for any company or party of soldiers, and frequently for the whole body of foot. But this of Philip's invention is described by Polybius to be a long square, consisting of eight thousand pike-men, sixteen in flank, and five hundred in front; the men standing so close together, that the pikes of the fifth rank were extended three feet beyond the line of the front. The rest, whose distance from the front made their pikes useless, couched them upon the shoulders of those who stood before them, and so locking them together in file, pressed forward to support and push on the former ranks, whereby the assault was rendered more violent and irresistible. B. C. When Philip had made some proper 360. regulation of his affairs at home, he began to look abroad, in order to divert the storms which threatened him from all quarters. By money and promises he made up matters for the present with such of his enemies as lay nearest to him; and then turned his forces against the Athenians, who were march " He ed up to Methonè, to assist Argæus.* gave them battle, and defeated them; and the death of Argæus, who was killed in the action, put an end to that dispute; for he permitted the Athenians, when they were in his power, to return home. This instance of his moderation gained so far upon them, that they soon after concluded a peace with him; which yet he observed no longer than it served his design of securing the other part of his dominions. Accordingly he marched northward, where he declared war against the Pæonians,† and subdued them; then fell upon the Illyrians, and having killed above seven thousand of them in a pitched battle,+ obliged them to restore all their conquests in Macedonia. He had also obstructed the passage of the Thasians; but yet did not think it sufficiently secured, without making himself master of Amphipholis, which was very commodiously situated on the river Strymon, and was the key of that side of his dominions. He knew the importance of it, therefore he possessed himself of it in the beginning of his reign. This was the ground of his quarrel with the Athenians, who claimed it as one of their colonies, and made such a point of it, that their setting up Argæus against him was not so much for his own sake, as for the credit of imposing a king upon the Macedonians; as it was with a view to get the city re The battle of Methone was the first victory Philip ever won in Greece. The Pæonians were a literary and peaceable people, and immediately previous to the irruption of Philip into Pæonia, their king, Agos, dying, left the kingdom in an unsettled state; so that it submitted to Philip, without resistance. In this battle king Bardylis, then in his ninetieth slain. year, was stored to them by his means, in case he should have succeeded in his intentions. Philip was sensible of their drift, and finding it necessary at that time to keep some measures with them, would neither keep the place himself, nor let them have it; but took a middle course, and declared it a free city; thereby leaving the inhabitants to throw off their dependence on their old masters, and making it appear to be their own act. But the city continued no longer in this state than until he found himself at liberty to make a more thorough conquest of it; which at this time he easily effected, through the remissness of the Athenians, who refused to send any relief to it; alleging, in their excuse, that it would be a breach of the peace, which they had concluded with Philip the year before. But the truth is, he tricked them out of it by a pro mise of delivering it up to them. But instead of keeping his word with them, he made further encroachments by seizing on Pydna and Potidea; the latter of which being garrisoned by Athenians, he drew them out, and sent them home; but dismissed them with such marks of civility, as shewed that he avoided coming to an open rupture with that state, at least until his designs were more ripe for it; though at the same time he did what he could to weaken them, and drive them out of his neighbourhood. Pydna, with the territory belonging to it, he gave up to the Olynthians, who were his father's inveterate enemies. His hands were too full at this time to revive the quarrel against so rich and powerful a city, which, for three years together, had withstood the united forces of Sparta and Macedonia; he therefore chose to buy their friendship for the present, and to amuse them by the delivery of this town, as he had done the Athenians by the peace, until he could attack them at more advantage. In this step also he over-reached the Athenians, who were at the same time courting the alliance of the Olynthians, in order to maintain their footing in those parts. Which side soever the Olynthians inclined to, they were strong enough to turn the balance; and therefore the gaining them became a matter of great contention between Philip and the Athenians. From thence he proceeded to seize the city of Crenidæ, which had been built two years before, and then called it Philippi,† from his own name. It was here that he discovered a gold mine, which every year produced an hundred and forty-four thousand pounds sterling. This, which was an immense sum for that age, was much more serviceable than fleets or armies, in fighting his battles; and he seldom failed using it in every negotiation. It is said, that consulting the oracle at Delphi, concerning the suc cess of an intended expedition, he was answered by the priestess, that with silver spears he should conquer all things. He took the advice of the oracle, and his success was answerable to its wisdom: indeed he was less proud of the success of a battle, than of a negotiation; well In every instance Philip appears a favourite child of fortune;" he won battles without fighting, besieged cities, which were surrendered by treachery, and thereby escaped even the hazard of defeat: and sometimes overran kingdoms without meeting an hostile army. When he entered Thrace, Cotys, the king of that country, being in a state of mental derangement, fled to one of his places of retirement, and left Philip in quiet possession of his kingdom and his treasures. In the forty second year before the birth of Christ, a celebrated battle was fought at Philippi between the forces of Augustus and Anthony on one side, and the republican army under Brutus and Cassius on the other, in which the latter were defeated. knowing, that his soldiers and generals shared in the one, but that the honour of the latter was wholly his own. But a larger field was now opening to his ambition. The mutual divisions of the states of Greece were at no time wholly cemented, and they broke out now upon a very particular occasion. The first cause of the rupture (which was afterwards called the Phocian, or Sacred War) arose from the Phocians having ploughed up a piece of ground belonging to the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Against this all the neighbouring states exclaimed, as a sacrilege: they were cited before the council of the Amphyctions, who particularly took cognizance of sacred matters; they were cast; the sacred field was ordered to be restored to its former condition, and a heavy fine was imposed upon the Phocians. This the Phoçians were unable to pay; they refused to submit to the decree: they alleged, that the care and patronage of the temple anciently belonged to them; and, to vindicate this, they quoted a precedent from Homer.* Philomelus, one of their chief citizens, was principally instrumental in encouraging them to arms: he raised their ardour, and was appointed their general. He first applied himself, to the Spartans, who had likewise been fined by the Amphyctions, at the instance of the The *The Phocians next in forty barks repair, POPE'S HOMER, Book II. |