Though the ancient Macedonians spoke a form of Greek and worshipped Greek gods, the Greeks looked down on them as "barbarians" or backward foreigners.
In his speech, the Third Philippic, Demosthenes the Athenian said "Philip is no Greek… He is a filthy wretch from Macedonia, a place where it was never yet possible to buy a decent slave." Ouch!
The Philip Demosthenes was talking about was indeed King Phillip, the father of Alexander the Great. When Philip came to the throne, the kingdom was small, weak and threatened by enemies. He then created a powerful army, which he used to conquer the neighboring countries of Thessaly and Thrace. He even dominated the whole of Greece.
He was able to get the money because in 357 BC, Philip conquered Amphipolis, which is east of Macedonia. The region was famous for its gold mines, and Philip became the richest ruler in all of Greece. He used the money to hire more soldiers, buy off his enemies, and to win over influential Greeks with bribes!
In his speech, the Third Philippic, Demosthenes the Athenian said "Philip is no Greek… He is a filthy wretch from Macedonia, a place where it was never yet possible to buy a decent slave." Ouch!
The Philip Demosthenes was talking about was indeed King Phillip, the father of Alexander the Great. When Philip came to the throne, the kingdom was small, weak and threatened by enemies. He then created a powerful army, which he used to conquer the neighboring countries of Thessaly and Thrace. He even dominated the whole of Greece.
He was able to get the money because in 357 BC, Philip conquered Amphipolis, which is east of Macedonia. The region was famous for its gold mines, and Philip became the richest ruler in all of Greece. He used the money to hire more soldiers, buy off his enemies, and to win over influential Greeks with bribes!
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