Philip II of Macedon
King of Macedon
"I appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober."โ Said by a woman whose petition he had unjustly rejected while drunk.
Biography
Philip II ascended the throne when Macedon was on the brink of collapse, threatened by Illyrians and Thracians. Through diplomatic genius and military innovation, he turned the tables.
He revolutionized warfare by introducing the 'sarissa' phalanxโinfantry armed with 6-meter pikesโand reorganizing the cavalry. He secured the gold mines of Mount Pangaion to fund his ambitions.
After the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), he established the League of Corinth, effectively unifying Greece under Macedonian hegemony. He planned the invasion of Persia but was assassinated by his bodyguard Pausanias before he could lead it, leaving the task to his son Alexander.