Peace of Philocrates
Encyclopedia
Peace of Philocrates is the name given to the peace treaty concluded in 346 BC
between Athens
and Macedon
under Philip II
. Philocrates was the name of the main Athenian negotiator of the Treaty.
and Potidea. Shortly afterwards, the Third Sacred War
began after the Phocian
seizure of the Temple of Apollo
in Delphi
. Athens allied herself with Phocis, against the other members of the Amphictyonic League
. In 354 or 353 BCE, the Thessalians, having been defeated by the Phocians, requested that Philip become archon
of Thessaly, to which Philip assented, drawing Macedon into the Sacred War. In 352 BC, Philip's erstwhile ally, the Chalkidian League
(led by Olynthos), alarmed by Philip's growing power, sought to ally themselves with Athens, in clear breach of their alliance with Philip. In response, Philip attacked Chalkidiki in 349 BC, and by 348 BC, had completely destroyed the Chalkidian League, razing Olynthos in the process.
The prominent Athenian politician Philocrates had suggested offering Philip peace in 348 BC, during the Olynthian war. However, the Athenian Ecclesia
(assembly) had effectively rejected this proposal by putting Philocrates on trial, and by the time he was cleared of the charges, it was too late to save Olynthos. The war between Athens and Philip thus continued through 347 BC, as did the Sacred War. In 347 BC, Philip sent privateers to attack Athenians colonies on various Aegean islands.
Philip had not involved himself in the Sacred War since his victory at the Crocus Field
in 352 BC. In the meantime, it became clear that the Sacred War could only be ended by outside intervention. In 347 BC, the Thebans
appealed to Philip for aid, and he sent a small force to their assistance. Philip sent force enough to honour his alliance with Thebes, but not enough to end the war—he desired the glory of ending the war personally, in the manner of his choosing, and on his terms.
with 1,000 hoplites, and the Athenians ordered everyone eligible for military service under the age of 40 to be sent to the Phocians' aid. However, between the Phocians' appeal and the end of the month, all plans were upset by the return of Phaleacus to power in Phocis; the Athenians and the Spartans were subsequently told that they would not be permitted to defend Thermopylae. It is not clear from the ancient sources why Phalaikos was returned to power, not why he adopted this dramatic change of policy. Cawkwell suggests, based on remarks of Aeschines
, that the Phocian army restored Phalaikos because they had not been properly paid, and further that Phalaikos, realizing that the army could not be paid and that the Phocians could no longer hope to win the war, decided to try and negotiate a peace settlement with Philip.
When the Athenians received this news, they rapidly changed policy. If Thermopylae could no longer be defended, then Athenian security could no longer be guaranteed. By the end of February, the Athenians had dispatched an embassy, including Philocrates, Demosthenes
and Aeschines, to Philip to discuss peace between Athens and Macedon. The embassy had two audiences with Philip, in which each side presented their proposals for the terms of the peace settlement. In the first meeting with Philip, Demosthenes is said to have mouthed forth a poem. He then got on a little way into the subject and suddenly stopped speaking and stood helpless, until he collapsed completely. During this meeting, Aeschines made the case that Philip should hand the former Athenian colony of Amphipolis
back to Athens in return for peace.
. On 23 April, the Athenians swore to the terms of the treaty in the presence of the Macedonian ambassadors. Amongst the principle terms were that Athens become Philip's ally, and that they forever renounce their claim to Amphipolis
.
After agreeing to the peace terms with Macedonian ambassadors in April, the Athenians dispatched a second embassy to Macedon, to extract the peace oaths from Philip; this embassy travelled to Pella at a relaxed pace, knowing that Philip was away on campaign against the Thracian
king Kersebleptes
. When they arrived, the Athenians (again including Demosthenes and Aeschines) were rather surprised to find embassies from all the principle combatants in the Sacred War were also present, in order to discuss a settlement to the war. Demosthenes became very anxious about these delays, and proposed that an Athenian delegation should sail without delay to any place where they might learn that Philip was to be found, and there receive from him the oath of ratification. Demosthenes later claimed that he was trying to prevent Philip seizing any more Thracian towns, but must have known that there was no chance of saving any of Kersebleptes's kingdom.
Despite his suggestions, the Athenian envoys, including himself and Aeschines, remained in Macedonia for three whole months, until Philip returned from Thrace, having subdued the whole country. When Philip returned from Thrace he received both the Athenian and other embassies. The Thebans and Thessalians requested that he take the leadership of Greece, and punish Phocis; conversely, the Phocians, supported by the Spartans and the Athenian delegations, pleaded with Philip not to attack Phocis. Philip, however, delayed making any decisions; "[he] sought by every means not to reveal how he intended to settle things; both sides were privately encouraged to hope that he would do as they wanted, but both were bidden not to prepare for war; a peacefully arranged concordat was at hand"; he also delayed taking the oaths to the Peace of Philocrates. Military preparations were ongoing in Pella during this period, but Philip told the ambassadors that they were for a campaign against Halus
, a small Thessalian city which held out against him. He departed for Halus before making any pronouncements, compelling the Athenian embassy to travel with him; only when they reached Pherae did Philip finally take the oaths, enabling the Athenian ambassadors to return home.
The Peace of Philocrates is intimately linked with the final end of the Sacred War. It was in the aftermath of finally ratifying the Peace that Philip applied the coup de grace. He had persuaded the Athenians and other Greeks that he and his army was heading for Halus, but it seems certain that he also sent other units straight to Thermopylae. Thus, when he swore oaths to the Athenian assembly in Pherae, his troops were already very close to Thermopylae; by the time the Athenian ambassadors arrived home (9 July), Philip was already in possession of the pass. By delaying the oaths, and making what was effectively a feint against Halus, he prevented the Athenians from seeing their imminent danger, and from having time to try and garrison the Thermopylae.
All of central and southern Greece was now at Philip's mercy, and the Athenians could not now save Phocis even if they abandoned the peace. However, the Athenians were still ignorant of this turn of events when Phocian ambassadors came to Athens to plead for military aid around the 9th July. The Athenian council recommended that the peace be rejected, and Thermopylae be occupied in order to help save Phocis; since, as far at the Athenian embassy knew, Philip's troops were still in Pherae, there seemed to be ample time to occupy the pass. By the 12th July the news that Philip was "in the gates" arrived in Athens; the Athenians then knew that the situation was hopeless, and instead of acting on the previous recommendation of the council, the Assembly instead passed a motion re-affirming the Peace of Philocrates. Demosthenes was one of those who recommended this stance. His argumentation, exposed in the oration On the Peace, is based on the fact that Athens is not ready for a war against all the other members of the League led by Philip. Thereby, he advised his countrymen to abide by the provisions of the peace, but he opposes Aeschines, who believed in an alliance between Macedon and Athens.
Between 344 and 342 BC, Philip tried to strengthen the peace, by converting it into a 'common peace', that all Greek states which chose to could join. In 344 BC, the orator Python was sent by Philip to Athens to defend Philip against the attacks of the war-party, and to propose possible changes to the peace. In response, Demosthenes delivered one of his most effective and famous speeches, the so-called Second Philippic
, attacking Philip and all his works. His ally Hegesippus
then proposed that the peace should indeed be amended, such that Philip should cede Amphipolis to Athens. The Assembly, stirred by Demosthenes' oratory, passed the motion, leaving the Macedonian embassy speechless—clearly, Philip could not, and would not give up Amphipolis. An Athenian embassy sent to Pella to discuss this proposal was given short shrift by Philip. However, Philip left the offer of a common peace open until 342 BC, when the Athenians again formally rejected the idea.
From 343 BC onwards, in order to try and disrupt the peace, Demosthenes and his followers used every expedition and action of Philip to argue that he was breaking the peace. For instance, in 342 BC, when Philip campaigned against the Cassopaeans, they declared that Philip was campaigning against Ambracia
, and an Athenian expedition was duly dispatched—but to Acarnania
, not Ambracia. Philip however seems to have had no intention of attacking Ambracia
, and the expedition thus achieved nothing. Finally, in 341 BC, matters began to come to a head. Athens sent out new settlers to the cleruchs on the Chersonsese under the command of Diopithes, who proceeded to ravage the territory of Cardia
, and ally of Philip. Philip therefore wrote to the Athenians to demand that they desist, but in his speech 'On the Chersonese
', Demosthenes persuaded the Athenians that since Athens was effectively at war with Philip anyway, there was no need to do what Philip asked; Diopithes therefore continued to cause trouble in Thrace. Then, in the Third Philippic
of approximately May 341 BC, Demosthenes accused Philip of breaking the peace by intervening in the affairs of Euboea. Callias of Chalcis now emerged as a potential ally of the Athenians; still intent on unifying the cities of Euboea under his leadership, he had been disturbed by the number of Euboean cities, particularly Eritrea
and Oreus
, adopting a pro-Macedonian stance. In June 341 BC, Athens and Chalcis allied themselves, and proceeded to attack Eritrea and Oreus and install suitable governance in thos cities. Callias then proceeded to harass the cities and shipping on the Gulf of Pagasae. Finally, in the Fourth Philippic delivered later in 341 BC, Demosthenes argued that Athens should send an embassy to the Persian king, requesting money for a forth-coming war with Macedon. The embassy was sent, much to Philip's anger, but was sharply rebuffed by the Persians.
In 341 BC, Demosthenes travelled to Byzantium
, which entered into an alliance with Athens. The Athenian statesman struck a similar deal with Abydos
, triggering Philip's petulance. The Athenians responded to Philip's grievances, denouncing the terms of the peace treaty, an action entailing the official declaration of war.
The peace officially collapsed in 338 BC
, when Philip passed Thermopylae, attacked the Amphissians, entered Phocis and seized Elateia. Demosthenes convinced the Thebans to enter their alliance against Macedon, when Philip made a final attempt to appease his enemies, proposing a new peace treaty. After his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea
, Philip as the absolute ruler of ancient Greece
imposed a new peace treaty, whose terms were very favorable for the defeated party but not as favorable as in the Peace of Philocrates.
346 BC
Year 346 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Corvus and Visolus...
between Athens
Classical Athens
The city of Athens during the classical period of Ancient Greece was a notable polis of Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Hippias...
and Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
under Philip II
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
. Philocrates was the name of the main Athenian negotiator of the Treaty.
Background
Athens and Macedon had been at war since 356 BC, after Philip's capture of the Athenian colonies of PydnaPydna
Pydna was a Greek city in ancient Macedon, the most important in Pieria. Modern Pydna is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Pieria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pydna-Kolindros, of which it is a...
and Potidea. Shortly afterwards, the Third Sacred War
Third Sacred War
The Third Sacred War was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians...
began after the Phocian
Phocis (ancient region)
Phocis was an ancient region in the central part of Ancient Greece, which included Delphi. A modern prefecture, also called Phocis is named after the ancient region, although the modern region is substantially larger than the ancient one.-Geography:...
seizure of the Temple of Apollo
Temple of Apollo
Temple of Apollo can refer to:*Greece**Temple of Apollo, Corinth**Temple of Apollo **Temple of Apollo at Bassae**Temple of Apollo Patroos*Cyprus**Temple of Apollo Hylates, Limassol*Italy**Temple of Apollo Palatinus, in Rome...
in Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
. Athens allied herself with Phocis, against the other members of the Amphictyonic League
Amphictyonic League
In the Archaic period of ancient Greece, an amphictyony , a "league of neighbors", or Amphictyonic League was an ancient association of Greek tribes formed in the dim past, before the rise of the Greek polis...
. In 354 or 353 BCE, the Thessalians, having been defeated by the Phocians, requested that Philip become archon
Archon
Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem ἀρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy.- Ancient Greece :In ancient Greece the...
of Thessaly, to which Philip assented, drawing Macedon into the Sacred War. In 352 BC, Philip's erstwhile ally, the Chalkidian League
Chalkidian League
The Chalkidian League was a federal state that existed on the shores of the north west Aegean from around 430 BCE until it was destroyed by Philip II of Macedon in 348 BCE.-History:...
(led by Olynthos), alarmed by Philip's growing power, sought to ally themselves with Athens, in clear breach of their alliance with Philip. In response, Philip attacked Chalkidiki in 349 BC, and by 348 BC, had completely destroyed the Chalkidian League, razing Olynthos in the process.
The prominent Athenian politician Philocrates had suggested offering Philip peace in 348 BC, during the Olynthian war. However, the Athenian Ecclesia
Ecclesia (ancient Athens)
The ecclesia or ekklesia was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens during its "Golden Age" . It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 30 with 2 years of military service by Solon in 594 BC meaning that all classes of citizens in Athens were able...
(assembly) had effectively rejected this proposal by putting Philocrates on trial, and by the time he was cleared of the charges, it was too late to save Olynthos. The war between Athens and Philip thus continued through 347 BC, as did the Sacred War. In 347 BC, Philip sent privateers to attack Athenians colonies on various Aegean islands.
Philip had not involved himself in the Sacred War since his victory at the Crocus Field
Battle of Crocus Field
The Battle of Crocus Field was a battle in the Third Sacred War, fought between the armies of Phocis, under Onomarchos, and the combined Thessalian and Macedonian army under Philip II of Macedon. In the bloodiest battle recorded in Ancient Greek history, the Phocians were decisively defeated by...
in 352 BC. In the meantime, it became clear that the Sacred War could only be ended by outside intervention. In 347 BC, the Thebans
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
appealed to Philip for aid, and he sent a small force to their assistance. Philip sent force enough to honour his alliance with Thebes, but not enough to end the war—he desired the glory of ending the war personally, in the manner of his choosing, and on his terms.
Peace negotiations
In early 346 BC, Philip let it be known that he intended to march south with the Thessalians, though not where or why. The Phocians thus made plans to defend Thermopylae, and requested assistance from the Spartans and the Athenians, probably around the 14th of February. The Spartans dispatched Archidamus IIIArchidamus III
Archidamus III , the son of Agesilaus II, was king of Sparta from 360 BC to 338 BC.While still a prince, he was the eispnelas of Cleonymus, son of Sphodrias. He interceded with his own father to spare his aites' father's life in a legal matter, an action which further intensified friction between...
with 1,000 hoplites, and the Athenians ordered everyone eligible for military service under the age of 40 to be sent to the Phocians' aid. However, between the Phocians' appeal and the end of the month, all plans were upset by the return of Phaleacus to power in Phocis; the Athenians and the Spartans were subsequently told that they would not be permitted to defend Thermopylae. It is not clear from the ancient sources why Phalaikos was returned to power, not why he adopted this dramatic change of policy. Cawkwell suggests, based on remarks of Aeschines
Aeschines
Aeschines was a Greek statesman and one of the ten Attic orators.-Life:Although it is known he was born in Athens, the records regarding his parentage and early life are conflicting; but it seems probable that his parents, though poor, were respectable. Aeschines' father was Atrometus, an...
, that the Phocian army restored Phalaikos because they had not been properly paid, and further that Phalaikos, realizing that the army could not be paid and that the Phocians could no longer hope to win the war, decided to try and negotiate a peace settlement with Philip.
When the Athenians received this news, they rapidly changed policy. If Thermopylae could no longer be defended, then Athenian security could no longer be guaranteed. By the end of February, the Athenians had dispatched an embassy, including Philocrates, Demosthenes
Demosthenes
Demosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by...
and Aeschines, to Philip to discuss peace between Athens and Macedon. The embassy had two audiences with Philip, in which each side presented their proposals for the terms of the peace settlement. In the first meeting with Philip, Demosthenes is said to have mouthed forth a poem. He then got on a little way into the subject and suddenly stopped speaking and stood helpless, until he collapsed completely. During this meeting, Aeschines made the case that Philip should hand the former Athenian colony of Amphipolis
Amphipolis
Amphipolis was an ancient Greek city in the region once inhabited by the Edoni people in the present-day region of Central Macedonia. It was built on a raised plateau overlooking the east bank of the river Strymon where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis, about 3 m. from the Aegean Sea. Founded in...
back to Athens in return for peace.
Ratification
The embassy then returned to Athens to present the proposed terms to the Ecclesia, along with a Macedonian embassy to Athens, empowered by Philip to finalize an agreement. The Athenians debated the peace treaty in April and tried to propose that the peace take the form of a "common peace" in which all Greek states could partake (including Phocis). However, Demosthenes (at this point a strong proponent of peace) persuaded the Ecclesia that Philip would never agree to such a peace, and that Athens's vulnerable position meant that they had little choice but to accept Philip's terms. The treaty was therefore to be bilateral only, between Macedon and Athens (and her allies in the second Athenian confederacySecond Athenian Empire
The Second Athenian Empire or Confederacy was a maritime confederation of Aegean city-states from 378 BC-355 BC and headed by Athens primarily for self-defense against the growth of Sparta and secondly, the Persian Empire.-Origins:...
. On 23 April, the Athenians swore to the terms of the treaty in the presence of the Macedonian ambassadors. Amongst the principle terms were that Athens become Philip's ally, and that they forever renounce their claim to Amphipolis
Amphipolis
Amphipolis was an ancient Greek city in the region once inhabited by the Edoni people in the present-day region of Central Macedonia. It was built on a raised plateau overlooking the east bank of the river Strymon where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis, about 3 m. from the Aegean Sea. Founded in...
.
After agreeing to the peace terms with Macedonian ambassadors in April, the Athenians dispatched a second embassy to Macedon, to extract the peace oaths from Philip; this embassy travelled to Pella at a relaxed pace, knowing that Philip was away on campaign against the Thracian
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
king Kersebleptes
Cersobleptes
Cersobleptes was son of Cotys, king of Thrace, on whose death in 358 BC he inherited the kingdom in conjunction with Berisades and Amadocus II, who were probably his brothers. He was very young at the time, and the whole management of his affairs was assumed by the Euboean adventurer, Charidemus,...
. When they arrived, the Athenians (again including Demosthenes and Aeschines) were rather surprised to find embassies from all the principle combatants in the Sacred War were also present, in order to discuss a settlement to the war. Demosthenes became very anxious about these delays, and proposed that an Athenian delegation should sail without delay to any place where they might learn that Philip was to be found, and there receive from him the oath of ratification. Demosthenes later claimed that he was trying to prevent Philip seizing any more Thracian towns, but must have known that there was no chance of saving any of Kersebleptes's kingdom.
Despite his suggestions, the Athenian envoys, including himself and Aeschines, remained in Macedonia for three whole months, until Philip returned from Thrace, having subdued the whole country. When Philip returned from Thrace he received both the Athenian and other embassies. The Thebans and Thessalians requested that he take the leadership of Greece, and punish Phocis; conversely, the Phocians, supported by the Spartans and the Athenian delegations, pleaded with Philip not to attack Phocis. Philip, however, delayed making any decisions; "[he] sought by every means not to reveal how he intended to settle things; both sides were privately encouraged to hope that he would do as they wanted, but both were bidden not to prepare for war; a peacefully arranged concordat was at hand"; he also delayed taking the oaths to the Peace of Philocrates. Military preparations were ongoing in Pella during this period, but Philip told the ambassadors that they were for a campaign against Halus
Alos, Greece
Alos or Halos was an ancient Greek city, located 10 km south from present-day Almyros. The city is mentioned by Herodotus as one of the places where the Persian king Xerxes stayed in the summer of 480 during his attack on Greece; Herodotus digresses upon a human sacrifice ritual...
, a small Thessalian city which held out against him. He departed for Halus before making any pronouncements, compelling the Athenian embassy to travel with him; only when they reached Pherae did Philip finally take the oaths, enabling the Athenian ambassadors to return home.
Settlement of the Sacred War
- Main article: Third Sacred WarThird Sacred WarThe Third Sacred War was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians...
(section "Settlement of the Sacred War")
The Peace of Philocrates is intimately linked with the final end of the Sacred War. It was in the aftermath of finally ratifying the Peace that Philip applied the coup de grace. He had persuaded the Athenians and other Greeks that he and his army was heading for Halus, but it seems certain that he also sent other units straight to Thermopylae. Thus, when he swore oaths to the Athenian assembly in Pherae, his troops were already very close to Thermopylae; by the time the Athenian ambassadors arrived home (9 July), Philip was already in possession of the pass. By delaying the oaths, and making what was effectively a feint against Halus, he prevented the Athenians from seeing their imminent danger, and from having time to try and garrison the Thermopylae.
All of central and southern Greece was now at Philip's mercy, and the Athenians could not now save Phocis even if they abandoned the peace. However, the Athenians were still ignorant of this turn of events when Phocian ambassadors came to Athens to plead for military aid around the 9th July. The Athenian council recommended that the peace be rejected, and Thermopylae be occupied in order to help save Phocis; since, as far at the Athenian embassy knew, Philip's troops were still in Pherae, there seemed to be ample time to occupy the pass. By the 12th July the news that Philip was "in the gates" arrived in Athens; the Athenians then knew that the situation was hopeless, and instead of acting on the previous recommendation of the council, the Assembly instead passed a motion re-affirming the Peace of Philocrates. Demosthenes was one of those who recommended this stance. His argumentation, exposed in the oration On the Peace, is based on the fact that Athens is not ready for a war against all the other members of the League led by Philip. Thereby, he advised his countrymen to abide by the provisions of the peace, but he opposes Aeschines, who believed in an alliance between Macedon and Athens.
Breakdown of the Peace
Although Demosthenes had been a principle architect of the Peace of Philocrates, almost as soon as it was made, he wished to be rid of it. In July 346 BC, he had been a proponent of saving Phocis, but unlike the rest of the Athenian assembly, he had insisted that the Athenians should still go to the Phocians aid even when it was known that Philip was in control of Thermopylae. Over the next few years, Demosthenes became leader of the "war-party" in Athens, and at every opportunity he sought to undermine the peace: "His method was simple and effective. He kept hammering away at untruths until enough Athenians came to believe them." Demosthenes believed that all Philip's successes were due to his bribery and corruption of the Greeks, a view which, although there is little evidence for it, became commonplace until re-examined by modern historians. Conversely, there was also a substantial body of feeling in Athens, led by Aeschines, that the peace should be maintained and developed. The political trials of the time can be used to gauge sentiment in Athens; in 345 BC, Aeschines prosecuted Demosthenes's ally Timarchus, who was duly convicted; conversely, in 343 BC, Demosthenes prosectued Aeschines, who was acquitted by the barest of margins. Until 343 BC therefore, the majority of the Athenian assembly therefore favoured maintaining the peace, even though they disliked it. Philocrates himself however, seeing that his policy was generally unpopular, had gone into exile before 343 BC.Between 344 and 342 BC, Philip tried to strengthen the peace, by converting it into a 'common peace', that all Greek states which chose to could join. In 344 BC, the orator Python was sent by Philip to Athens to defend Philip against the attacks of the war-party, and to propose possible changes to the peace. In response, Demosthenes delivered one of his most effective and famous speeches, the so-called Second Philippic
Second Philippic
The Second Philippic is an oration that was delivered by the Athenian statesman and orator Demosthenes between 344 BC-343 BC. The speech constitutes the second of the four philippics the orator is said to have delivered.-Historical background:...
, attacking Philip and all his works. His ally Hegesippus
Hegesippus
The Greek name Hegesippos, commonly Latinized as Hegesippus can refer to the following persons:* Hegesippus * Saint Hegesippus...
then proposed that the peace should indeed be amended, such that Philip should cede Amphipolis to Athens. The Assembly, stirred by Demosthenes' oratory, passed the motion, leaving the Macedonian embassy speechless—clearly, Philip could not, and would not give up Amphipolis. An Athenian embassy sent to Pella to discuss this proposal was given short shrift by Philip. However, Philip left the offer of a common peace open until 342 BC, when the Athenians again formally rejected the idea.
From 343 BC onwards, in order to try and disrupt the peace, Demosthenes and his followers used every expedition and action of Philip to argue that he was breaking the peace. For instance, in 342 BC, when Philip campaigned against the Cassopaeans, they declared that Philip was campaigning against Ambracia
Ambracia
Ambracia, occasionally Ampracia , was an ancient Corinthian colony, situated about 7 miles from the Ambracian Gulf in Greece, on a bend of the navigable river Arachthos , in the midst of a fertile wooded plain.-History:...
, and an Athenian expedition was duly dispatched—but to Acarnania
Acarnania
Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...
, not Ambracia. Philip however seems to have had no intention of attacking Ambracia
Ambracia
Ambracia, occasionally Ampracia , was an ancient Corinthian colony, situated about 7 miles from the Ambracian Gulf in Greece, on a bend of the navigable river Arachthos , in the midst of a fertile wooded plain.-History:...
, and the expedition thus achieved nothing. Finally, in 341 BC, matters began to come to a head. Athens sent out new settlers to the cleruchs on the Chersonsese under the command of Diopithes, who proceeded to ravage the territory of Cardia
Cardia
The cardia is the anatomical term for the part of the stomach attached to the esophagus. The cardia begins immediately distal to the z-line of the gastroesophageal junction, where the squamous epithelium of the esophagus gives way to the columnar epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract.Just...
, and ally of Philip. Philip therefore wrote to the Athenians to demand that they desist, but in his speech 'On the Chersonese
On the Chersonese
On the Chersonese is a political oration delivered by the Athenian statesman and orator Demosthenes in 341 BC. A short time later Demosthenes delivered one of his most famous speeches, the Third Philippic.-Historical background:...
', Demosthenes persuaded the Athenians that since Athens was effectively at war with Philip anyway, there was no need to do what Philip asked; Diopithes therefore continued to cause trouble in Thrace. Then, in the Third Philippic
Third Philippic
The Third Philippic was delivered by the prominent Athenian statesman and orator, Demosthenes, in 341 BC. It constitutes the third of the four philippics.-Historical background:...
of approximately May 341 BC, Demosthenes accused Philip of breaking the peace by intervening in the affairs of Euboea. Callias of Chalcis now emerged as a potential ally of the Athenians; still intent on unifying the cities of Euboea under his leadership, he had been disturbed by the number of Euboean cities, particularly Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
and Oreus
Oreus
Oreus was a town in northern Euboea. Demosthenes describes its conquest by Philip II of Macedon in the Third Philippic....
, adopting a pro-Macedonian stance. In June 341 BC, Athens and Chalcis allied themselves, and proceeded to attack Eritrea and Oreus and install suitable governance in thos cities. Callias then proceeded to harass the cities and shipping on the Gulf of Pagasae. Finally, in the Fourth Philippic delivered later in 341 BC, Demosthenes argued that Athens should send an embassy to the Persian king, requesting money for a forth-coming war with Macedon. The embassy was sent, much to Philip's anger, but was sharply rebuffed by the Persians.
In 341 BC, Demosthenes travelled to Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, which entered into an alliance with Athens. The Athenian statesman struck a similar deal with Abydos
Abydos, Hellespont
For other uses, see Abydos Abydos , an ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, situated at Nara Burnu or Nagara Point on the best harbor on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont. Across Abydos lies Sestus on the European side marking the shortest point in the Dardanelles, scarcely a mile broad...
, triggering Philip's petulance. The Athenians responded to Philip's grievances, denouncing the terms of the peace treaty, an action entailing the official declaration of war.
Aftermath
- Main article: Rise of MacedonRise of MacedonThe rise of Macedon, from a small kingdom at the periphery of Classical Greek affairs, to one which came to dominate the entire Hellenic world , occurred in the space of just 25 years, between 359–336 BC...
(section "Final campaign in Greece")
The peace officially collapsed in 338 BC
338 BC
Year 338 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Camillus and Maenius...
, when Philip passed Thermopylae, attacked the Amphissians, entered Phocis and seized Elateia. Demosthenes convinced the Thebans to enter their alliance against Macedon, when Philip made a final attempt to appease his enemies, proposing a new peace treaty. After his victory at the Battle of Chaeronea
Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)
The Battle of Chaeronea was fought in 338 BC, near the city of Chaeronea in Boeotia, between the forces of Philip II of Macedon and an alliance of Greek city-states...
, Philip as the absolute ruler of ancient Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
imposed a new peace treaty, whose terms were very favorable for the defeated party but not as favorable as in the Peace of Philocrates.