*Includes pictures
*Includes ancient accounts
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
"There is nothing impossible to him that will but try." - Alexander the Great
The role of Macedonia and the Macedonians in the ancient world is apparent to those with even a cursory knowledge of the period. After all, Alexander the Great and his father, Philip II, were both Macedonians, and most know at least a little about their violent struggles to conquer Greece and the Near East. However, Macedonian history began long before Philip II and Alexander III and continued for some time after they were gone. Thus, in many ways, the historical memory of Macedonia and the Macedonians is the victim of historical myopia which is, in part, the result of popular entertainment. Alexander the Great makes for great fiction, so the more "tedious" aspects of Macedonian culture are often overlooked.
An examination of ancient Macedonian culture, from its earliest known references to the arrival of the Romans, reveals that the Greeks' northern neighbors played an integral role in the development of Hellenic civilization. Although many of the traditional Greeks may not have considered the Macedonians to be fellow Hellenes at first, they were forced to accept them due to the Macedonian's superior military strength.
By the time Alexander the Great had led his army across the Persian Empire, he and his fellow Macedonians had been, for the most part, accepted as Greeks by most other Greeks, but it was a long process. As the Athenians developed their government and philosophies, the Macedonians dedicated themselves to the art of war. Because of this, ancient Macedonia was, in many ways, a stark contrast to the republics and democracies of classical Greece. The Macedonian government was a traditional monarchy where only the strongest of the kings were able to survive assassination attempts and palace coups. The Macedonian kings were also expected to lead their armies into war, which they did almost continuously.
Eventually, Macedonian culture slowly began to adopt many of their southern neighbors' attributes, and likewise, the Greek city-states came to see the Macedonians as less barbarian and more Greek. By the time the Romans had conquered Greece in the 2nd century BCE, Macedonia had been viewed by most Greeks and nearly all Romans as nothing more than the northern reaches of Greece.
More importantly, the Macedonians were arguably the most responsible for spreading Hellenism across the world than even the Greeks and Romans. When Alexander died at the age of 32, he had made himself the most powerful man in the world, and his dominions stretched from the Punjab to modern Albania, making him one of the most successful conquerors in history. Alexander and his successors Hellenized as far as they reached, from Egypt to Persia and parts of Asia Minor, and their influence is still readily visible. Anthropologists have found that some of the earliest Buddha statues constructed in India bear an uncanny resemblance to Greek depictions of Apollo. Further west, much of Alexander's old empire was eventually conquered in the following centuries by Rome, including Ptolemaic Egypt, but instead of ending the Hellenistic culture, the Roman Empire further reinforced it. Having conquered Greece itself around 100 BCE, the Roman Empire heavily assimilated the Greeks' culture into its own. Latin was an offshoot of the Greeks' language, the Romans' mythology was nearly identical, and Roman poetry, literature and art all closely resembled what was produced to their east in the preceding centuries. As such, the Macedonians played a vital role in the course of Western Civilization.
Ancient Macedonia: The History and Legacy of Alexander the Great and the Macedonians in Antiquity examines one of the most important ancient powers throughout its long and illustrious history.