League Of Macedonian Essay

The League of Corinth was quintessentially represented a tool of Macedonian control over the known Greek world. Yet to fully understand how the League of Corinth can be interpreted as an instrument of Macedonian control, one must recognise the unstable relationship between the Macedonians and the Greek city states, particularly the Athenians, prior to the formation of the League in 337 BC. Indeed, Philip’s reign as Macedonian king, one of initial instability and uncertainty, eventually became a rule which dominated the ancient Aegean world. Yet this increasingly dominate power that Philip had acquired, became a source of discontent among smaller state powers; Rhodes suggests that ‘various acts of hostility were committed against Philip’. Indeed Callias had attacked cities on the gulf of Pagasae, also having captured ships headed for Macedon; the Peparethians expelled Philip’s troops from Halonnesus.
Their alternating attacks against each other characterised this hostility. Indeed, after having initially given up Macedonian claim over Amphipolis by withdrawing Perdiccas’ garrison from the city, to which Diodorus had claimed Philip ensured peace with Athens by doing this, Philip captures Amphipolis in 357BC, much to Athenian distaste; the Athenians furthered this unstable relationship upon seizing a Macedonian Herald, and publishing his dispatches; in 340 BC Athens had openly declared war on Philip, both accusing one another of breaking the Peace of Philocrates when Philip had captured Athenian merchant ships waiting to be escorted from the Black sea. Yet arguably because of the League of Corinth, Philip found a solution to Greek hostility. The league granted the submission of Athenian power as well as the other Greek city states, under Macedonian control; the Athenians alongside the many other states had to swear an