Person

Philip II of Macedon

r. 359–336 BCE · 4th century BCE

Philip II was king of Macedon from 359 to 336 BCE and the father of Alexander the Great. He professionalised the Macedonian army, introduced the sarissa phalanx and used diplomacy and conquest to dominate the Greek city-states. His reforms laid the groundwork for the Macedonian Empire, and he was assassinated in 336 BCE.

Philip II of Macedon
Image: Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 6 profiles

Macedonian EmpireFoundation, SocioeconomyAthensDecline, SummaryDelphiMilitaryByzantiumMilitary, SummaryBoeotian LeagueMilitary, Decline, SummaryOdrysian KingdomMilitary, Decline, Summary

Mentioned in 29 state histories

Kingdom of MacedonMethone (Pieria)LarissaOrchomenus (Boeotia)PharsalusOzolian LocrisScythiaByzantiumAbderaMaroneiaPerinthusPlataeaand 17 more

Great speeches

Demosthenes' First Philippicc. 351 BCE

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Philip II of Macedon. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/philip-ii-of-macedon
MLA
“Philip II of Macedon.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/philip-ii-of-macedon. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Philip II of Macedon.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/philip-ii-of-macedon.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Philip II of Macedon’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/philip-ii-of-macedon (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻