Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

In September, 356, a courier left Pella with a message for King Philip who was on the battlefield. The messages told him that his general, Parmenio, won a very important and decisive victory. He also learned that his wife gave birth to a son, Alexander in July.

Macedonia was divided into two regions, Upper Macedonia and Lower Macedonia. It was basically isolated from the rest of the Baltic peninsula by geography. The climate of Upper Macedonia was continental while that of Lower Macedonia was Mediterranean. Before the role of Philip, Macedonia had been weak and used as a buffer by other city states. All of the fighting by the various city stated allowed Macedonia to become very strong.

The King ruled in Macedonia but he was subject to certain rules. He could be deposed by a vote of the Macedonian assembly. The...