Philip II of Macedonia

by Ian Worthington

Alexander the Great is probably the most famous ruler of antiquity, and his spectacular conquests are recounted often in books and films. But what of his father, Philip II, who united Macedonia, created the best army in the world at the time, and conquered and annexed Greece? This landmark biography is the first to bring Philip to life, exploring the details of his life and legacy and demonstrating that his achievements were so remarkable that it can be argued they outshone those of his more famous son. Without Philip, Greek history would have been entirely different. Taking into account recent archaeological discoveries and reinterpreting ancient literary records, Ian Worthington brings to light Philip’s political, economic, military, social, and cultural accomplishments. He reveals the full repertoire of the king’s tactics, including several polygamous diplomatic marriages, deceit, bribery, military force, and a knack for playing off enemies against one another. The author also inquires into the king’s influences, motives, and aims, and in particular his turbulent, unraveling relationship with Alexander, which may have ended in murder. Philip became in many ways the first modern regent of the ancient world, and this book places him where he properly firmly at the center stage of Greek history.

Genres: History, Biography, Ancient History, War, Nonfiction, Greece, Ancient

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2008

About the author

Ian Worthington has been Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University since 2017. Before then, he held an endowed chair as Curators' Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Missouri, USA. He hails from northern England, taking his B.A. at Hull and M.A. at Durham, before moving to Monash University to do his Ph.D.

Worthington specializes in Greek history and oratory. To date, he has written 9 sole-authored books, 1 co-authored book, edited 9 books, translated 2 volumes of the Greek orators (in the University of Texas Oratory of Classical Greece series), and written over 100 articles and essays on Greek history, oratory, epigraphy, and literature.

Reviews

[Derek Weese · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to give such a well researched book a low rating, but I feel compelled to do so. I read a lot of history, ALOT of it. It informs my own writing (fiction) and helps me in building worlds. Not to mention its my major and I really am passionate about it.
But one thing that really annoys me about academic history (and this book is certainly 'academic') is that academics are terrible writers.
History is a story, in fact 'story' is the root word of history. It is the human story; there is no higher drama than the tales of those who accomplished great things in the past. All of the greatest works of fiction ever created (and I love my fair share of them) are still not as dramatic or epic as real life human events.
Most people now hate history. Why? Because, to them, it is boring. Whose fault is this? I believe that academia must own 90% of the blame for this. Sometime after World War Two the historical profession was taken over by those who would rather deal in theory (read: BS) rather than deal with what REALLY ACTUALLY HAPPENED. This, of course, took all of the humanity away from the subject matter and made history a boring, dusty place to be.
Ian Worthington obviously spent a great amount of time researching his subject and while he (thankfully) dealt with WHAT REALLY HAPPENED rather than some inane academic theories as to why without ever bothering to delve into what REALLY HAPPENED, he does so in a way that is at best a chore to read.
Philip II of Macedonia is easily one of the most interesting people to read about in Western History, just my two cents but Alexander the Great would not have accomplished what he did had the building blocks not been laid down by his father. Philip's story is one of battles, seiges, high stakes diplomacy, fiery oratory and being a Macedonian and a mans man also lots of drinking and sex and violence. How could this possibly be a boring story?
Kudos to Ian Worthington for researching so thoroughly, however I seek a better written account of this great man of history.

[John Bohman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was looking for a book on Phillip as it always seemed to me that what he accomplished was in many ways more impressive and complex than his more famous son. This book does a great job of telling that story in an easy to read narrative form, while giving you a great understanding of the source material.

[Jess ✩ · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS INCREDIBLE. I really enjoyed learning around Alexanders father and how he united Macedonia and how he paved the way for his son. I am definitely going to be checking out some of Worthington's other books because his writing his phenomenal.

Now to write a paper for this.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic biography of one of the most unknown hegemons of European history. Everyone knows his son, Alexander the Great, but few know about his father, Philip. He built the first nation-state in Europe, unifying, for the first time, all the Hellenic world (except Asia Minor due to his unforeseeable assassination). He took a poor, uncultured, and politically divided people, the Macedonians, and turned them into the most powerful empire in Europe at the time. How did Alexander manage to do what he did? Most of it was thanks to the impressive strategic accomplishments of his strangled father. A must-read for those who want to understand Greek history, particularly the rise of Alexander and the demise of Athens. If anything, it feels Worthington glosses over some details (i.e., Aristotle's involvement with Alexander or the Pella court). Still, I guess he wanted to keep the reading fluid, which he definitely achieves.

[Steve Donoghue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A first-rate biography - probably the best of its kind that could be written at our present level of archeological knowledge - of the complex, immensely capable father of Alexander the Great. Here's my review:

http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/rev...

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat revisionist of Alexanders role, but probably right so. Makes a good case that Philips achievements outshone his sons.