Alexander the Great 8
"The Man Who Would Be King": The Murder of Philip, the Might of Alexander
by CTCWeb Editors
"I Lived My Dreams Today" - The Libertines
Unbeknownst to Alexander, Philip was soon to die and had little time left in which to reconcile with his eldest son. In 336 BCE, in full view of the Macedonian people, Philip was brutally murdered. That evening, Philip walked in a procession to the theater together with thirteen statues, depicting one each of the twelve Olympian gods and one of Philip himself. To make an impressive public spectacle, Philip chose to showcase himself among the deities by appearing alone, with a reduced retinue of bodyguards. This was a fatal mistake.
A man named Pausanias (not to be confused with the famous author of the same name) dashed into the procession and stabbed Philip. Rushing away from the scene, Pausanias tripped and fell. Immediately, three of Philip’s bodyguards seized the assassin and killed him. But, it was too late; Philip was dead. Both Alexander and Olympias were suspected of being conspirators in a plot that led Pausanias to kill Philip, but no evidence to support this suspicion was ever found.
The political turmoil in the wake of the sudden death of Philip forced Alexander to act quickly. With cunning reminiscent of his hero Odysseus, Alexander captured the crown for himself. Philip’s death left some Macedonians believing that the newborn son of Philip and his Macedonian wife Cleopatra was the true heir to the throne. Alexander swiftly removed this obstacle by having the baby killed, along with those who opposed his succession to the throne.
As the new king, Alexander continued to act with calculated force against those who opposed him. Groups who rebelled against Macedonia upon learning of Philip’s death soon regretted their decision as Alexander’s mighty military force bore down upon them. The treatment of Thebes in 335 BCE exemplifies Alexander’s policies towards those who dared to attempt revolt. Although Thebes had allied itself with Philip, the city wavered on pledging allegiance to a 20-year old boy with no leadership experience.
Alexander marched his army to the gates of Thebes. Rebuffing the initial Theban force with only his archers, Alexander sent his general Perdiccas and a small fighting force to the gates the next day. Perdiccas burst through the city’s gates and Alexander and the rest of the army followed closely behind. Once inside the city walls, Alexander’s army destroyed Thebes. Over 6,000 of the citizens of the city were murdered and another 30,000 were sold into slavery. Buildings were torn from their foundations and the entire city was burned. The only structures to escape the terrible fury of the Macedonians were temples and the house of the poet Pindar, who had once written an ode to a past Macedonian king named Alexander.
Other cities considering revolt changed their minds and pledged allegiance to the young Macedonian king.
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