Philip II of Macedonia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Thebes

According to some sources, Philip was held hostage in the house of the Theban politician, Pammenes, a friend of the Theban general Epaminondas, for three years. Alexander was assassinated in 365 BC and succeeded by Perdiccas III and Philip returned shortly thereafter.

Answer: Regent

Philip was the regent for his nephew Amyntas, who was too young to rule. Because of Philip's swift and decisive actions to protect the borders of Macedonia-- always vulnerable to warlike tribes-- the army acclaimed him king in 359 BC.

Answer: Amphipolis

Amphipolis had been independent of Athens since the Peloponessian War, but the city of Pericles had never given up the dream of recovering it. Philip had promised to conquer Amphipolis on Athens' behalf if the latter would give up Pydna. When Athens became involved in the Social War with its allies, Philip decided to keep both, prompting war with the Athenians.

Answer: Epirus

Olympias was the daughter of the King of Molossians, an Epirot tribe. Philip also married Phila of Elyiotis, an Audata of Illyria around this time for diplomatic reasons.

Answer: False

Athens engaged the Thracian chief Cetriporis, the Paeoninian chief Lyppius and he Illyrian Trabus against Philip. He gained the Olynthians as allies and awarded them the city of Potidaea for their support. It was imperative for him control the area because of its riches, especially gold.

This wealth dramatically changed the balance of power between him and the Macedonian nobility, to Philip's advantage. It also helped pay for Philip's military reforms.

Answer: Hetairoi

This force became the heavy 'shock' cavalry of the army. It was mainly composed intitially of Macedonian noblemen whom he had enriched with his new Thracian lands. The Pezhtairoi were the Royal Foot Companions, heavy infantry. He gave his heavy infantry a 14-21 foot pike, known as a sarissa.

The Hypaspists were either an elite light or heavy infantry; the sources are not clear. The Agema was Philip's bodyguard. Finally Philip added Agrinians as javlineers and Cretans as archers.

Answer: Dionysus I of Syracuse

The armies of the Greek city states were notorious for their weakness in siege warfare. Dionysus had fought a series of wars with Carthage in the late 5th, early 4th centuries that demanded skill in this type of warfare.

Answer: The Third Sacred War

Thessaly had tremendous influence within the Amphictyonic League, which had heavily fined Phocis for sacrilege to land belonging to the Delphic Shrine. The Phocians were led by the very competent Onomarchos, and he checked Philip twice in battle. The Macedonians retreated home.

But in 353-352 BC, he returned with a new army and more Thessalian allies and defeated Onomarchos and his army at Crocus Field. The victory made Philip master of Thessaly and opened central Greece to Macedonian power.

Answer: Olynthus

Philip had previously allied his Kingdom with the Olynthians. But the Chalchidic League, led by Olynthus, began to fear his power in Thrace and allied itself with Athens.In response, in 349 BC, Philip declared war and destroyed the League and Olynthus in the process.

Answer: Thermopylae

When the Phocians refused to cooperate, Athens and Sparta pulled out and the Macedonian King feigned negotiations and seized this important path into Central Greece. Macedonia was now the most powerful player in Central and Northern Greece.

Answer: Perinthus and Byzantium

Perinthus and Byzantium received Athenian and Persian support and the sieges failed. This support checked Philip's ambitions and guaranteed a war with Athens. In 338 BC that war came to a head at the Battle of Charoenea in Boeotia.

Answer: The Sacred Band of 300

The Theban Sacred Band, which had distinguished itself at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, opposed Alexander's Companion Cavalry and was destroyed almost to the man. Philip was now master of all Greece.

Answer: Strategos Autokrator

The League made Philip the Strategos Autokrator or Hegemon. He controlled the foreign relations of the League's Greek City States and could also use it, as could League members, to crush any dissent within factions of the city states.

Answer: A war of revenge against Persia

As Hegemon, Philip had by 336 BC already declared to the League that he was moving against Persia as revenge for the Persian invasion of 480-479 BC. He had already sent Parmenio across the Hellespont into Asia Minor with 10,000 men.

Answer: Pausanias

While some historians think Olympias and Alexander could have been involved,
the sources give no evidence to that theory. Pausanias' motives are unclear, but he seems to have been angry with Attalus, Philip's father-in-law, over some matter of honor and killed Philip because the latter would not give him his desired outcome. The invasion of the Persian Empire then had to be carried out by his son, soon to be known as Alexander the Great, who would stand on the shoulders of his father Philip II's accomplishments.