The strategic capture of Amphipolis and Potidaea helped secure gold and other valuable resources that would generate the wealth that was needed for the growth and stability to elevate the status of Macedonia as a major player in the Greek arena. After moving deeper into a state of abundance, Philip then naturally turned his attention towards Greek affairs, which had been in a state of turmoil and competition all throughout most of Greek history.

The Sacred War was a war in which the Phocians, who once guarded the secret pass at Thermopylae during the great stand against the Persians during the second Greco-Persian War, were now being accused of encroachment upon sacred Delphic territory by the Amphictyonic League— a religious council made up of representatives from various Greek city-states. It’s ironic that during the wars against the Persians, many of the greatest attributes of the Greeks were highlighted, but in the period afterwards, many of those whose actions once could be considered heroic gradually seemed to decline in valor and principle.

After refusing to pay a fine imposed upon them by the Amphictyonic League, the Phocians doubled down and seized Delphi, using the sanctuary’s wealth to hire mercenaries. The capture of the Oracle of Delphi, being one of the most respected institutions of the Greek world, was no trivial matter, and became a cause worth fighting and dying for to some.

The Thessalians, who had a longstanding rivalry with the Phocians due to mostly border disputes, had sided with the Amphictyonic League and once again opposed them during the Third Sacred War. The Phocians, surrounded by enemies, decided to invade their traditional rival, which was historically wealthier and more powerful than Phocis, but due to the sacrilege that occurred in Delphi, they were now powerful enough to challenge Thessaly in open combat. Thessaly itself was not a perfectly unified state, meaning that it was not necessary for the Phocians and their mercenary allies to challenge all of Thessaly at once.

The Thessalians appealed to Philip for aid in the conflict, which he may have seen as an opportunity to expand Macedonian interests, and with his new war machine in heavy momentum, decisively defeated the Phocians at the Battle of Crocus Field. This victory did not come without its rewards, and Philip was eventually given access to Thessalian resources such as cavalry, which they were famous for, and also political influence, effectively becoming archon of Thessaly, and began to be seen as a unifying force that brought the whole state in greater order. He was also seen as a champion for Apollo in his defense of the Delphic Oracle, which was a place of worship to Apollo. Six years after the Battle of Crocus Field, when the Third Sacred War ended, Phocis was removed from the Amphictyonic League with Philip’s help, and as a result, Macedonia was given their previous two votes, which helped solidify his influence in Greek politics overall.

Macedonian influence, while presented as the solution to the continuing Greek rivalries, was not seen as the solution to all. Athens and Thebes, who had previously seen each other as rivals since Thebes was strongly allied with Sparta before Sparta asserted itself too strongly and was put down by statesman and general Epaminondas, began to view Macedonian intervention as meddling, and both formed an alliance to oppose Macedon. This resulted in the Battle of Chaeronea. Thebes had been the dominant power in Greece after defeating the Spartans, but even their alliance with Athens proved ineffectual against the Macedonian army. Philip’s son, Alexander III, participated in this battle by commanding the left wing of the army, at only the age of around eighteen years old, and it was his first experience in a major battle.

The Battle of Chaeronea marked the end of the age of feuding independent Greek city-states and brought forth the age of a more unified Greece under the banner of Macedonian hegemony. The League of Corinth was established, which allowed independent Greek city-states to retain some level of autonomy, but were ultimately bound together under Macedonian authority. City-states like Sparta did not participate, and were mostly ignored by Macedon, which I interpret as they no longer represented the threat to opposition they once did.

The irony here is that Thebes unknowingly sowed the seeds of its own undoing. In taking Philip hostage in his earlier days, they had inadvertently educated him on exactly how to beat them at their own game by allowing him to witness what was then the dominant power of Greece and its inner workings.

As Philip himself was somewhat of a prodigy, so too was his son Alexander, who was destined to blaze a trail far beyond the boundaries of Greece, and finish bringing into concrete reality the dream that his father had dreamt about a secure and prosperous kingdom. No known land was out of reach, and no old enemies were safe.