NOTICIA SOBRE LA EDAD MEDIA
51. EL CISMA DE ORIENTE
When Alexander chastised his men for ingratitude in 324, he pic-tured the massive change in the nature of life in Macedonia during his father’s rule.
Philip took charge of you as wanderers without resources, most of you dressed in hides, pasturing a few sheep on the mountain-side, and fighting poorly for them against Illyrians and Triballians and the Thracians on our borders; he gave you cloaks to wear instead of skins, led you down from the mountains to the plains, made you worthy warriors against nearby barbarians, so that you came to rely on your own virtues rather than the security of your region. He defined you as residents of cities and arranged good laws and customs. Of those barbarians by whom you once were ruled and plundered, he made you masters rather than slaves and subjects.
(Arrian VII.9.2–3)
If we can accept the truthfulness of this harangue, Philip brought the Macedonians from a barbarian to a civilized status. Evidence, although it is meager, calls for some modification of the suddenness of the civilizing process, since an ongoing process of sedentarization and urbanization in Thessaly, Macedonia, and Epiros can be dated back from the end of the Bronze Age into the fourth century bce.
While Philip’s efforts greatly stimulated the process, village life had increased earlier in parts of Macedonia, especially regions in lower Macedonia influenced by Greek colonies that had been established early in the Iron Age and were becoming increasingly numerous in the eighth century and later. In most regions of Macedonia, villages were small, in terms of both territorial size and population. In western Macedonia, sites larger than about 7.5 to 10 acres (3–4 hectares) were rare. By contrast, the largest settlement was Pella, with 74 acres (27 hectares) and an acropolis of 4.5 acres (1.8 hectares).
Occupations also varied between regions: in those with exten-sive, fertile plains farming along with stock raising would be the means of existence for many, while more upland areas fostered tran-shumant pasturing as a way of life, the sort of life that Arrian reports through Alexander’s speech to his men. The resources of those same upland areas encouraged hunting and fishing and, as demand for Macedonian timber increased, harvesting the products of the forests would demand the labor of some of the population. Others engaged
in recovering mineral resources. Herodotos records mining from the time of Alexander I, noting one mine that yielded a talent of silver every day for that king (V.17). Another regular occupation for adult males was warfare, which, as we have seen, was almost a continual need. Calculations based on the number of free Macedonians indi-cate the pool of men that could be mobilized:
Before the reign of Philip: 80,000–100,000 During Philip’s reign: 160,000–200,000 During Alexander’s reign: 240,000–300,000
The size of population in Philip’s time is estimated at 700,000, an increase from 250,000 slightly more than a century earlier.
Some Athenians of the fourth century had rough words to describe the Macedonians. We have mentioned the view of the
Figure 2.7 Herding is a continuing occupation, especially in the highlands, as near Grevena. Photograph by Richard R. Johnson
Athenian orator Demosthenes that Philip was a barbarian from a dishonorable place (Philippics I.4). Modern assessments are generally kinder. Perhaps Demosthenes’ rhetoric, employed to rouse the Athenians against Philip, masked a personal estimation, given in the account of one of his contemporaries, that Philip was “the most gifted of men” (Aischines, On the Embassy 2.41). He would need special gifts to deal with Macedonia, which had the characteristics of a rough, pugnacious frontier society. Written sources recount the practice of blood feud; the need for a man to kill an enemy before he could exchange a halter for a belt, and to slay a boar with a spear without the use of a net before being able to be seated at symposia (both probably were coming-of-age and status rituals); a fondness for hunting wild animals; dances that replicated the theft of cattle and enacting a sham battle at the ceremony inaugurating the campaigning season; and drinking parties where wine unmixed with water could cause the death of a participant. Euripides’ play the Bakkhai was composed when the poet was in residence at the Macedonian capital and, consequently, the atmosphere of the tragedy is thought to have been inspired by the nature of Mace-donian life. It may be sufficient to recall that the chorus is com-posed of frenzied women devotees of Bakkhos/Dionysos, one of whom is the mother of the king, who himself is not a devotee of that god. Thinking that they have caught a fleeing animal that they will sacrifice to the god, the women tear the young king to shreds.
We must remember that most of our evidence derives from non-Macedonian accounts. There is little non-Macedonian written evidence, certainly no surviving work of Macedonian historians or tragic poets contemporary with Philip and Alexander. Material evidence, however, does point to a sophisticated artistic tradition. The dis-covery of the royal tombs at Vergina/Aigai dating to the fourth century was stunning proof of this sophistication. One tomb, perhaps the burial place of Philip himself, had two chambers. The largest held bronze vessels and weapons – including a bronze cuirass that had gilt appliqué designs with gold strips attached vertically – that were grouped in one corner, while silver objects rested in
another. Also found in the main chamber were five small carved ivory heads with realistic images, most likely of Philip, his parents, his wife Olympias, and their son Alexander. The larnax (coffin) in which the remains of the cremated deceased had been placed was fashioned of gold weighing more than 24 pounds. A beautifully wrought gold diadem lay near the head.
The material evidence, considered in connection with the efforts of King Philip II, suggests another “hidden” quality of Macedonian society. A king, no matter how effective he may be, needs more than a council of heads of major families and an army assembly of all Macedonian soldiers to control a sizeable kingdom. Administra-tive personnel and tools become increasingly essential as the state increases in size, complexity, and power vis-à-vis other, neighboring states. It has been argued that household functionaries of the early Macedonian court evolved into administrative positions. For
Figure 2.8 Mineral wealth: gold ivy wreath from a male burial in the ceme-tery of Sevasti, Pappas Mound, Prefecture of Pieria, c. 350 bce. Now in the Archaeological Museum of Thessalonike. Photograph by Richard R. Johnson
example, on this interpretation, the daites, once an overseer of kingly meals, took on administrative financial responsibilities.
When formerly independent regions became administrative dis-tricts they required oversight and, in some cases, collection of taxes.
The essential natural resources of the kingdom had to be supervised under central control. Dealing with envoys and sending envoys in return demanded coordination. Boundaries must be settled, treaties drawn up, scouts dispatched to learn the situation in the far-flung corners of Philip’s sphere of attention. Unfortunately, we do not have a Constitution of the Macedonians, to compare with the Aristotelian Constitution of the Athenians, to reveal the nature of the mechanisms that emerged to manage these responsibilities.
However, the success of Philip would be unimaginable without an efficient system of management. The accomplishments of earlier kings such as Alexander I and Archelaos indicate that the roots of that system had been planted at least a century before Philip’s reign.
Consequently, it is reasonable to envision that the extensive kingdom produced an increasingly more formal organization, at least at the core of the kingdom.