CHAPTER XIV
THE
MACEDONIANS
The most complete contrast to
the Athenians within the confines of the Greek world is presented by the
Macedonians.¹ We count them as Greeks in the wider sense of the word; their
language cannot have differed much from the dialects of Greece, and there is not
the slightest reason for assuming that their customs were more unlike those of
the regular Greeks than those of the Epirotes or Cretans for instance. But as
regards their civilization they represent the extreme end of a chain, the first
link of which is Athens. Athens developed certain genuine Greek peculiarities
in a marked manner, especially individualism in all departments, from the
highest to the lowest, and city organization. In Macedonia, on the other hand,
a peasant population is the prevailing element, and the result is that the
monarchy and the nobility have a preponderance of power.
It has been
said that the Macedonians are Greeks who have not got beyond the Homeric
standpoint, and there is a great deal of truth in the remark. With Homer, as in
Macedonia, personal authority predominates, and there is no such thing as
written laws. Alexander's preference for Homer had a deeper root than mere
literary taste; he felt himself at home in the Homeric world, which seemed lost
in the haze of a distant past to a Demosthenes. We will begin by taking a rapid
glance at the peculiarities of the Macedonian country and people.
Henceforth
Philip is the central figure in Greek history.
The
Macedonians were a vigorous peasant race, keen soldiers and hunters. A man who
had not killed his boar could not take a seat at a banquet with the men; those
who had never slain an enemy wore a cord round their waist. They respected
their kings, but sometimes preferred to follow the princes of the various
tribes. The nobility enjoyed great prestige; many nobles joined the king's
suite as friends (hetairoi), so as to be first in sharing danger and booty in
his campaigns. This
reminds us of the comitatus of the Germani.
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