Philip's Successes against the Chalcidians and Athens

Following his defeat of Onomarchus and the Phocians in 353, Philip turned his attention to the north (Illyria, Epirus, Thrace) in campaigns about which little is known (Dem. I 13). But in 349 the reckoning with the Chalcidian League - deferred by an alliance in 357 - came due. Philip invaded, defeated the Chalcidians in two battles, and shut them up in their chief town Olynthus (Diod. XVI 52-53). The Athenians came to the Chalcidians’ aid (Philochorus, BNJ 328, Frr. 49-51), but Philip had anticipated that.

The Athenians still held the island of Euboea where, however, many were ready to revolt. Philip had long since taken up contact with would-be rebels (Dem. IV 37) and, as the Athenians sent aid to the Chalcidians, a revolt on Euboea broke out (Plut. Phoc. 12-14). If the Athenians had concentrated all their forces in one theater, they might either have beaten Philip or have retained Euboea, but they tried to do both, and lost twice. Olynthus was betrayed into Philip’s hands (Diod., l. c.), and the Euboean towns became independent.

Thereafter Philip consolidated his influence in northern and central Greece. In Thessaly he arranged for his election as tagos (Just. XI 3,2; cf. Diod. XVII 4) and thenceforward ruled the kingdoms of Thessaly and Macedonia in personal union. He installed partisans of his as “tetrarchs” of the Thessalian tetrads (Dem. IX 26; Theopompus, BNJ 115, Fr. 208) and expelled the rulers of various cities (Diod. XVI 69). Philip then turned to the north again and waged war against Cersobleptes, the king of Thrace (Aesch. II 81 with Harding, Nr. 76).

In 346 Philip and the Athenians swore a treaty, the Peace of Philocrates, on the basis that each party should “hold what it held” - i. e., respect the territorial status quo (Dem. XIX 143 and VII passim). Athens thereby hoped to secure its possession of the Chersonese which Philip threatened; Philip in the short term wished to deprive Cersobleptes of an ally in the Athenians. Moreover, Philip wanted a free hand in central Greece to deal with the Phocians permanently - the terms of the Peace of Philocrates expressly excluded Phocis from the Peace (Arg. B to Dem. XIX, p. 337).