Sykes' History of Persia - Heritage Institute

256 HISTORY OF PERSIA chap.
her only son, and to his interests she devoted herself with
fervour. As time passed Philip came to detest his wife,
and upon his return from Greece married a fellow-
countrywoman. At the wedding banquet Attalus, the
bride's uncle, insulted Alexander by casting doubts on his
legitimacy. The young Prince threw his cup in the face
of Attalus, and Philip, under the influence of wine, drew
his sword on his son, who sneered at his father and then
left the court with his mother. This quarrel was made
up, but a second began when Alexander wished to marry
the daughter of the Satrap of Caria.
Philip was very
angry, and not only broke off the match but exiled four
friends of Alexander's, who, he believed, were working
against him. Two of these were Harpalus and Ptolemy,
the latter destined to play a
large part on the
stage of
history and to die a king.
The Assassination of Philip, 1^2^ ^.c.—The political
situation was at its brightest and Philip was making his
final preparations for the great campaign when, in 336 b.c,
he was assassinated by a certain Pausanias, who had also
been insulted by Attalus, and to whom Philip had refused
redress. Assassination was common in Macedonia and, i
although Alexander was charged with parricide,
it is
improbable that he instigated the crime. Olympias, on the other hand, may
|
well have wished for vengeance on
her faithless husband, and may have felt that the succession
I
of her son would be hopelessly imperilled unless she cut
the knot by a bold stroke.
Thus in the prime of life died Philip, who not only*
originated the grand scheme of conquering Asia, but
forged the weapon with which the battles were won. Had
he lived longer he might have been known to
history as
the Conqueror of Asia ; but, even though fate was unkind ;
to him and contemporary evidence is lacking, the fact that
" he evolved the first European power in the modern
sense of the word, an armed nation with a common
national ideal/' ^ constitutes a claim to greatness which
cannot be disregarded. His epitaph may well be, " Europe
had borne no such man, take him for all in all, as the son
1
Philip and Alexander of Macedon^ p. 3.
|