Philip II of Macedon | |
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Basileus of Macedon | |
Bust of Philip II of Macedon from the Hellenistic period; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
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Reign | 359–336 BC |
Predecessor | Perdiccas III |
Successor | Alexander the Great |
Born | 382 BC Pella, Macedon |
Died | October 336 BC (aged 46) Aigai, Macedon |
Burial | Aigai, Macedon |
Wives | |
Issue |
Cynane Philip III Alexander the Great Cleopatra Thessalonica Europa Caranus |
Greek | Φίλιππος |
House | Argead dynasty |
Father | Amyntas III |
Mother | Eurydice I |
Religion | Ancient Greek religion |
Philip II of Macedon (Greek: Φίλιππος Β΄ ὁ Μακεδών, Phílippos II ho Makedṓn; 382–336 BC) was the king (Basileus) of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, the third son of King Amyntas III, and father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.
Philip was the youngest son of the king Amyntas III and Eurydice I. In his youth (c. 368 – 365 BC), Philip was held as a hostage in Thebes, which was then the leading city of Greece. While a captive there, Philip received a military and diplomatic education from Epaminondas, became eromenos of Pelopidas, and lived with Pammenes, who was an enthusiastic advocate of the Sacred Band of Thebes.
In 364 BC, Philip returned to Macedon. The deaths of Philip's elder brothers, King Alexander II and Perdiccas III, allowed him to take the throne in 359 BC. Originally appointed regent for his infant nephew Amyntas IV, who was the son of Perdiccas III, Philip succeeded in taking the kingdom for himself that same year.