Philip II (ancient Greek Φίλιππος Β'; approximately 383 or 382 BC - 336 BC, Aegis, Macedonia) - the king of Macedonia from the Argead dynasty, who ruled in 359-336 BC . e., father of Alexander the Great. He was the third son of King Aminta III, came to power after the death of his brother Perdikka III. He was able to stabilize the situation on the borders of Macedonia and unite the country, later created a strong army, which included an infantry phalanx and the aristocratic cavalry of the Getairs, took measures to develop the economy, and began to mint coins from gold and silver. Thanks to all this, Macedonia became a powerful power and began an active foreign policy. Philip used dynastic marriages to expand his influence (among his wives were the Epirus princess Olympias and the daughter of the king of the Thracians), waged wars in Illyria, Thrace, intervened in the affairs of Northern and Central Greece, conquered Greek colonies one at a time on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. In 357 BC. e. he took Amphipolis, in 356 - Potidea, by 348 he took Olynthus and conquered all of Halkidiki. Intervening in the Third Holy War, Philip established control over Thessaly, achieved the conclusion of the Philocrates peace, according to which Athens recognized his conquests. He became a member of the Delphic Amphictyony, which allowed him to gain a foothold in Central Greece (346 BC). Philip's attempt to establish control over the Black Sea straits led to the intervention of Athens and the Persians. The king could not take Perinth and Byzantium, but in 338 BC. e. he defeated the army of the Greek coalition led by Athens and Thebes at Chaeronea. The consequence of this victory was the establishment of Macedonian hegemony over most of Greece within the framework of the Corinthian League.

To strengthen his power, Philip used the ideas of pan-Hellenism. He began preparations for a large-scale campaign against the Persians and even sent his avant-garde to Asia Minor, but in 336 BC. e. was killed by one of the close associates at his daughter's wedding. The king's wife, Olympias, was suspected of being involved in the murder; agents of Linkestida and the Persians appeared in the official version.


Statue of Philip II in Skopje, North Macedonia
Philip had many children from different women. He was succeeded by his son, Alexander III the Great, who used his father's army to create a world empire. In modern culture, Philip is known primarily as the father of Alexander; in this capacity, he appears in many works of art.