Philip II's decisive victory ended Greek city-state independence and enabled formation of the League of Corinth, paving the way for Macedonian hegemony over Greece.
Key Facts
- Date
- 338 BC
- Location
- Near Chaeronea, Boeotia
- Victor
- Macedonia under Philip II
- Defeated alliance
- Athens, Thebes, and allied city-states
- Political outcome
- League of Corinth founded; Philip named strategos
- Long-term consequence
- Philip assassinated; Alexander inherited campaign against Persia
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After Philip II ended the Third Sacred War in 346 BC and concluded the Peace of Philocrates with Athens, his growing power alarmed many Greek city-states. In 340 BC, the Athenian statesman Demosthenes persuaded Athens to act against Philip and ally with Achaemenid-aligned Byzantium, effectively declaring war. By summer 339 BC, Philip marched south, prompting Athens and Thebes to form a coalition to block his advance.
In 338 BC, the Macedonian army under Philip II met the allied forces of Athens and Thebes near Chaeronea in Boeotia. After a prolonged engagement, the Macedonians crushed both flanks of the allied line, causing it to collapse into a rout. The allied armies were destroyed, and with them the capacity for continued organized resistance to Macedonian power in southern Greece.
Philip imposed a settlement on the Greek city-states, leading to the formation of the League of Corinth, which bound all members as allies of Macedon with Philip as guarantor of the peace. He was subsequently voted strategos for a pan-Hellenic war against the Achaemenid Empire. Before he could lead it, Philip was assassinated, and both his kingdom and the Persian campaign passed to his son Alexander.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Philip II of Macedon.
Side B
1 belligerent
Demosthenes (political leader, Athens).