Macedonian Sun

King Philip II of Macedonia was the most powerful man in Greek history when he was assassinated in 336 BCE. He was the first to unify the Greek city-states under his control and was about to launch the invasion of Persia that his son, Alexander the Great, would carry out. Philip won more battles than Caesar, was more cunning than Machiavelli, and had more wives than Henry VIII. Little had been expected of Philip, the sixth son of a weak king of the Macedonians, who lived north of Mount Olympus and were considered barbarians by most Greeks. His family sacrificed him as a political hostage twice, and he was dismissed by many as an incorrigible womanizer. But as regent and later king, he built an unstoppable war machine and turned the previously beleaguered kingdom into an empire. He suffered defeats and serious injuries on the battlefield but always found a way to recoup his losses.