The Rise of Philip V: Kingship and Rule in the Hellenistic World

Corrupted by a thirst for power, degenerated courtiers, cruel appetite, and bloody imperialistic ambition, Philip V of Macedonia has been for a long time the paradigm of Hellenistic kingship. Moving beyond the surface of vice, rivalry and murder, this book follows a web of alliances and conflicts between the ruler and other political actors vying for power or fighting for independence from it. Their aspirations become increasingly interwoven: a struggle in the Macedonian court for control of the military and political leadership; the threat of the Aitolians, the Dardanians and the Illyrians, who dwell in north and central Greece; and the goals of the Achaian leader Aratos and the exiled dynast Demetrios of Pharos. The rise to the throne of Philip V of Macedonia offers a unique case study for a situational, synthetic, and holistic study of the fluid Hellenistic political system. The abundance and quality of the literary and documentary evidence close or contemporary with the events are a magnifying glass with which to approach the shifting relations between the expression and the exercise of authority. Considering Philip V’s dynastic ties, court politics, military innovations, diplomatic relations and administrative reforms, the volume collects and examines information, details, and names in order to investigate the king’s agenda. It provides an event-based analysis of the power management in Macedonia, Greece and the Balkans in the crucial years that changed the history of the Mediterranean (229-212 BC). Ultimately the aim of this analysis of Philip V’s agency is to contribute to a new understanding of the first collision between Rome and the Hellenistic East, fostering the discussion on the political and military dialogue in the Mediterranean of the following years.