ABSTRACT
In 337 Philip II had consolidated Macedonian control of the Greeks by means of what is commonly called the League of Corinth, a union of all Greek states, bound together under the hegemony of the Macedonian king and swearing allegiance to the hegemon of the League.1 The union was called a Common Peace, meaning that a state was forbidden to wage war against another state; if this happened, then all the other states could combine against the aggressor. Matters affecting the Greeks were to be discussed by the League and then implemented on its authority. Thus, when Philip announced his intention to invade Persia on the pretext of avenging the Athenians for what they had suffered during the Persian War (cf. Source 19) and to liberate the Greek cities of Asia Minor, he did so at a meeting of the League of Corinth (Diod. 16.89.2, Arr. 2.14.4, 3.18.12). The Greek states revolted from Macedonian rule when Philip was assassinated in 336, but Alexander quickly subdued them and reimposed the terms of the League of Corinth (cf. Source 20), including the invasion of Persia.2 In 335 the city of Thebes revolted from Macedon when news came that Alexander had died during a campaign in Illyria (Arr. 1.5.1). The king was far from dead, and far from forgiving: after a brief siege, he razed their city to the ground and either killed or enslaved the population (see Sources 29 and 30).3 This action was followed up by his demand for several Athenian statesmen (Source 31), although later he relented. Finally, in 334, Alexander departed to Persia, leaving behind Antipater as regent of Greece and deputy hegemon of the League of Corinth (Arr. 1.11.3).
