ABSTRACT
Macedonia, Alexanders home state, was situated north of Mount Olympus, the home of the gods, which served as the frontier in antiquity between it and the Greeks to the south. Royal Macedonians participated in the Olympic Games. Macedonia was prone to foraging invasions from neighbouring tribes to the north such as the Illyrians, as well as from incursions by the Greeks south of Mount Olympus. The Macedonian army was largely a conscript one of citizen farmers, who had little formal training. One contingent was called the Royal Companions, which fought next to the king in battle, and would time and again prove itself when Alexander was in Asia. The regular training programme was so arduous that the Macedonian cavalry became a formidable and feared force. The continued success of the army and the subsequent expansion of Macedonian power created a feeling of national unity that had never been felt before.
