The Rise of Macedon, C.359-323 BC | OCR A-Level Ancient History (H407)

The Rise of Macedon, C.359-323 BC

383 questions
26 subtopics
Component Group 1: Greek depth study, one of three
Component Group 1

The Rise of Macedon, c.359–323 BC is examined in Component Group 1, Greek period study and Greek depth study.

It covers Philip's accession and the securing of Macedon, 359–357 BC, the reform of the Macedonian army and its siege technology, Philip's court, his patronage and his marriages, the expansion of Macedon and the organisation of the new territories, Thessaly, the Third Sacred War and Philip's place in Greek institutions, the Peace of Philocrates and the prospect of a common peace, Thrace, Perinthus and Byzantium, Chaeronea, the League of Corinth and the hegemony, Alexander's accession and the reassertion of control over Greece, the crossing to Asia: Troy, the Granicus and Halicarnassus, Gordium, Issus and the conquest of the Levant and Egypt, Gaugamela and the occupations of Babylon and Persepolis, the pursuit of Darius, the fall of Bessus and the war in Bactria and Sogdiana, conspiracy and opposition: Philotas, Cleitus and Callisthenes, Alexander's foundation cities and their role, the Indus valley campaign and the rulers of the Punjab, the mutiny at the Hyphasis, the Mallians and the crossing of the Gedrosian Desert, the return from the east: the purges, the marriages at Susa and the mutiny at Opis, the Exiles' Decree, the death of Hephaestion and the last months at Babylon, the aims of Philip and Alexander: continuity and change, Philip's character: diplomacy, warfare and the treatment of the defeated, Alexander's character, the gods and his own divinity, Philip, Alexander and the Greek states, Alexander, his army and his Companions, Alexander and the Persians: Darius' family, the satraps and the Epigonoi and the ancient sources for Philip and Alexander and their reliability.

Sample questions from The Rise of Macedon, C.359-323 BC

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Philip's accession and the securing of Macedon, 359–357 BC

Why did Philip release the Athenian volunteers captured with Argaeus without asking a ransom?

Show the answer
He wanted peace with Athens while he turned on the Illyrians, and generosity to Athenian citizens was the cheapest way to buy it.
The expansion of Macedon and the organisation of the new territories

What annual revenue does Diodorus credit Philip with drawing from the mines around Pangaeum, and what did it pay for?

Show the answer
Diodorus reports about a thousand talents a year, which paid mercenaries, bribes and the standing army.
Thrace, Perinthus and Byzantium

What help did the Persian king give Perinthus, and why did he give it?

Show the answer
He ordered his satraps in Asia Minor to send money, mercenaries and supplies, because a Macedonian power on the Straits threatened his own western provinces.
The crossing to Asia: Troy, the Granicus and Halicarnassus

How did Alexander honour Achilles at Troy, and what did he say about him?

Show the answer
He laid a wreath at the tomb and ran a race beside it, and called Achilles fortunate to have found a Homer to proclaim his fame.
The pursuit of Darius, the fall of Bessus and the war in Bactria and Sogdiana

How was Bessus finally taken?

Show the answer
His own supporters, led by Spitamenes, betrayed him and handed him over stripped and in a collar to Alexander's officers.
The Indus valley campaign and the rulers of the Punjab

What natural obstacle and what enemy faced Alexander at the Hydaspes in 326 BC?

Show the answer
A river in monsoon flood, with Porus holding the far bank with a large army and a line of war elephants.
The Exiles' Decree, the death of Hephaestion and the last months at Babylon

What evidence is there that Alexander asked the Greek cities for divine honours in 324 BC?

Show the answer
The evidence is indirect: Greek debates on the question are reported, a Spartan is said to have remarked that Alexander could be a god if he wished, and Greek embassies came to Babylon garlanded like envoys approaching a sanctuary.
Alexander's character, the gods and his own divinity

How did Alexander's treatment of his companions change over the course of the campaign?

Show the answer
He remained extravagantly generous with money and honours, but grew far less tolerant of criticism, and the executions of Philotas and Callisthenes and the killing of Cleitus all belong to the later years.

The 26 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Philip's accession and the securing of Macedon, 359–357 BC	Recall questions on the disaster that brought Philip to the throne, the rival claimants, the concessions that bought off Athens, the defeat of Bardylis, and the handling of Upper Macedonia.	14
The reform of the Macedonian army and its siege technology	Recall questions on the sarissa and the infantryman's equipment, the pezhetairoi and hypaspists, the Companion cavalry's wedge and the combined infantry and cavalry attack, lighter baggage and a paid year-round army, Polyidus of Thessaly and the torsion catapult, Philip's lost eye at Methone, and bribery as a siege weapon at Olynthus.	14
Philip's court, his patronage and his marriages	Recall questions on the hetairoi and land grants, the Royal Pages, Aristotle at Mieza, Greek culture at Pella and Isocrates' appeal, Philip's Olympic victories and the Philippeion, his seven marriages including Philinna, Nicesipolis, Olympias and Cleopatra, the crisis of 337 BC, polygamy and the succession, and Theopompus' hostile picture of the court.	14
The expansion of Macedon and the organisation of the new territories	Recall questions on the value of Amphipolis and the alleged secret deal with Athens, Potidaea and Olynthus, the refounding of Crenides as Philippi, the Pangaeum mines and gold coinage, the destruction of Olynthus, the government of Thrace, population transfers, new foundations and hostages, attacks on Athenian bases, and the extent of the kingdom by 336 BC.	14
Thessaly, the Third Sacred War and Philip's place in Greek institutions	Recall questions on why Thessaly mattered and the Aleuadae's invitation, the origin of the Third Sacred War, Philip's defeats by Onomarchus and victory at the Crocus Field, his archonship of the Thessalian League, the turn at Thermopylae, the settlement of 346 BC and the Amphictyonic seats, the Fourth Sacred War, and Argead claims to be Greek.	14
The Peace of Philocrates and the prospect of a common peace	Recall questions on why Athens negotiated in 346, the basis of the terms, those left out of the treaty, what a common peace meant, and the rival advice of Isocrates and Demosthenes.	13
Thrace, Perinthus and Byzantium	Recall questions on Philip's aims in Thrace, why the Hellespont mattered to Athens, the help that saved the besieged cities, Athens' declaration of war, and what the sieges cost Philip.	14
Chaeronea, the League of Corinth and the hegemony	Recall questions on the Amphissa quarrel and the seizure of Elatea, Demosthenes' Theban alliance, the deployment and Philip's withdrawal manoeuvre at Chaeronea in 338 BC, the Sacred Band and Athenian losses, the treatment of Thebes and Athens, the structure and social clauses of the League of Corinth, and Philip's command for the Persian war.	15
Alexander's accession and the reassertion of control over Greece	Recall questions on Philip's murder and the doubts about it, the rivals removed in 336, the securing of Thessaly and the League, the Balkan campaign, and the destruction of Thebes.	14
The crossing to Asia: Troy, the Granicus and Halicarnassus	Recall questions on the gestures made on landing and at Troy, the advice rejected before the Granicus, the captured mercenaries, the fall of Halicarnassus, and the disbanding of the fleet.	14
Gordium, Issus and the conquest of the Levant and Egypt	Recall questions on the knot at Gordium and the two versions of it, the ground at Issus, the royal captives, the terms Darius offered, the siege of Tyre, and Egypt's welcome.	15
Gaugamela and the occupations of Babylon and Persepolis	Recall questions on Darius' levelled battlefield at Gaugamela in 331 BC, the scythed chariots, Alexander's oblique advance and charge, the refused night attack, Parmenion's hard-pressed wing and the doubts about it, Mazaeus and Babylon, the treasure of Susa, and the capture and disputed burning of Persepolis.	14
The pursuit of Darius, the fall of Bessus and the war in Bactria and Sogdiana	Recall questions on the allies dismissed at Ecbatana, the death of Darius, the punishment of Bessus, the Branchidae, the worst Macedonian reverse, the Sogdian Rock, and the marriage of 327.	15
Conspiracy and opposition: Philotas, Cleitus and Callisthenes	Recall questions on the charge against Philotas and the body that tried him, the killing of Parmenion, the quarrel at the banquet, the introduction of proskynesis, and the Pages' Conspiracy.	14
Alexander's foundation cities and their role	Recall questions on how many cities Alexander founded, Dinocrates and Alexandria in Egypt, Alexandria Eschate, Nicaea and Bucephala, who the settlers were and the Bactrian revolts, the military and economic purposes of the foundations, how they differed from Greek city-states, Philip's precedent, and their cultural legacy.	13
The Indus valley campaign and the rulers of the Punjab	Recall questions on why Alexander crossed the Hindu Kush, the rock of Aornus, Taxiles' submission and the method used with Punjab rulers, the crossing of the Hydaspes and the war elephants of Porus, the death of Bucephalas, Porus' restoration and reconciliation with Taxiles, the Cathaeans at Sangala, Chandragupta, and the Greek accounts of India.	14
The mutiny at the Hyphasis, the Mallians and the crossing of the Gedrosian Desert	Recall questions on why the army would go no further, who spoke for it, the altars left behind, the wound taken in the Mallian town, and what went wrong in Gedrosia.	15
The return from the east: the purges, the marriages at Susa and the mutiny at Opis	Recall questions on the misgovernment Alexander found and the purge of satraps, Cleander, the tomb of Cyrus, Harpalus' flight, the Susa marriages of Alexander, Hephaestion and the Companions and their purpose and fate, the Epigonoi, the mutiny at Opis and how it was broken, and the banquet of reconciliation and its prayer.	15
The Exiles' Decree, the death of Hephaestion and the last months at Babylon	Recall questions on the Exiles' Decree, why it broke the League settlement and hurt Athens and Aetolia, the request for divine honours, Hephaestion's death, Alexander's mourning and the hero cult sanctioned by Ammon, the omens at Babylon, the plans found in his papers, his death in June 323 BC, the succession, and the poison story.	15
The aims of Philip and Alexander: continuity and change	Recall questions on Philip's aims from survival in 359 BC to expansion, his economic, political and personal aims and his intentions in Asia, what Alexander inherited, the stated aim of 334 BC and the move to conquest, Alexander's exploratory, economic and personal aims, and where father and son diverged.	14
Philip's character: diplomacy, warfare and the treatment of the defeated	Recall questions on money as an instrument of policy, the new features of his warfare, Olynthus set against Athens, the near-divine honours, and the charge of bad faith.	14
Alexander's character, the gods and his own divinity	Recall questions on Alexander's qualities as a general and the risk of fighting in front, his care for the dead and wounded, his treatment of the defeated and of his companions, the disputed drinking, his piety, imitation of Achilles, Heracles, Dionysus and Cyrus, descent from Zeus, the oracle of Ammon at Siwah, proskynesis, and whether he believed himself divine.	14
Philip, Alexander and the Greek states	Recall questions on Athenian interests in the north Aegean, Philip's rule of Thessaly, garrisons at Acrocorinth, Ambracia and the Cadmea, Sparta's refusal and Agis III at Megalopolis, why Greece stayed quiet, Greek mercenaries in Persian service, the liberation of Asia Minor's cities, Athens under Alexander, the Lamian War, and the gap between Macedonian language and practice.	14
Alexander, his army and his Companions	Recall questions on the contingents of 334 BC and the allied Greeks as hostages, the Companions' right of free speech and Persian ceremonial, Parmenion, Craterus and Hephaestion and their rivalry, the burning of the baggage, the changing make-up and rewards of the army, the Hyphasis and Opis compared, Craterus and the veterans, the dispute at Babylon, and the mixed phalanx.	14
Alexander and the Persians: Darius' family, the satraps and the Epigonoi	Recall questions on the treatment of the royal women, the safeguards on Persian governors, the adoption of Persian dress, the thirty thousand trained youths, the Susa marriages, and the fusion debate.	15
The ancient sources for Philip and Alexander and their reliability	Recall questions on the lost contemporary accounts, Arrian and his use of Ptolemy and Aristobulus, Plutarch, Diodorus, Curtius, Justin and Pompeius Trogus, the vulgate tradition, Demosthenes and Aeschines, stereotypes of Greeks, Macedonians and Persians, the coins of Philip II, Lysimachus and Ptolemy I, the Porus Medallion, and the Alexander Sarcophagus.	28

The Rise of Macedon, C.359-323 BC is 383 of the 2,709 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.