The Family of Philip II of Macedon: the culturological approach of ancient authors

Abstract

Philip II of Macedon had an unprecedented number of interethnic marriages and seven children born in these unions. His matrimonial activity met the requirements of politics. However, the works of ancient authors contain a large amount of contradictory information concerning the family of Philip II. Attempts by ancient historians to retrospectively explain the situation of the royal children and wives often make it difficult to recreate the true picture of what happened. The ancient authors were representatives of a different culture, a different era, different from the time of Philip's reign. Therefore, modern researchers still do not have a single opinion regarding the marital relations of the Macedonian king and his family, which confirms the relevance of this topic. The purpose of this article is to clarify the role of members of the royal family at the court of Philip, and the factors that influenced their participation in political affairs. The theoretical basis of the research is the works of Athenaeus, Plutarch, Pompey Trog and Diodorus Siculus, as well as the works of modern authors. The methods of analysis and synthesis, the method of systematization of materials, as well as the comparative historical method and the method of studying cultural memory were used in the work. For the first time, the article attempts to consider the history of the family of Philip of Macedon, systematizing all available references in the sources. In addition, the authors analyze the material in the context of the ancient perception of the world. As a result of the study, the authors came to the conclusion that all ancient historians were not only influenced by Greek customs and customs and the traditional dichotomy of "Hellenes-barbarians", but also wrote their works under the impression of contemporary political events. These circumstances influenced the desire of historians to rationalize and explain the events that took place in the family of the Macedonian king. The culturological approach allowed the ancient authors to focus only on important events from their point of view, which did not always correspond to reality.