Text courtesy of Alexandros Models

“Never before has Europe seen such a man as Philip, son of Amyntas…”
Theopomp

Philip was the youngest son of Amyintas III of Macedon.
At birth, he was obliged to begin his life as a fighter, for it is said that he was forced to cut his own umbilical cord that united him to his mother's womb.
His condition as benjamin made him a prince, not a future king, thus at an early age he was sent to various foreign courts as a hostage where he found himself embroiled in a whirlwind of wars and political intrigue. These circumstances had a great bearing on the education of the young prince: It was during his forced stay at Thebes - The ascendant power of the time in relation to the other Greek city states - where he found the ideal environment to learn the art of war from the most illustrious strategists of the time; He was also retained in barbarian Illyria, where he cultivated his friendship of kings and other tribal chiefs, who in due time would respond to his demands and shows of strength.

At little more than 20 years old he came to occupy the throne of the ever weaker Macedon, for his older brother had died a violent death, besieged and worn out after ruling a realm plunged into chaos. The internecine fighting between rival clans bidding for supremacy inside the State deprived the Macedons of an army strong enough to resist the constant attacks and encroachments of the neighbouring realms on its frontiers. These revolts were almost always backed by foreign powers interested in stalling a definitive consolidation of Macedon. Despite the dire situation, Philip, showing extraordinary leadership qualities and a singular personality changed the destiny of the realm converting it, in less than 20 years, into the greatest hegemony in Greece , surpassing Pericles' State of Athens and lasting more than 200 years.

After unifying the country, that itself constituted a mosaic of different tribal factions who at times followed their own initiatives, he was able to form a permanent army composed of Macedon citizens, the majority of whom were from the lower classes, who were trained in the techniques learned from the Theban generals and the Epaminondas during his time as a hostage. This way he was able to secure his frontiers and set about dealing with his more immediate enemies one by one.
He demonstrated diplomatic abilities without precedents involving himself increasingly in greek politics through alliances and declarations of friendship or promises of benefit; he gained non aggression pacts through bribery, if necessary or via arranged marriages that guaranteed him a certain impunity and even fomented rivalry between different powers thus turning them against each other.
Later he conquered the northern auriferous territories of Greece , which allowed him to contract the services of numerous mercenary soldiers and prepare a large army that, with the annexing of Thessaly , with its valuable cavalry, combined to make it into the best trained army ever known in Antiquity.

Although Philip now possessed a formidable fighting force, he still used all diplomatic means available to avoid armed conflict. However, this did not prevent an alliance of Greek city states under the leadership of Athens and Thebes, both fearful of Macedon's unstoppable rise, from declaring war. They confronted him at the Battle of Chaeronea in august of 338 b.c, where Philip's troops crushed his enemies using a revolutionary combination of newly formed phalanx tactics supported by formidable cavalry led by a 17 year old Alexander.
All of this caused shock for the rest of Greece, for they could not comprehend how such a small and disorganized realm could recover so rapidly and occupy the ascendant hegemony; in fact, the rebuilding of the new Macedon by Philip constituted the fastest rise to supremacy known to antiquity.
With control over all Greece Philip created the Pan-Hellenic League, with its base in Corinthian and headed by Macedon with himself appointed as flag bearer of the coalition. The objective was to "liberate" via conquest the remaining Greek colonies under tutelage of the satrapies of the Persian Empire .
To know whether the gods blessed this enormous task, he sent a delegation to the Delphos Sanctuary to consult the Oracle; Despite the ambiguous answers of Pitons', that of Apollo was clear:

“The Bull is adorned.
All is ready for the Sacrifice.
The Offering is prepared...”

With the gods on his side, Philip sent an advance force into Asiatic territory in the summer of 336 b.c., but that October he was assassinated in Aegae by a young official of his own personal guard at the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra. The Oracle had not been mistaken. The same as had happened to the king Cresos of Lidia some centuries before, Philip had misinterpreted Apollo's message. The bull ready for sacrifice was not the Persian Empire but himself, Philip. Although his role has been underplayed by history and eclipsed by the achievements of his son, he was the foundation layer of panhelenism and opened the path towards the Empire that Alexander would later create.

The figure offered by Alexandros Models is based on documented descriptions made by contemporaries of Philip, works of art and other archaeological finds, the majority of which are on display in the Thessalonica Archaeological Museum and the Royal Tombs in Vergina . However, the interpretation in some parts of the model is more subjective given the state of conservation of some of the mentioned artefacts or by the physical absence of others. For its reconstruction in both aspects of sculpture and painting, parallel sources of information have been sought with the idea of being as faithful as possible to the real person and his historical context. With that in mind we hope that the gaps in the documentation will serve to provide the painter with greater liberty at the moment of choosing colour and design to his or her taste.

All the descriptions of Philip tell us of a man of strong complexion, handsome, with his face framed by a beard and dark hair that, together with a harsh voice gave him the aspect of a lion. He had an excellent memory and showed great skill as a host; As a good Macedonian he was an accomplished hunter and talented drinker, cultivated and impulsively generous; outstandingly courageous on the battlefield, he always led his men from the front rank and shared the dangers that they were subjected to.

The bust situates Philip at the Battle of Chaeronea, where his physical characteristics denote a certain maturity although at the time he was only 44 years old. The right eye was lost previously at the siege of Methone in 354 b.c.

-The sculpture of the face is based on a reconstruction made by members of Manchester University that employed bones that were found as well as effigies, medallions and coins that have survived to our days.
-The cape (ephaptis) can be painted however one chooses. In the case of the BoxArt a purple colour was chosen as the pigment, extracted from murex shells was the most expensive in the ancient world, and for that reason it was almost exclusively used by Royalty and other dignitaries until well into the Byzantine era.
-The clasp or broach used to fasten the cape is a Royal Macedon symbol, or Vergina star.
- The heavy armour is a rare example of iron construction. The laminated decorations are of gold (Kymatia) as are the ringed lion masks . In the lower right part there is a small plate where the goddess Athena is represented. It is an amulet of luck, this side being the most exposed to the enemy in combat. Hanging from the armour are the typical pteruges protectors, made from natural leather.
- For the tunic (exomis) there is no confirmed colour, although generally red was the predominant colour used by the Hoplites.
- The notable details of the sword (xiphos) are the hilt, with an iron grip decorated with ivory and gold. The scabbard coloured or in natural leather.
- The quiver (Gorytos) covered in gold is related to the victory over the peoples of the Danube circa 339 b.c.. The decorations possibly depict scenes from the capture of Troy .

The helmet "Vergina", completely made of iron is an extraordinary discovery for the rarity of its form; of F rigian influence although it resembles the 19th century helmets of European armies.
- In the Royal Tombs various hoplite type bronze shields (aspis) have been unearthed, including a ceremonial one with chryselephantine decorations . Although none of them showed remains of polychrome it is known that they were normally decorated; from a simple initial letter of the polis of the bearer to an animal motive sacred to the particular clan, a hero, a god or more complex drawings such as portraits of real or mythical persons. Owing to the large size of the shield it was tempting to opt for this last choice for the BoxArt design.

Firstly one must situate the context: Considered by the rest of Greece to be a barbarian realm, Macedon aspired to be as Greek as its southern neighbours. Throughout the V and IV centuries b.c. it pursued this aim via a form of patronage of various illustrious persons of the time, such as the case of the dramatist Euripides and the poet Pindar, or in the field of arts, sculptors such as Kallimac and later Lisip, and highly esteemed painters like Nicoman, Filoxen and Apelles. The works of these latter artists that have survived until today are very scarce, but sufficient to see to what extent they were innovative and original.

We know of Filoxen the author of the frescos with depictions of hunting scenes in the tomb of Philip and of the original creator of the mosaic that preceded the Pompeian version of the Battle of Issus; “The abduction of Persephone” in the same tomb is attributed to Nicoman; and in the case of Apelles we are talking about the highest representative of Greek painting ( its most striking characteristic being the "functional line" - the construction of volumes via the shortening of perspective- and a bright chromatist). With the sum of these proofs a try at creating a conceptual profile may be made in a modest attempt to emulate the work of these artists. It is nothing more than a stylistic conjecture in the use of colour. We hope to gain the approval of the most ardent purists.

The scene represents Athena fighting the Titan Alcioneus and is based on a fragment of the sculptural piece The Pergamum Zeus Altar and the Gigantomachy .
- The kit comes with the obverse of a coin as an additional and original way to compliment the bust. We believe it an appropriate choice to use a coin that Philip had made in 356 b.c., perhaps the best year in the life of the monarch; he defeated a coalition of barbarian enemies, conquered Potidaea, won at the games of Olympia with his horse and had a son called Alexander who later on would become known to the world as the Great.

Alexandre Cortina Bonastre

BIBLIOGRAPHY

-Alejandro Magno/Alexander the Great
-El Mundo Clásico/The Classical World
Both by Robin Lane Fox.

-Osprey Warrior Series nº103 “Macedonian Warrior”
-Osprey Man-at-arms nº148 “The Army of Alexander the Great”

Diverse books and studies by N.G.L. Hammond, one of the best specialists of Classic Macedon.

Philip of Macedonia, by various authors in which stands out the work by the archaeologist and discoverer of the Royal Tombs, Manolis Andronikos.

A lighter read although by no means less interesting, is the historic novel ”The Macedonian”, by Nicholas Guild which relates the events of Philips life from birth until shortly after he was crowned King of Macedonia

Internet also offers innumerable lists of biographies and a great number of photos for those interested in pursuing further their interest in the subject.