Philip II of Macedon was the King of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, the third son of King Amyntas III, and father of Alexander the Great and Philip III. The famous phrase "divide and conquer" is attributed to him.
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| Vergina. Tomb II ("Philip's Tomb"). View of the marble door separating the antechamber from the main chamber of Tomb II ("Philip's Tomb") at Vergina, with objects in situ: The gold cover of the gorytus (bow-and-arrow case), a pair of gilt bronze greaves, a "Cyprian" amphora, and several alabastra. 350 - 325. |
An anthropological team investigating cremated remains found in a royal
tomb in Vergina, Greece, has claimed that the remains belong to King
Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, and an unknown woman warrior.
Theodore Antikas, head of the Art-Anthropological research team of the
Vergina excavation, suggests that she may have been the daughter of
Scythian King Ateas.
The Golden Larnax of Philip II
The golden larnax contains the remains from the burial of King Philip II of Macedon and the royal golden wreath. It was made of 25kt. gold and weighing 24.25 pounds. Inside the larnax were Philip's bones and a golden wreath of 313 oak leaves and 68 acorns weighing 1.6 pounds.
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| The golden larnax of Philip II [Credit: Protothema] |
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The face of King Philip II of Macedon, reconstructed
by a team from Manchester University. Philip had lost an eye in
battle when it was penetrated by an arrow. |
Study Confirms Remains as Philip II of Macedon
The tomb was one of three excavated from the same
mound in the late 1970s by Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos. This
tomb, known as Tomb II, had been intact, and it contained silver and
bronze vessels, gold wreaths, weapons, armor, and two gold larnakes, or
caskets. Antikas told Discovery News that the identification of the
middle-aged, male skeleton was based upon marks on the bones. “The
individual suffered from frontal and maxillary sinusitis that might have
been caused by an old facial trauma,” he said. Philip II was blinded
when his right eye was hit with an arrow during the siege of Methone in
354 B.C. “He had signs of chronic pathology on the visceral surface of
several low thoracic ribs, indicating pleuritis,” Antikas added of the
warrior’s skeleton, which also showed signs of frequent horseback
riding. Traces of an object made of royal purple, huntite, textile,
beeswax, and clay had been placed on top of the bones in the gold
larnax. A pelvis bone fragment from the other casket indicates that the
remains belonged to a woman who died between the ages of 30 and 34. She
had suffered a fracture in her left leg that had shortened it. “This
leads to the conclusion that the pair of mismatched greaves—the left is
shorter—the Scythian gorytus, or bow case, and weaponry found in the
antechamber belonged to her."
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| Alexander the great is represented on an accessory of the suit of martial armor in the Royal Tomb II of Vergina |
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| Iron and gold breastplate from Tomb II at Vergina. | | |
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| Sword trimmed with gold from the armor of Alexander the Great. It is a gift of the city of Kition, Cyprus. Due to corrosion, the decoration of gold and ivory was not preserved. It was found in the tomb II of Vergina. | | |
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| Gold Quiver, from the Tomb of Philip II (359-336) at Vergina |
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Golden gorgon head ornament from the armour of Philip II of Macedon, c. 336 BCE.
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| Silver wine jug from the tomb of Philip II. |
