NOTE: The 20 year old son being Alexander the Great, of course. 😉

Macedonian is North of Greece and West of Thrace. They may or may not have been considered Greek themselves, but based on what I know about the Greek world, Macedonians were probably considered barbarians or at the very least country-hicks. They would have spoken with a slightly different accent or dialect, and possibly had their own language as well (I don’t know a lot about Macedonian history, so I’m not sure about these things). They did, indeed, grow rich during the Pelopponesian War. This war was between Athens and Sparta, and I’m sure there will be more about that in the future. [Be Prepared: there is a LOT of speechifying in Thucydides.]

Philip II was able to gain control of most of Greece (except Sparta) and married a woman, Olympias, who was much more Greek than he was. Plutarch says it’s because he saw her and fell madly in love. This may be, but it also made sure that the heir to the throne would be familially aligned to both Macedonia and Greece.

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ALSO: If anyone wishes to read more about Alexander the Great there are some FREE online sources:

Plutarch: random dude who wrote about Greek and Roman lives. Find the Loeb Classical Library translation HERE.

Diodorus Sicilus: I actually don’t know much about this guy, but you can find out more and his history books, also the Loeb Classical eidition, HERE.

Arrian: My favourite (I own the Landmark version) is The Anabasis of Alexander.  There is a free online version HERE, but be warned, it’s pretty crappy. Like. Nothing spelled right, really old translation, thee’s and thou’s crappy.

A not free book I found useful is In the Footsteps of Alexander by Miles Doleac. There are a plethora of pictures and everything. You can find more information about it at Goodreads. You can find it for sale HERE. [If the link doesn’t work and you’re looking for a used copy I personally recommend betterworldbooks because they donate books and do happy things. If they don’t have it I go to bigwords to find the cheapest copy I can. I have some personal issues with both Amazon and Barnes & Noble and that’s why I’m not re-directing you there.]