Eubulus and Demosthenes
By 355 BC with Athens nearly bankrupt Eubulus carried a law whereby surplus monies were paid into the Theoric Fund (festivals and poor relief) and used his position as its commissioner to gradually gain control of all of Athens finances. His priorities were: financial recuperation, resistance to Philip, control of the Chersonese, and to restrict the use of Athens’ military resources to the defence of its essential interests. His chief associates were the orator Aeschines (c.389-c.322 BC) and Phocion. In 352 BC it was on the proposal of Diophantus of Sphettus, a supporter of Eubulus, that an Athenian force was sent to confront Philip at Thermopylae.
The orator Demosthenes (384-322 BC) began his political career in the aftermath of the Social War. Initially he seems to have supported Eubulus’ policies of maintaining peace and modest economic expansion. In 354 BC in his first speech to the Assembly, On the Symmories (boards), he argued for enlarging the class of taxpayers contributing to the upkeep of the fleet – at this time he was concerned about the threat posed by the Persian king. In 351/0 BC he gave the first of his Philippics, polemical speeches opposing Macedonian expansion.
After his setback in the south, Philip turned his attention to Thrace. In late 352 BC he attacked Heraion Teichos on the shores of the Propontis. By this time he had taken the kingdom of inland Thrace from Amadocus; Cersobleptes in eastern Thrace was saved from the same fate by Philip’s illness and by the support of Athens. The price for this help was the transfer of the cities of the Chersonese (except for Cardia) to the Athenians, who established a cleruchy at Sestus (captured by Chares in 253/2 BC) to protect their grain route. Philip drew his frontier at the Hebrus River and established friendly relations with Cardia on the neck of the Chersonese; it was probably about this time that Philip took Cersobloptes’ son as a hostage to Pella.
During 351 BC Philip campaigned in Paeonia and Illyria. In 350 BC to ensure the loyalty of Arybbas of Epirus (r.370-342 BC) he took Alexander-I (39; r.342-331 BC), Arybbas’ nephew and full brother to Olympias, to Pella as a hostage. By 349 BC Thessalians were in revolt, perhaps as a consequence of the return of Peitholaus. Philip mounted an expedition and drove out Peitholaus before January 348 BC.
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