What specifically did the Greeks have against the Macedonians; that is, why did they consider their northern neighbors inferior? In his biography of Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon 356-323 B.C.), Peter Green explains that the Macedonians
More Ancient / Classical History Quick Tips
- made up a story about being descendants of Hercules,
- sliced a dog in two for the purposes of ritual,
- used a less prestigious dialect,
- ran the country with "retrograde political institutions" (that is, the Macedonians were more like so-called feudal Europeans with noblemen acting like feudal barons owing personal service to their king),
- their fighting style was ineffective (until Alexander the Great's father, Philip, learned from the Thracians among whom he was sent for education and as a youthful hostage),
- they were oath-breakers,
- they dressed in bear pelts,
- they regularly drank to excess,
- they were assassinators, and
- they were incestuous.

