L’Eubea nella politica macedone

From the middle of the fourth century BC, also Euboea, like the rest of Greece, was involved in (and disturbed by) the rise of Macedonia, made irresistible by the political and military sagacity of Philip II. The history of the island between 357 and 341 is synthesized in a polemical yet effective manner by Aeschines, in a long and articulated passage of Against Ctesiphon, which focuses on three main episodes that characterized the relations between Athens and Euboea during the reign of Philip II: 1) the Athenian campaign of 357 that liberated the island from Theban influence and restored its alliance with Athens (Aeschin. III [in Ctesiphontem] 85); 2) the crisis of 349-348 (Ibid. 86-88); 3) the crisis of 342-341 and the agreement between Callias and Demosthenes (Ibid. 89-96). Regarding this last point, Aeschines mentions a reconstitution of the Euboean Confederation in the late 40s of the fourth century, thanks to the political skills of Callias of Chalcis. The reconstruction seems to be confirmed by abundant numismatic documentation and by an important epigraphic testimonium IG II3 398 (= IG II²149), although it is undeniable that, until the Roman conquest, the so-called Euboean League was a confederation of states with rather loose and evanescent bonds. The Confederation survived also under Alexander and the Diadochi, at least until the reign of Demetrius Poliorcetes, as the Macedonian rulers considered it useful for an easier control of the island, made possible also by the fortifications of Chalcis, which they strengthened so as to transform the city into a stronghold that fell, over a century later, only to unsustainable Roman pressure.