The Diadochi: The Greek League

n 338 BCE, king Philip II of Macedonia defeated the army of the Greek towns at Chaeronea (text) and went to Corinth, where he founded the Greek League. The Greek towns were to stop fighting each other and share the burdens of a common war against Persia, in which Philip was to be their general (text; Eventually, Alexander the Great was the commander). In 303, Demetrius I Poliorcetes, one of the Diadochi, organized a similar League: this time, the common enemy was the Macedonian ruler Cassander, and Demetrius was to be the general. There was a body of councilors (representing the towns, the larger ones having more than one representative) who had to vote on the League's policy; five presidents oversaw the Council's meeting. Part of the League's charter can be read on an inscription from Epidaurus, which was translated by M.M. Austin.