Philip II of Macedon: Greeks Crushed at Chaeronea

August 338 BC - Macedonian troops led by King Philip II and his son Alexander the Great defeat the Greeks at the Battle of Chaeronea. Following failures at Perinthus and Byzantium in 340 and 339 BC, Philip found his influence over Greece weakened. Advancing south to attack Athens, he was confronted by an Athenian-Theban army near Chaeronea. Giving command of the left wing of the army to his young son Alexander, Philip advanced into battle. Quickly becoming a stalemate, Philip used a false retreat to detach and defeat the Athenians. Turning the full might of his army on the Thebans, he was able to drive them from the field with Alexander playing a key role in shattering the enemy lines. With the battle won, Macedonian hegemony over Greece was firmly reestablished.