As the Greek people began to experiment with new political organization after the end of the Peloponnesian War, a type of federalism emerged that united groups of Greek settlements in several geographic areas including Messenia, Boeotia, and Thessaly. These federations, along with the remaining independent poleis and the rest of Greece, soon encountered a new issue resulting from the rise of Philip of Macedon to the north. While federalism was certainly a civilizational advancement for the Greeks, its existence, regardless of how far it had the potential to spread, could not have been enough to stop eminent Macedonian rule over the Greeks.
To see what shaped Philip’s victory in Greece, it is necessary to look toward Thebes and the Boeotian federation. The origin of this lies in the Thebans’ assault and victory over Spartan hegemony.…