Editing Macedonia (ancient kingdom) (section)

===Royal pages===
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| image1 = Dionysos on a cheetah, Pella, Greece.jpg
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| image2 = Framentuary votive relief representing a youth ladling wine for a krater and a round table with vases, from the Agora, end of 4th&nbsp;c.&nbsp;BC, Archaeological Museum, Pella (7065345633).jpg
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| footer = Left, the god [[Dionysos]] riding a [[cheetah]], [[mosaic]] floor in the "House of Dionysos" at [[Pella]], Greece, c.&nbsp;330–300&nbsp;BC. Right, a framentary [[Votive offering|votive]] [[relief]] depicting a youth [[Ladle (spoon)|ladling]] [[History of wine|wine]] from a ''[[krater]]'' next to a round table with vases, from the [[agora]] of [[Pella]], end of 4th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC, [[Archaeological Museum of Pella]].
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The [[royal page]]s were adolescent boys and young men [[conscripted]] from aristocratic households and serving the kings of Macedonia perhaps from the reign of Philip{{nbsp}}II onward, although more solid evidence dates to the reign of Alexander the Great.<ref group="note">{{harvnb|Sawada|2010|pp=403–405}}. <br />According to Carol J. King, there was no "certain reference" to this institutional group until the [[military campaigns of Alexander the Great]] in Asia.{{harvnb|King|2010|pp=380–381}}. <br />However, [[N. G. L. Hammond]] and [[F. W. Walbank]] state that the [[royal page]]s are attested to as far back as the reign of [[Archelaus I of Macedon]]. {{harvnb|Hammond|Walbank|2001|p=13}}.</ref> Royal pages played no direct role in high politics and were conscripted as a means to introduce them to political life.<ref name="king 2010 381">{{harvnb|King|2010|p=381}}.</ref> After a period of training and service, pages were expected to become members of the king's companions and personal retinue.<ref name="Sawada 2010 403">{{harvnb|Sawada|2010|p=403}}.</ref> During their training, pages were expected to guard the king as he slept, supply him with horses, aid him in mounting his horse, accompany him on royal hunts, and serve him during ''[[symposium|symposia]]'' (i.e. formal drinking parties).<ref>{{harvnb|Sawada|2010|pp=404–405}}.</ref> Although there is little evidence for royal pages in the Antigonid period, it is known that some of them fled with [[Perseus of Macedon]] to [[Samothrace]] following [[Battle of Pydna|his defeat]] by the Romans in 168{{nbsp}}BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Sawada|2010|p=406}}.</ref>