Editing Amphipolis (section)

===Macedonian rule===
[[File:Amphipolis Lion.jpg|thumb|Lion of Amphipolis]]

The city itself kept its independence until the reign of king [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]] ({{reign|359|336 BC}}) despite several Athenian attacks, notably because of the government of [[Callistratus of Aphidnae]]. In 357&nbsp;BC, Philip succeeded where the Athenians had failed and conquered the city, thereby removing the obstacle which Amphipolis presented to Macedonian control over Thrace. According to the historian [[Theopompus]], this conquest came to be the object of a secret accord between Athens and Philip II, who would return the city in exchange for the fortified town of [[Pydna]], but the Macedonian king betrayed the accord, refusing to cede Amphipolis and laying siege to Pydna as well.<ref>Theopompus, Philippica</ref>

The city was not immediately incorporated into the Macedonian kingdom, and for some time preserved its institutions and a certain degree of autonomy. The border of Macedonia was not moved further east; however, Philip sent a number of Macedonian governors to Amphipolis, and in many respects the city was effectively "Macedonianized". Nomenclature, the calendar and the currency (the [[Stater|gold stater]], created by Philip to capitalise on the gold reserves of the Pangaion hills, replaced the Amphipolitan [[Ancient drachma|drachma]]) were all replaced by Macedonian equivalents. In the reign of [[Alexander the Great]], Amphipolis was an important naval base, and the birthplace of three of the most famous Macedonian admirals: [[Nearchus]], Androsthenes<ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?um=1&q=Androsthenes+Thasos&btnG=Search+Books| title = Androsthenes Thasos – Google Search}}</ref> and [[Laomedon of Mytilene|Laomedon]], whose burial place is most likely marked by the famous lion of Amphipolis.

The importance of the city in this period is shown by Alexander the Great's decision that it was one of the six cities at which large luxurious temples costing 1,500 [[talent (coin)|talents]] were built. Alexander prepared for campaigns here against Thrace in 335&nbsp;BC and his army and fleet assembled near the port before the invasion of Asia. The port was also used as naval base during his campaigns in Asia. After Alexander's death, his wife [[Roxana]] and their young son Alexander&nbsp;IV were exiled by [[Cassander]] and later murdered here.<ref>Diodorus Siculus, Library of History Book XIX, 52</ref>

Throughout Macedonian sovereignty Amphipolis was a strong fortress of great strategic and economic importance, as shown by inscriptions. Amphipolis became one of the main stops on the Macedonian royal road (as testified by a border stone found between [[Philippi]] and Amphipolis giving the distance to the latter), and later on the ''[[Via Egnatia]]'', the principal [[Roman roads|Roman road]] which crossed the southern Balkans. Apart from the ramparts of the lower town, the [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasium]] and a set of well-preserved frescoes from a wealthy villa are the only artifacts from this period that remain visible. Though little is known of the layout of the town, modern knowledge of its institutions is in considerably better shape thanks to a rich epigraphic documentation, including a military ordinance of [[Philip V of Macedon|Philip V]] and an [[Ephebos|ephebarchic]] law from the gymnasium.<ref>[http://attalus.org/docs/seg/s65_420.html Ephebarchic Law of Amphipolis] – English translation</ref>