Editing Macedonia (ancient kingdom) (section)

==Legacy==
{{further|Hellenic studies|Hellenistic religion|Hellenistic Judaism|Hellenism (neoclassicism)}}
The reigns of Philip II and Alexander the Great witnessed the demise of Classical Greece and the birth of Hellenistic civilization, following the [[Hellenization|spread of Greek culture]] to the [[Near East]] during and after Alexander's conquests.<ref>{{harvnb|Anson|2010|pp=3–4}}.</ref> Macedonians then migrated to Egypt and parts of Asia, but the intensive [[colonization]] of foreign lands sapped the available manpower in Macedonia proper, weakening the kingdom in its fight with other Hellenistic powers and contributing to its downfall and conquest by the Romans.<ref>{{harvnb|Anson|2010|pp=4–5}}.</ref> However, the diffusion of Greek culture and language cemented by Alexander's conquests in West Asia and North Africa served as a "precondition" for the [[Mithridatic Wars|later Roman expansion]] into these territories and [[Byzantine Greeks|entire basis]] for the [[Byzantine Empire]], according to Errington.<ref>{{harvnb|Errington|1990|p=249}}.</ref>

[[File:Battle of Issos MAN Napoli Inv10020 n01.jpg|thumb|left|The ''[[Alexander Mosaic]]'', a [[Roman mosaic]] from [[Pompeii]], Italy, {{Circa|100 BC}}]]
The ethnic Macedonian rulers of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid successor states accepted men from all over the Greek world as their ''hetairoi'' companions and did not foster a national identity like the Antigonids.<ref>{{harvnb|Asirvatham|2010|p=104}}.</ref> Modern scholarship has focused on how these Hellenistic successor kingdoms were influenced more by their Macedonian origins than Eastern or southern Greek traditions.<ref>{{harvnb|Anson|2010|p=9}}.</ref> While [[Spartan Constitution|Spartan society]] remained mostly insular and Athens continued placing [[Solonian Constitution|strict limitations on acquiring citizenship]], the [[Cosmopolitanism|cosmopolitan]] Hellenistic cities of Asia and northeastern Africa bore a greater resemblance to Macedonian cities and contained a mixture of subjects including natives, Greek and Macedonian colonists, and Greek-speaking Hellenized Easterners, many of whom were the product of intermarriage between Greeks and native populations.<ref>{{harvnb|Anson|2010|pp=11–12}}.</ref>

The [[deification]] of Macedonian monarchs perhaps began with the death of Philip{{nbsp}}II, but it was his son Alexander the Great who unambiguously claimed to be a [[Imperial cult|living god]].<ref group="note">{{harvnb|Worthington|2012|p=319}}. <br />As [[pharaoh]] of the Egyptians, he was already titled [[Ra|Son of Ra]] and considered the living incarnation of [[Horus]] by his Egyptian subjects (a belief that the [[Ptolemaic kingdom|Ptolemaic successors]] of Alexander would foster for [[Ptolemaic dynasty|their own dynasty in Egypt]]). See: {{harvnb|Worthington|2014|p=180}} and {{harvnb|Sansone|2017|p=228}} for details.</ref> Following his visit to the [[oracle]] of [[Didyma]] in 334{{nbsp}}BC that suggested his divinity, Alexander traveled to the [[Oracle of Ammon|Oracle]] of [[Zeus Ammon]]—the [[Interpretatio graeca|Greek equivalent]] of the Egyptian [[Amun-Ra]]—at the [[Siwa Oasis]] of the [[Libyan Desert]] in 332{{nbsp}}BC to confirm his [[Sacred king|divine status]].<ref group="note">{{harvnb|Worthington|2012|p=319}}; {{harvnb|Worthington|2014|pp=180–183}}. <br />After the priest and [[Oracle of Ammon|Oracle]] of [[Zeus Ammon]] at the [[Siwa Oasis]] convinced him that Philip{{nbsp}}II was merely his mortal father and Zeus his actual father, Alexander began styling himself as the 'Son of Zeus', which brought him into contention with some of his Greek subjects who adamantly believed that living men could not be immortals. See {{harvnb|Worthington|2012|p=319}} and {{harvnb|Worthington|2014|pp=182–183}} for details.</ref> Although the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires [[Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great|maintained ancestral cults]] and deified their rulers, kings were not worshiped in the Kingdom of Macedonia.<ref>{{harvnb|Errington|1990|pp=219–220}}.</ref> While Zeus Ammon was known to the Greeks prior to Alexander's reign, particularly at the [[Colonies in antiquity|Greek colony]] of [[Cyrene, Libya]], Alexander was the first Macedonian monarch to patronize [[Egyptian mythology|Egyptian]], [[Persian mythology|Persian]], and [[Babylonian religion|Babylonian priesthoods and deities]], strengthening the fusion of [[Ancient Mesopotamian religion|Near Eastern]] and Greek religious beliefs.<ref>{{harvnb|Christesen|Murray|2010|pp=435–436}}.</ref> After his reign, the [[Mysteries of Isis|cult of Isis]] gradually spread throughout the Hellenistic and [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman world]], while beliefs in the Egyptian god [[Sarapis]] were thoroughly Hellenized by the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt before the spread of his cult to Macedonia and the Aegean region.<ref>{{harvnb|Christesen|Murray|2010|p=436}}.</ref> The German historian [[Johann Gustav Droysen]] argued that the conquests of Alexander the Great and creation of the Hellenistic world allowed for the growth and [[History of Christianity|establishment of Christianity]] in the Roman era.<ref>{{harvnb|Anson|2010|p=3}}.</ref>