Its Principal Riches, However, Consisted In Its Mines Of
Almost All Kinds Of Metals, But Particularly Of Gold.
In the district of
Pieria, it is said, there were found large quantities of this metal in the
sand, sometimes in lumps of considerable size:
But by far the most
productive and valuable mines of gold were in the mountain Pangaeus, in a
district which Philip, the father of Alexander, added to Macedonia. The
people who inhabited the country near the river Strymon derived great
wealth from these mines, and it was the knowledge of this, as much as the
facility of obtaining timber, which induced the Athenians to found their
colony near this river. The Thracians drove the Athenians from this part of
Macedonia, and Philip expelled them: he paid great attention to the working
of the mines; and by employing persons well skilled in this and in refining
the ore, he rendered them so extremely valuable, that, according to ancient
authors, he obtained the empire of Greece principally by means of the
immense sums he drew from them, amounting annually, according to Diodorus,
to 1000 talents of gold. When the Romans reduced Macedonia, they expressly
forbade the inhabitants from working the mines of gold or silver, or
refining either of those metals; permitting them, however, to manufacture
any other metal.
The princes of Macedonia previous to Philip, the father of Alexander,
notwithstanding the great advantage for maritime affairs and commerce
afforded by the sea-coasts, bays, harbours, &c., neither practised nor
understood them: this arose in a great measure from their being continually
engaged in wars, or having their ports occupied or blocked up by the
maritime states of Greece. Philip was the first who freed his country from
these evils and inconveniences; but his thoughts were too intently and
constantly fixed on other objects to allow him to turn his attention to
maritime affairs or commerce. Alexander, as we have already seen, bestowed
much care on his fleet, while engaged in the conquest of Asia; and when he
died at Babylon, had formed the design of placing his fleets, in every port
of his dominions, on a regular and extensive scale. But the advantages of
Macedonia for commerce were neglected in the midst of his vast plans
elsewhere, and the Macedonians, at the period of his death, were still
inattentive to maritime affairs.
Philip, the antagonist of the Romans, of whose power and success he was not
only jealous but apprehensive, as soon as he resolved to engage in
hostilities with them, applied himself to maritime affairs. His
determination seems to have been fixed when he learnt that the Romans had
been defeated at the Lake of Thrasymenus: he instantly formed the plan of
invading Illyrium, and then crossing over to Italy. But the latter step
could not be taken, nor, indeed, could he expect to cope with the Romans,
till he had formed a fleet, and trained his subjects to the management of
it. At this period the Macedonians seem to have had some merchant ships;
for we are informed that a petty king of Illyria seized some of them in the
port of Leucas, and also all that his squadron met with on the coast of
Greece, as far as Malea.
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