History of the Peloponnesian War

But of that part of the now Macedonia which lieth toward the sea, Alexander, the father of this Perdiccas, and his ancestors the Temenidae, who came out of Argos, were the first possessors and reigned in the same, having first driven out of Pieria the Pierians, which afterwards seated themselves in Phagres and other towns beyond Strymon at the foot of Pangaeum (from which cause that country is called the Gulf of Pieria to this day which lieth at the foot of Pangaeum and bendeth toward the sea), and out of that which is called Bottia, the Bottiaeans, that now border upon the Chalcideans.

They possessed besides a certain narrow portion of Paeonia near unto the river Axius reaching from above down to Pella and to the sea. Beyond Axius they possess the country called Mygdonia as far as to Strymon, from whence they have driven out the Edonians.

Furthermore, they drave the Eordians out of the territory now called Eordia (of whom the greatest part perished, but there dwell a few of them yet about Physca) and the Almopians out of Almopia.

The same Macedonians subdued also other nations and hold them yet, as Anthemus, Crestonia, and Bisaltia, and a great part of the Macedonians themselves. But the whole is called Macedonia and was the kingdom of Perdiccas the son of Alexander when Sitalces came to invade it.

The Macedonians, unable to stand in the field against so huge an army, retired all within their strongholds and walled towns, as many as the country afforded,

which were not many then, but were built afterwards by Archelaus the son of Perdiccas when he came to the kingdom, who then also laid out the highways straight and took order both for matter of war, as horses and arms and for other provision, better than all the other eight kings that were before him. The Thracian army, arising from Doberus, invaded that territory first which had been the principality of Philip and took Eidomene by force;