PHILIP V. was king of Macedonia, and son of Demetrius. His infancy, at the death of his father, was protected by Antigonus, one of his friends, who ascended the throne, and reigned for 12 years, with the title of Independent monarch. When Antigonus died, Philip recovered his father's throne, though only 15 years of age, and he early distinguished himself by his boldness and his ambitious views. He came to the throne in the year 220 before our Saviour, and the beginning of his reign was rendered glorious by the conquests of Aratus: a general who was as eminent for his love of justice as his skill in war. But so virtuous a character could hardly fail to be disagreeable to a prince who
wanted to indulge himself in every species of dissipation and vice: and indeed his cruelty to him soon displayed his character in its true light; for to the gratification of every vice, and every extravagant propensity, he had the meanness to sacrifice this faithful and virtuous Athenian. Not satisfied with the kingdom of Macedonia, Philip aspired to become the friend of Hannibal, and wished to share with him the spoils which the distresses and continual loss of the Romans seemed soon to promise. But his expectations were frustrated; the Romans discovered his intrigues; and though weakened by the valour and artifice of the Carthaginian, yet they were soon enabled to meet him in the field of battle. The consul Lævinus entered without delay his territories of Macedonia; and after he had obtained a victory over him near Apollonia, and reduced his fleet to ashes, he compelled him to sue for peace. This peaceful disposition was not permanent; and when the Romans discovered that he had assisted their formidable enemy Hannibal with men and money, they appointed T. Q. Flaminius to punish his perfidy, and the violation of the treaty. The Roman consul, with his usual expedition, invaded Macedonia; and in a general engagement, which was fought near Cynocephale, the hostile army was totally defeated, and the monarch saved his life with difficulty by flying from the field of battle. Destitute of resources, without friends either at home or abroad, Philip was obliged to submit to the mercy of the conqueror, and to demand peace by his ambassadors. It was granted with difficulty; the terms were humiliating; but the poverty of Philip obliged him to accept the conditions, however disadvantageous and degrading to his dignity. In the midst of these public calamities, the peace of his family was disturbed; and Perles, the eldest of his sons by a concubine, raised seditions against his brother Demetrius, whose condescension and humanity had gained popularity among the Macedonians, and who from his residence at Rome, as an hostage, had gained the good graces of the senate, and by the modesty and innocence of his manners had obtained forgiveness from that venerable body for the hostilities of his father. Philip listened with too much avidity to the false accusations of Perles; and when he heard it asserted that Demetrius wished to rob him of his crown, he no longer hesitated to punish with death so unworthy and so ungrateful a son. No sooner was Demetrius sacrificed to credulity, than Philip became convinced of his cruelty and rashness; and to punish the perfidy of Perles, he attempted to make Antigonus, another son, his successor on the Macedonian throne. But he was prevented from executing his purpose by death, in the 42d year of his reign, 178 years before the Christian era. The assassin of Demetrius succeeded his father, and with the same ambition, with the same rashness and oppression, renewed the war against the Romans, till his empire was destroyed, and Macedonia became a Roman province. Philip has been compared with his great ancestor of the same name; but though they possessed the same virtues, the same ambition, and were tainted with the same vices, yet the father of Alexander was more sagacious and more intriguing, and the son of Demetrius was more suspicious, more cruel, and more implacable; and, according to the pretended prophecy of one of the Sybils, Macedonia was indebted to one Philip for her
rise and consequence among nations, and under another Philip she lamented the loss of her power, her empire, and her dignity.