Molossians, and the Macedonians, of all the Greek peoples;
and only among the last mentioned did the office retain all its
prerogatives. As in the Heroic Age, so in Macedon, the king was supreme
judge, military commander-in-chief, and at the head of the religion of
the State. But he was no Oriental despot. The people were conscious of
their liberty and sensitive as to their rights. By the side of the king
stood the nobles, who were closely associated with him at all times,
constituting his council, accompanying him to war, and sharing with him
his dangers and his honors. As the population was largely rural, there
were present none of the conditions which tend to nullify clan
distinctions and create a democracy. The lines between noble and peasant
were very broad. Hence, Macedon was essentially a dynastic State, and
its history is largely the history of its royal family. As we have
frequently noted, in monarchies woman is ever a most influential factor,
A king must have a court, and there can be no court without a queen. The
queen's life has necessarily its public, political, and military
aspects; and the part she plays largely determines the weal or woe of
both king and people. Hence it is with the royal family of Macedon, and
with those queens and princesses who make up a large part of its
history, that we are now chiefly concerned.

The royal family of Macedon claimed descent from members of the ancient
Heracleid family of Argos, which had taken refuge in the north; and this
descent was so capable of proof, that, on the basis of it, one of the
earlier kings was admitted to the Olympic games. Herodotus, the great
story teller, relates the incident of the founding of the dynasty.
According to his narration, three brothers of the royal race of
Temenus,--the fourth in descent from Heracles,--Gauanes, Eropus, and
Perdiccas, exiles from Argos, went into Illyria, and thence into upper
Macedon, where they placed themselves, as herdsmen, at the service of
Lebea, one of the local kings. Now, when the queen baked the bread for
their food, she always noticed that the loaf destined for Perdiccas
doubled its weight; she made this marvel known to her husband, who saw
danger in it, and ordered the three brothers to depart from the country.
They replied that they would go as soon as they had received their
wages. Thereupon the king, who was sitting by the hearth, on which fell
sunlight through the opening of the roof, as if by divine i