Page:History of Greece Vol IV.djvu/27

 MACEDONIANS. 9 arming the cilizeu-soldier to make room for the foreign merce- nary, whose sword was unhallowed by any feelings <)f patriotism, yet totally incompetent to substitute any good system of central or pacific administration. But the Macedonians of the seventh and sixth centuries B. c. are an aggregate only of rude inland tribes, subdivided into distinct petty principalities, and separated from tho Greeks by a wider ethnical difference even than the Epirots since Herodotus, who considers the Epirotic Molossians and Thesprotians as children of Hellen, decidedly thinks the contrary respecting the Macedonians. 1 In the main, however, they seem at this early period analogous to the Epirots in char- acter and civilization. They had some few towns, but were chiefly village residents, extremely brave and pugnacious. The customs of some of their tribes enjoined that the man who had not yet slain an enemy should be distinguished on some occasions by a badge of discredit. 2 The original seats of the Macedonians were in the regions east of the chain of Skardus (the northerly continuation of Pindus) north of the chain called the Cambunian mountains, which connects Olympus with Pindus, and which forms the north-west- ern boundary of Thessaly. But they did not reach so far east- ward as the Thermaic gulf; apparently not farther eastward than Mount Bermius, or about the longitude of Edessa and Berrhoia. They thus covered the upper portions of the course of the rivers Haliakmon and Erigon, before the junction of the latter with the Axius ; while the upper course of the Axius, higher than this point of junction, appears to have belonged to Paeonia, though the boundaries of Macedonia and Paeonia cannot be distinctly marked out at any time. The large space of country included between the above-men- tioned boundaries is in great part mountainous, occupied by lateral ridges, or elevations, which connect themselves with the main line of Skardus. But it also comprises three wide alluvial basins, or plains, which are of great extent and well-adapted to 1 Herodot, v, 22. residents, appears from Thucyd. ii, 100, iv, 124, though this does not exclude ome towns. 1*
 * Aristot. Polit. vii, 2, 6. That the Macedonians were chiefly village