§ 24. disturb the established order: i.e. by establishing oligarchical governments in place of democracy.
§ 26. in the Thracian region: strictly, in Chalcidice and the neighbourhood. See Introd. to Olynthiacs.
robbed their very cities of their governments. This is preferable to the (grammatically) equally possible rendering, 'robbed them of their constitutions and their cities,' as it suits the facts better. Philip seems to have substituted tetrarchies for separate city-states. (See Speech on Chersonese, §26, and Second Philippic, § 22 n.)
§ 27. Ambracia. See Introd. to Speech on Chersonese. Elis: Introd. to Speech on Embassy. Megara: Speech on Embassy, §§ 294, 295.
§ 32. Pythian games. See Introd. to Speech on Peace. In 342 Philip sent a deputy to preside in his name.
§§ 33, 34. See Introd. to Speech on Chersonese. Echinus was a Theban colony in Thessaly, on the north coast of the Malian Gulf.
§ 42. Arthmius, &c. (cf. Speech on Embassy, §271). Zeleia was in the Troad, near Cyzicus. Arthmius was apparently proxenus of Athens at Zeleia, and as such had probably certain rights at Athens, of which the decree deprived him; so that Demosthenes' remarks at the beginning of §44 are slightly misleading.
§ 46. At the end of this section two versions are imperfectly blended, and it does not appear what were the contents of the document. Some suppose that the insertion 'He reads from the document' is an early conjectural interpolation.
§ 49. because be leads, &c. Philip did, in fact, bring the Macedonian heavy infantry to great perfection for the purposes of a pitched battle, though the decisive action was generally that of the cavalry. But the other troops which Demosthenes names would enable him to execute rapid movements with success. The use of light-armed troops had already been developed by the Athenian general, Iphicrates.
§ 50. with such advantages: lit. 'under these conditions' (not 'to crown all', nor 'at the head of these troops').