What was happening in Macedonia (Vergina) whilst Alexander was on his quest?

Question

You hear about Alexander's exploits across Asia etc. But what was happening in Macedonia seeing as they only ever saw their king for a year or so. What was the h**l was going on in a place that was ruled by a leader that wasn't there for twelve years!

Answer 1

All the Hellenes (=Greeks) except for the Spartans agreed to ally under the reign of Alexander. So, the majority of the greek soldiers were on the campaign against the Persians and revolts were  few, mainly on behalf either of the Spartans or of the barbarians of the peninsula of Haemus. After Alexander's death things got out of control and the "heirs" fought the one with the other for the throne.

Answer 2

During Alexander's absence, the regency in Macedonia and Greece was held by Antipater, who had been a senior general under Alexander's father Philip.  He was also a close friend of Alexander's mother, Olympias, and played an important role in securing Alexander's succession after Philip's assassination.

During Alexander's first few years in Asia, Antipater had to deal with a series of revolts in Greece.  First there was a naval revolt from the island of Rhodes; then, after that was put down, the people of Thrace revolted.  When Sparta also revolted, Antipater made peace with Thrace as quickly as possible.  He was thus able to incorporate a number of Thracian warriors into his army, giving him the strength to defeat Sparta at the Battle of Megalopolis.  In the following years, he became somewhat unpopular in Greece because of his support of the oligarchies and tyrants that ruled a number of the city-states.

As time went on Antipater's relationship with Olympias deteriorated severely, and eventually Alexander summoned him to Babylon, intending to replace him as regent.  Antipater was thus present in Babylon at the time of Alexander's unexpected death, and in the chaos that ensued he was able to have himself made regent of the entire Macedonian empire.  (Several ancient sources mention rumours that Antipater had Alexander poisoned.)

Answer 3

The 5th Century B.C. was dominated by Pericles of Athens; the 4th, by Alexander the Great. That's not to say there weren't other significant figures, some of whom worked in both centuries, or other monumental events, but when we think of Classical Greece, many of us think of the Parthenon and other aspects of Pericles' term of influence. In the 4th century, the most memorable aspect is Alexander spreading the culture of the Hellenes far and wide. This was also the century in which Socrates was executed by means of a goblet of poisonous hemlock and Aristotle advanced natural science. Over in Italy, the Romans were coming into power, although they also had setbacks that were to haunt them for centuries to come.

There is not much recorded about what was exactly happening, but we know that he had his people watching over the place, while he was conquering the rest of the world.