Paeonians

Before 1000 BCE, Paeonians must have settled in the lower Vardar basin as far south as Mygdonia where Strabo places them in an area known as Amphaxitis.

The expansion of the Macedonian state during the 4th century BCE resulted in the foundation of several new cities in southern Paeonia including Idomenae and Antigonia.

They adopted the cult of Dionysus, known amongst them as Dyalus or Dryalus, and Herodotus mentions that the Thracian and Paeonian women offered sacrifice to Queen Artemis (probably Bendis).

In this connection Herodotus[19] tells the story that Darius, having seen at Sardis a beautiful Paeonian woman carrying a pitcher on her head, leading a horse to drink, and spinning flax, all at the same time, inquired who she was.

An inscription, discovered in 1877 at Olympia on the base of a statue, states that it was set up by the community of the Paeonians in honor of their king and founder Dropion.

Another king, whose name appears as Lyppeius on a fragment of an inscription found at Athens relating to a treaty of alliance, is no doubt identical with the Lycceius or Lycpeius of Paeonian coins.

[20] The country of Paeonians had some important resources - it was rich in gold and a bituminous kind of wood (or stone, which burst into a blaze when in contact with water) called tanrivoc (or tsarivos).

As a consequence of Macedonian power growth, and under pressure from their Thracian neighbors, their territory was considerably diminished, and in historical times was limited to the lands north of Macedonia and from Illyria to the Strymon.

In 355–354 BCE, Philip II of Macedon took advantage of the death of King Agi of Paeonia and campaigned against them in order to conquer them.

In 280 BCE, the Gallic invaders under Brennus ravaged the land of the Paeonians, who, being further hard pressed by the Dardani, had no alternative but to join the Macedonians.