In return, the Athenians had to disband their confederacy and make alliance with Philip, thereby recognizing his power. He refrained from marching on Attica and returned all Athenian prisoners without ransom.
In the aftermath of his victory at Chaironeia in 338, Philip treated Athens leniently, perhaps influenced by the intellectual achievements of the Athenians, but more probably out of the realization that Athens still had significant naval power.
This ascendancy of Macedonia to the leadership of Greece forever changed the political situation and, though most Greeks were naturally unable to see it at the time, made powerful city-states a thing of the past. Indeed, by late summer he was made general by the congress of the Greek states at Corinth and in his father's place led the Greek invasion against Persia. Philip's murder in the summer of 336 created no fundamental change in this general situation rather it solidified Alexander's position by allowing him quickly both to discern his possible enemies and to bring them firmly under his control. Indeed, the league of Corinth had voted to wage war against the Persians with Philip, king of the Macedonians, at its head.
The once-powerful city-states now found themselves under the domination of the kingdom of Macedonia. The battle of Chaironeia marked a significant break in the affairs of Greece.
