The Macedonian king was an autocratic figure at the head of both government and society, with arguably unlimited authority to handle affairs of state and public policy, but he was also the leader of a very personal regime with close relationships or connections to his hetairoi, the core of the Macedonian aristocracy.. These aristocrats were second only to the king in terms of power and privilege, filling the ranks of his administration and serving as commanding officers in the military. It was in the more bureaucratic regimes of the Hellenistic kingdoms that succeeded Alexander the Great's empire where greater social mobility for members of society seeking to join the aristocracy could be found, especially in Ptolemaic Egypt.. Although governed by a king and martial aristocracy, Macedonia seems to have lacked the widespread use of slaves seen in contemporaneous Greek states..
The Macedonian king was an autocratic figure at the head of both government and society with arguably unlimited authority to handle affairs of state and public policy but he was also the leader of a very personal regime with close relationships or connections to his hetairoi the core of the Macedonian aristocracy These aristocrats were second only to the king in terms of power and privilege filling the ranks of his administration and serving as commanding officers in the military It was in the more bureaucratic regimes of the Hellenistic kingdoms that succeeded Alexander the Great's empire where greater social mobility for members of society seeking to join the aristocracy could be found especially in Ptolemaic Egypt Although governed by a king and martial aristocracy Macedonia seems to have lacked the widespread use of slaves seen in contemporaneous Greek states