Philip was a Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 nobleman who was a Macedonian

Macedonia (Greece)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...

 Thessalian

Thessaly

Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....

 and his father’s first youngest brother (one of Philip’s paternal uncles) was Lysimachus

Lysimachus

Lysimachus was a Macedonian officer and diadochus of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.-Early Life & Career:...

 one of the Diadochi

Diadochi

The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...

 of Alexander the Great.

Philip was a son born to Alcimachus of Apollonia

Alcimachus of Apollonia

Alcimachus of Apollonia was a Greek nobleman who was a Macedonian Thessalian who served as an official. He was an active diplomat and administrator in the latter reign of King Philip II of Macedon who reigned 359 BC–336 BC and the first years of his son, King Alexander the Great reigned 336 BC–323...

 by unnamed Greek woman and had a brother also called Alcimachus

Alcimachus (son of Alcimachus of Apollonia)

Alcimachus, also known as Alcimachus of Apollonia was a Greek nobleman who was a Macedonian Thessalian and his father’s first youngest brother was Lysimachus one of the Diadochi of Alexander the Great....

. His known grandparent was his paternal grandfather Agathocles

Agathocles of Pella

Agathocles was a Greek nobleman who was a contemporary to King Philip II of Macedon who reigned 359 BC-336 BC.Agathocles was a Thessalian Serf from Crannon. His father’s name may have been Alcimachus. It was through his flattery, that Agathocles became an intimate friend of Philip II.Philip II...

. Philip’s father served as an official, and as an active diplomat and administrator in the latter reign of King Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...

 who reigned 359 BC–336 BC and the first years of his son, King Alexander the Great reigned 336 BC–323 BC. Philip was named in honor of his paternal late uncle Philip

Philip (son of Agathocles of Pella)

Philip was a Greek nobleman who was a Macedonian Thessalian.Philip was the youngest of four sons born to Agathocles and his wife, perhaps named Arsinoe...

, a soldier who died in the service of Alexander the Great.

Philip like his brother, appears to have been born and raised in Apollonia

Apollonia, Thessaloniki

Apollonia is an ancient town and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volvi, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located along the Via Egnatia in Macedonia, about midway between Thessaloniki and...

and is known from surviving inscriptional evidence. In a surviving inscription he is mentioned as Philip son of Alcimachus and little is known on him.

Sources

• Lysimachus’ article at Livius.org
• H.S. Lund, Lysimachus: A Study in Early Hellenistic Kingship, Routledge, 2002
• W. Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire, Wiley-Blackwell, 2006