Concluding remarks

Although undoubtedly much work remains yet to be done to untangle the complex web of personal relationships within the extended royal oikos of Ancient Macedonia, building on the seminal scholarship of Elizabeth Carney the papers in this volume have elucidated the important role played by affective bonds. Although the king did hold the balance of power at the Argead court, the cultivation of a personal relationship offered members of his entourage (in whatever capacity) a certain degree of agency. The power dynamic therefore was not entirely dictated by the king, and the bonds that members of the court were able to develop with him afforded a certain degree of reciprocity. The social structure of the Argead courts of Philip and Alexander was highly influential in the development of their own court systems by the Successors, who adapted and transformed it as necessary for the success of their new dynasties in the changed world of the Hellenistic kingdoms.