The Fragments on Macedonian Governance is a lost work by Polyaenus of Macedonia, known only through a handful of brief excerpts preserved by later authors. These fragments, cited in Athenaeus’s Deipnosophistae and a scholion on Aeschines, contain political and historical notes on Macedonian customs. The work is distinct from the more famous Stratagems compiled by Polyaenus of Macedon in the 2nd century CE. The extant passages describe aspects of Macedonian institutions and royal practice, including the custom of seating at symposia according to military rank rather than social status and the use of a specific silver vessel for libations by Macedonian kings. The treatise survives solely through these quotations and has no independent manuscript tradition, leaving its original length, scope, and full structure unknown. It is a rare, fragmentary source on Macedonian customs and political life. While its direct influence was minimal, its citation by Athenaeus provides glimpses of potentially authentic Macedonian court practices and social hierarchy.
Γεώργιος ὁ Σύγκελλος οὗτος ὁ Ἀμενῶφθίς ἐστιν ὁ Μέμνων εἶναι νομιζόμενος καὶ φθεγγόμενος λίθος, ὃν λίθον χρόνοις ὕστερον Καμβύσης ὁ Περσῶν τέμνει, νομίζων εἶναι γοητείαν ἐν αὐτῶι, ὡς Πολύαινος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἱστορεῖ.
ἀφικόμην· γενικῆι· Πολυαίνου Μέμνων «τὰ μὲν οὖν ἄνω πάντα διεξῆλθον, τὰ δὲ κάτω οὐκ ἀφικόμην τῆς θέας».
ἀπαγορεύω· δοτικῆι· τοῦ αὐτοῦ «ἐγὼ μὲν ἀπαγορεύω τῶι πόνωι».
Ἰωάννης ὁ Στοβαῖος Πολυαίνου ἐν τῶι Ὑπὲρ τοῦ συνεδρίου· «οὐ γὰρ ἀγνοεῖς, ὡς ἐν τοῖς κοινοῖς κἂν τοὐλάχιστόν τις παρέληται, ἀφορμὴ τῆς τῶν πλειόνων ἀπωλείας γίνεται».
Ἰωάννης ὁ Στοβαῖος ἐκ τοῦ Πολυαίνου Ὑπὲρ τοῦ κοινοῦ τῶν Μακεδόνων· «πρὸς μὲν δὴ τὸ μικρὸν τέλος φήμʼ ἔγωγε, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἔθος μέγα. ἔστι δὲ ὁ λόγος οὐ περὶ τῆς ποσότητος ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ δικαίου· καὶ πρόδηλον, ὡς ἀεὶ τὰ πονηρὰ τῶν ἐθῶν ἄρχεται μὲν ἀπὸ μικρῶν, ἀμελούμενα δὲ τὴν ἰσχὺν μείζω λαμβάνει».
Ἰωάννης ὁ Στοβαῖος ἐκ τοῦ Πολυαίνου Ὑπὲρ Μακεδόνων· «οὐκ εἰδὼς ὅτι πᾶν τὸ νεωτεριζόμενον ἐν ταῖς πολιτείαις ἀρχὴ δυνάμεως μείζονος γίνεται· ἄνδρας δὲ γεωργοὺς οὐκ ὀξεῖα τῶν κοινῶν ἀδικημάτων ἡ αἴσθησις εἰσέρχεται».
