PHILISTES,
An ancient qneen, whose coin is still extant, but of whose life, reign, country, and government nothing can be ascertained. Herodotus speaks of her coin, so she must have flourished before he lived, that is, B.C. 487; but says nothing else of her. Some persons think that she was Queen of Sicily, others of Malta or Cossara.
PHILLA
Was daughter of Antipater, governor of Macedon, daring the absence of Alexander, B.C. 834. She was a woman of remarkable powers of mind, being consulted when quite young by her father, one of the wisest politicians of the time, on affairs of the greatest moment. By skilful management she prevented an army, full of factions and turbulent spirits, from making an insurrection; she married poor maidens at her own expense, and opposed the oppressors of innocency with such vigour, that she preserved the lives of many guiltless persons. Philla first married Craterus, one of Alexander's captain's, and the favourite of the Macedonians; and after his death Demetrius the First, son of Antigonus, King of Asia. He was a voluptuous man, and though she was the chief of his wives, she had little share in his affections. Philla poisoned herself on hearing that Demetrius had lost his possessions in Asia, in a battle at Ipsus, B.C. 301, with three of Alexander's former generals. She had by Demetrius a son and a daughter, the famous Stratonice, who was the wife of Seleucus, and yielded to him by his son Antiochus. Diodorus Siculus gave a history of this excellent princess but unfortunate woman, in which he extolled her character and talents.
PHILIPPA OF HAINAULT.
Daughter of the Earl of Hainault, married Edward the Third, of England, in 1327. In 1346, when, after the victorious battle of Cressy, Edward lay before Calais, David Bruce, King of Scotland, invaded the north of England, and ravaged the country as far as Durham. He was there met by Queen Philippa, at the head of twelve thousand men, commanded by Lord Percy; after a fierce engagement, the Scots were entirely defeated, and their king and many of the nobility taken prisoners. As soon as Philippa had secured her royal captive, she crossed the sea at Dover, and was received in the English camp, before Calais, with all the eclât due to her rank and her victory. Here her intercession is said to have saved the lives of the six citizens of Calais, who were condemned to death by Edward.
Philippa's conduct was always marked by wisdom and generosity, and she was on all occasions the confidant and adviser of her husband. She died before Edward, leaving several children, the eldest of whom was the celebrated Black Prince. Philippa is said to have founded Queen's College, Oxford; but her agency in establishing a manufacturing colony of Flemings at Norwich, in the year 1335, was of for greater importance to the prosperity of the nation. "Blessed be the memory of Edward the Third and Philippa of Hainault, his queen, who first invented clothes," says a monastic chronicler. He meant that by the advice of the queen, the English first manufactured cloth.
Philippa was also the Mend and patroness of Chaucer and Froissart.
