A new form of regime emerged in the Hellenistic states, which were constituted in the East after the death of Alexander III: the Hellenistic monarchy. Its principal characteristics were the personal nature of the monarch's power, the principle of hereditary succession, and the cult of the monarch.
Although these developments certainly influenced the Macedonian state under the Antigonids, its character remained very similar to that of the Classical period: the state consisted of the Macedonian 'ethnos' and the king, who, in Macedonia, was not deified as in the Hellenistic kingdoms of the East. The former Companions were now called Friends of the king and continued to influence the exercise of power.
On the other hand, as urban life prospered, the role of the cities and the evolution of their internal political life were intensified. Despite the urbanization of the country and the development of the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy, still novel at that time, the class of small landowners maintained its power, while the merchants and craftsmen did not advance socially or politically.
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