Greece has always had this problem... They have a weak army and not the best economy in the world to start with... Although Athens is a money maker, it is only a money maker when you are trading with every city around it as well as land trade with the rest of Greece...

Macedonia on the other hand starts off pretty large with a bigger army, as well as all that superior cavalry.

Althouh i remember in one game of EB, the KH and the Epirotes beat Macedonia and each helf half of the peninsula... Greece the east and Epirotes the west.