Vergina – Pella

Vergina

THE Vergina is a small town in Macedonia, in the prefecture of Imathia which administratively falls under the region of Central Macedonia. It is located 13 km southeast of Veria, the capital of the prefecture, and approximately 80 km southwest of Thessaloniki. The population of the town amounts to approximately 2,000 inhabitants and it is located at the foot of the Pieria Mountains, at an altitude of 120 meters from the sea.

The town is on the site of the ancients Goats, the capital of ancient Macedonia, and became world-famous in 1977, when the University Excavation of the Aristotle University, under the archeology professor Manolis Andronikos and his colleagues, discovered the burial places of the Macedonian kings and among the other tombs and a funerary monument which, according to Andronicus' argument, it belonged to King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. The discovery of these findings also confirmed the location of the ancient city of Aige, the first capital of the Macedonian kingdom.

Pella

The city was founded by Archelaus I (413-399 BC) or by Amyntas III to become the new capital of the Macedonian state instead of Aige (Vergina). Pella remained the capital until the overthrow of the Macedonian state by the Romans, who looted it and took its treasures to Rome. Later the city was destroyed by an earthquake and then rebuilt. Around 180 AD, Lucian informs us that "it is now insignificant and with few inhabitants" .

The oldest reference we have about Pella is from Herodotus when describing the campaign of the Persians and from Thucydides when describing the Macedonian expansion and the war against Sitalkis, king of the Thracians. According to Xenophon, at the beginning of the 4th century BC. it was the largest city in Macedonia. The city attracted famous artists of the time, such as the painter Zeuxis, the poet Timotheus of Milesius and Euripides, who died there while writing the tragedy Archelaus . After the violent death of Archelaus, the development of the state was halted. His great work was continued after a few decades, by Philip II (360-336 BC). Philip's effort was not limited only to internal development, but was mainly aimed at expanding the political power of Macedonia. During these years, Pella reached full bloom, becoming "the greatest of Macedonian cities" (Xenophon Greek V,2,13) and its radiation spread throughout the then known world with the conquests of Alexander III (336-323 BC) After the death of Alexander, endless disputes broke out between his successors, until the ascension to the throne of Antigonus Gonatas (276-239 BC). Pellaian survivors of Alexander the Great founded the same name colony in the Decapolis of Palestine, in the interior of Syria another Pella and in the Persian Gulf Old municipality. During the period of Antigonus Gonatas the city reached its heyday (according to the archaeological findings).

Pella is later mentioned by Polybius and Livy as the seat of the kingdom of Philip V and Perseus of Macedonia during the Macedonian wars. Livy gives us the only description of the city as seen by Romeus Lucius Aemilius Paul the Macedonian , winner of the Battle of Pydna:

"...and he saw that it was not unjustly chosen as a place of royal residence. It is situated on the south-west slope of a hill and is surrounded by a swamp too deep to cross on foot in winter and summer. The citadel, which is close to the city, stands in the marsh and juts out like an island, and is built on gigantic foundations which support walls above them and protect against the ingress of the waters of the lake. From a distance it looks as if it is a continuation of the city wall, but in reality it is separate and between the two walls there is a canal. The citadel is joined to the city by a bridge, thus cutting off all sides of access for an external enemy, and if the king imprisons any one there there is no way of escape but the bridge, which is easily guarded."

In the Roman province of Macedonia, Pella was the capital of the third division and probably the seat of the Roman governor. The Ancient Egnatia Road passed through Pella and was an important station between Dyrrachion and Thessaloniki. Cicero stayed there in 58 BC, but the post of prefect at that time had been transferred to Thessaloniki.

The city fell into decline for unknown reasons (probably due to an earthquake) towards the end of the 1st BC. century.