Oh no! I have only been here a month, and I am already two weeks behind on posting. The good news is, I am behind because I have been busy thoroughly enjoying myself and learning all sorts of amazing things about Greece!
After exploring some of the history of Thessaloniki, we decided that we really wanted a good look at the ancient history around Thessaloniki. So, we planned a day trip with a company to visit Pella and Verginia on July 31. It was a busy, jam-packed day that was so worth the money!
Our first stop was the city of Pella. This is the ancient capital of ancient Macedon. It was built around the fourth century BC! It was the birth place of Philip II and his very famous son: Alexander the Great. It was the richest and largest city at the time in Macedonia. It was attacked by Romans during the Third Macedonian War, and declined beyond recovery. By the time it was ready to regain its ability to be the capital, it was easily overshadowed by Thessalonica (now known as Thessaloniki).
We started our time in Pella by visiting the current village of Pella (yes, you heard me right-the HUGE capital of Pella is now a small, sleepy village). It is located about a five minute drive from the ancient city of Pella. This cute city has a beautiful museum that preserves the archeological finds of ancient Pella. There, we were able to see pottery, statues, jewelry, tools, and more that were found in Pella.
After the museum, we were able to stop at the active archeological site of the city of Pella and explore the ancient market, dignitary houses, city baths, and just walk the same streets people did more than 2000 years ago! This was simply amazing. Below I have a few of my favorite photos from the archeological site. It was neat to see archeologists walking around and moving tools to parts of the site we weren't able to see due to their work.
This is what is left of one of the largest houses in Pella.
Miller is standing by one of the shops in the HUGE market. It was a square mile large!
Several of the stone mosaics that were the floors of the homes were almost completely intact. It is amazing how much detail is in these floor tiles.
After Pella, we drove to Verginia. Verginia is not part of the history of ancient Greece. It didn't exist. Verginia was created as part of the aftermath of the population exchanges between Turkey and Greece in the 1920's. However, Verginia is right next to some pretty cool ancient history.
Near Verginia, was the site of the city Aigai (this city does not exist anymore). Philip II had one of his homes in Aigai, and it is in Aigai's theatre that Philip II was assassinated. It is also the city were Phillip's son (Alexander the Great) was proclaimed king after his death. Finally, near Verginia is the burial site of Philip II and his grandson (who was also assassinated, and at the young age of 15/16).
In Verginia, we were able to visit the ruins of Philip II's home and the tombs of Philip II and his grandson's tomb. Below are the photos!
This is Philip II's home. The best part was that we were able to walk through the rooms and look at more of those amazing mosaic stone tile floors, like in Pella.
This is another view of Philip II's home. At the edge of his house was an overlook to the theatre he was assassinated in. He loved to watch the shows from his home, we learned.
The front of Philip II's tomb. This site was completely underground to preserve the tomb and artifacts better.
Philip II's grandson's tomb.
Spaces near the tomb where artifacts for Philip II in his afterlife were kept (including his wife). According to ancient Greek custom from the time, when the king died, his wife must be killed so she can pass into the afterlife with him. That way he has her and isn't lonely...I am so glad I was not married to an ancient Greek king...
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