Pella

The site is open April-Oct Mon noon-7pm; Tues-Sun 8am-7pm; closes 3pm rest of the year; 6euros combined ticket with museum.

Birthplace of Alexander the Great (Megas Alexandhros). On the road between Thessaloniki and Edhessa on the Macedonian plain. Forty minutes by bus from Thessaloniki (40km/25miles).

The capital of Macedonia province was founded and moved here from Vergina (Aigai) by King Archelaos (ruled 413-399BC), though the royal cemetery remained in Vergina.

A major cultural center from the beginning. Philip II of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great) unified the country 338 BC, and this became the first capital of a unified Greece.

Originally built by a lake which was at that time connected to the Thermaikos Gulf (the gulf of Thessaloniki) by a navigable river which later silted up, causing the city to fall into decline. Destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC and never rebuilt.

Pella Capital of Macedonia during its greatest period and first capital of Greece after the forcible unification of the country under Philip II of Macedon around 338BC, Pella was also the birthplace of both Philip ( born 382BC) and his son Alexander the Great ( born 356BC).

It was mentioned in the writings of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon as well as by the Roman histrorian Livy, Situated in the heart of the fertile Macedonian plain between Salonika and Edessa, it was once connected with the Thermaic gulf by a shallow, and navigable, lagoon (referred to as a river or canal by some writers). By the 2nd century BC the river began to silt up, which led to the city's decline. Its exact location came about through chance finds in 1957 and excavations by Professor Makaronas and Ph. Petsas from 1957-68 unearthed the famous mosaics dated around 300BC which have been the main attraction of this site to date.

Further excavations in recent years have been undertaken by Mrs. M. Karamanoli-Siganidhou. An earlier settlement called Bounomeia, where prehistoric sherds have been found, may have lain to the south of Pella. Coins from the 5th century BC have come from Pella, and it was late in that century that King Archelaos abandoned Aigai, which recent excavations suggest to have been Vergina, and transferred the royal Macedonian court to Pella, where he built a fine palace (probably in Palaia Pella (Old Pella). Some of the shining lights of his court were the artist Zeuxis, Euripides, whose play 'The Bacchantes' was first performed in the theater there. Alexander the Great was educated in both literature and the military arts, and one of his tutors was Aristotle, who was a native of Halkidhiki. The city was laid waste by the Roman Consul, Aemilius Paulus, in 168BC, and never recovered.

Highlights of the finds from the site of Pella, which were found from the north part of three rectangular blocks, include (Block 1) the House of the Lion Hunt, a late 4th century BC building, 50 meters by more than 90meters, with three open courts running north and south. Of its dozen rooms, three were decorated with mosaics (now in the museum). Also found were fragments of painted plaster, bronze bosses from the doors, terracotta antefixes, and stamped roof tiles, the latter suggesting some official function for this building. Broad streets with clay water pipes and stone sewers border it.

The central peristyle (six columns square) has been re-erected as well as the large pebble mosaics of the main rooms. In Block 5 more mosaics were found, including 'The Rape of Helen', and 'Stag Hunt'. To the northeast of the main site is the large agora (marketplace), 60,000 square meters in size and surrounded by Doric porticoes, with shops and workshops behind it the huge square. On its north side was a Temple of Aphrodite and Cybele. The main street of the town went through it, with a monumental gateway at the east. To the northwest is a circular Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore, with an altar at its center. To the north of the site (which is fenced) is the Acropolis , with a large complex on it which is being investigated, and which might be a palace. The theater where Euripides play had its first performance, in 408BC, has not been found. The site is open April-Oct Mon noon-7pm;Tues-Sun 8am-7pm; closes 3pm rest of the year; 6euros combined ticket with museum.

The museum at Pella

The most interesting exhibits are the mosaic pavements, of which the most stunning show Dionysos on a panther (the favorite animal of the god), a lion hunt, a stag hunt, the Rape of Helen by Paris and his friends Forvas and Theseus, a fight between a Greek and an Amazon, and a griffin attacking a deer.

These mosaics were masterfully done, with pebbles carefully chosen for their soft hues, and arranged in such a way as to create a flow of movement that is very lifelike. Special features are outlined with strips of lead or clay. The eyes, which are missing, were probably semi-precious stones. The grave finds from the two local necropolises, terracotta figurines from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite and Cybele, a collection of late Classical/early Hellenistic coins and metal door fittings (knockers, pivots, keys).