by Maria Spiliopoulou
VERGINA, Greece, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The archaeological site of the palace complex of Aigai, one of the most significant buildings of classical antiquity at the starting point of Alexander the Great's historic campaign, opened its doors to the public this summer in northern Greece.
Archaeologist Aggeliki Kottaridi, Head of the local Ephorate of Antiquities of Imathia, gave Xinhua a tour this week to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. She presented its impressive image after the major redevelopment works which started in 2007, narrated its history, and explained the message the royal burial site and the former capital of the Macedonian dynasty still conveys to the world in the 21st century.
Constructed in the 4th century BC by Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, the Aigai Palace is considered Macedonia's Parthenon, the Greek expert explained.
It was three times larger than the temple of the Athens Acropolis and reflected the glory of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia. The plateau of the site is 25,000 square meters.
The palace was not the king's residence, but a gathering space for citizens. It was constructed with innovative-for-the-era architectural features, such as the peristyle (row of columns surrounding a space within the building).
The archetype design, found here for first time, gradually became popular across the Hellenistic world and inspired the architecture of Romans, Arabs and the West up to the Renaissance, Kottaridi explained.
The architectural design encompassed the monarch's philosophy on the "enlightened leadership". Philip II adopted ideas and institutions from the South, such as the city-state and democracy and created a new model of governance which combined political, religious, judicial and military rule.
He united Greeks and in 338 BC he established and led the first in history Greek state. He considered the strong kingdom which gradually expanded to the North and the East, as "Europe's kingdom", Kottaridi noted.
"This is a small city until the 4th century BC which thanks to the presence and the work of these two great leaders, Philip II and Alexander the Great who starts his campaign from here, became the cradle of very important ideas for world civilization," she said.
Aigai (modern name Vergina) was located at the foothills of Pieria mountains, according to the description of ancient Greek historian Herodotus. It was the land of many goats (Aigai in ancient Greek means 'goats'), Kottaridi noted.
It was inhabited from the early Iron Age (1,000-700 BC), flourished during the 4th century BC and in 168 BC was seized by the Romans and burnt down and was forgotten until 1977 when Greek Professor Manolis Andronikos unearthed Philip's tomb proving undoubtedly that the site which was first excavated in the 19th century was Aigai.
Kottaridi was a member of this team. She has witnessed the discovery of royal tombs of Alexander's family and unique treasures which are currently on display at the site's museum, avant-garde realistic portraits and frescoes of artistic value equivalent to the Parthenon marbles.
"We must realize, the truth is, that we are only at the beginning of the research. We have excavated only one out of a total of 800 parts of the city of Aigai... There are plenty more to discover. However, we move on with the excavations with carefully planned and measured steps, because first of all we need to conserve the several finds we have unearthed so far and present them to the public," the expert said.
So far, 1,500 square meters of mosaics have been restored. The next step is the restoration of columns.
The project of the palace's conservation, which is funded with European funds, is scheduled to finish in 2023, while in 2020 the new Aigai museum will open.
Combined with the under construction Virtual Museum "Alexander the Great, from Aigai to the World" the projects will help people formulate a better view of the ancient capital of the Macedonian kingdom and comprehend its historical significance, Kottaridi noted.
Inside the theater close to the Aigai palace in 336 BC Philip was assassinated and inside the impressive complex Alexander was proclaimed king.
"This building was constructed according to the ideas and theories of Plato for the enlightened leadership and of course later Aristotle was here. These two great ancient philosophers inspired political leaders. Political leaders who have vision can change a lot to the benefit of people. This is I think what Aigai has taught us," Kottaridi said. Enditem
