User:Remus210/Aegae (Macedonia)

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Aegae or Aigai (Ancient Greek: Αἰγαί), also Aegeae or Aigeai (Αἰγέαι) was the original capital of the Macedonians, an ancient kingdom in Emathia in northern Greece. The name derives from the Ancient Greek term "agai" for goat, with the plural suffix "ai", meaning "the land of many goats".^[1] Currently, the site falls within the town of Vergina.^[2][3]

Macedon is north of the rest of Greece, bordering Thessaly. Despite similarities in architecture, politics and culture, its status as a "Greek State" has been highly debated from antiquity into modernity.^[4] As an urban center, it existed as a collection of settlements of varying sizes, focused around a central "atsy", or city.^[5]

Besides being the political center of the Macedonian kingdom, Aegae's local economy was based on animal husbandry.^[1] It was also a meeting point for the Haliakmon and Askordos rivers, as well as the Pierian mountains, leading UNESCO to claim the urban center as "the oldest and most important in Northern Greece".^[6] The central city's walls were originally constructed in the fifth century BCE, surrounding the palace, some of the city, and the necropolis. These were updated and rebuilt by Philip II at the beginning of his reign in the mid-fourth century BCE and now included the city center.^[1]

Between the 11th and 2nd centuries BCE, more than 500 tumuli were constructed, three of which have been identified as Royal burial sites.^[6] In 1977, Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos started excavating the Great Tumulus at Aegae^[7] and found that two of the four tombs in the tumulus were undisturbed since antiquity. Moreover, these two, and particularly Tomb II, contained fabulous treasures and objects of great quality, including jewelry, armor, and weapons.^[8]

The largest building discovered at Aegae's site is the monumental palace. Located on a plateau directly below the acropolis, this building of two or perhaps three stories is centered on a large open courtyard flanked by Doric colonnades. On the north side was a large gallery with a view of the stage of the neighboring theatre and the whole Macedonian plain. There was a shrine for Herakles Patroos, the supposed ancestor of the Macedonian Royal Family.^[9][10] The palace was sumptuously decorated, with mosaic floors, painted plastered walls, and fine relief tiles. The masonry and architectural members were covered with high-quality marble stucco. Estimates show that over 20,000 cubic meters of stone were imported for things like the foundation, drain piping, columns, toichobates, and the antae.^[5]

Excavations have dated its construction to the reign of Philip II,^[11] even though he also had a palace in the capital, Pella. Philip's palace at Aegae underwent far less remodeling than the palace at Pella, giving archaeologists a clearer view of its layout and use.^[5] It has been suggested that the building was designed by the architect Pytheos of Priene, known for his work on the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and for his views on urban planning and architectural proportions. The theatre, also from the second half of the 4th century BC, was closely associated with the palace, with both buildings technically being in the same complex.^[9]

The recently excavated palace is not only the biggest but, together with the Parthenon, is considered to be one of the most significant buildings of classical Greece.^[12][6]

The site of the palace lost significance for Macedonian Royalty after it (and the rest of the city) was burned down in 168 BCE after the Battle of Pydna, despite the city remaining for another three centuries.^[5] A landslide in the first century AD preserved what was left of the ruins, leaving about 3-4 m of soil on top of the monument.^[5]