The Polycentric Museum of Aigai (Vergina)| Into the Heart of Ancient Macedonia

 

This UNESCO-protected archaeological wonder preserves not just the palatial tombs of Philip II and other members of Macedonian royalty but also the integrity of a solemn burial mound and a museum within the tumulus.

 

It contains four palatial tombs (including those of Philip II and Alexander the Great’s teenage son, Alexander IV) and some of the most astonishing finds from Macedonian history: the gold larnax containing Philip’s bones (emblazoned with the Macedonian sun), his massive armour and the golden wreath he wore on his funeral pyre, almost luminous in the dimmed lighting, among them.

 

DiscoverGreece.com 

Modern Historians about Macedonia – J.D.Fage

 

✍️ Quote:

 

Persian rule in Egypt was not to survive long, but its overthrow was not the work of Egyptians. In 336 BC a Greek army,led by Alexander III (Alexander the Great) king of Macedonia invaded the Persian empire.

 

📖  “The Cambridge History of Africa” edited by J. D. Fage, page 105

 

✍️Quote:

 

It would be easy to see in this, the formal establishment of Greek rule in Egypt, the logical culmination of three centuries of Greek influence and patronage. But, except in so far as the earlier involvement of Greeks in Egyptian affairs prepared the Egyptians psychologically to accept Greek rule...

 

📖 “The Cambridge History of Africa” edited by J. D. Fage, page 106 

Modern historians about Macedonia – Mark Grossman

 

“When Alexander was just a child, his father was making Macedon (Now Macedonia in northern Greece) into one of the Greatest Greek city-states, as well as the dominant power in the Balkans.”

 

Mark Grossman,World Military Leaders:A Biographical Dictionary,page 11

“...he was tutored by Aristotle,the great Greek orator and educator,whom Philip called to Pella.”

Mark Grossman,World Military Leaders:A Biographical Dictionary,page 12

Modern historians about Macedonia – Walter M. Ellis

 

I fear that I have not been wholly consistent in my use of the term “Macedonian.” For the record, let me state that I believe Macedonians, ancient and modern,are Greeks .

Ptolemy of Egypt,Walter M. Ellis, Routledge, 1994

In less than twelve years Alexander conquered the Persian  empire,a region that included the modern countries of Turkey,Syria,Lebanon,Israel,Egypt,Iraq,Iran,Afghanistan,Pakistan,and parts of former Soviet Turkestan and Uzbekistan.His empire also included a relatively united Greece,the work of his father,Philip II.

Ptolemy of Egypt,Walter M. Ellis, Routledge, 1994,page 1

Ptolemy was the creator of the longest lasting of the Hellenistic kingdoms. He created a state whose cultural importance was unparalleled until the coming of Rome. He encouraged the erection of the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, as well as creating a library which eventually contained the greatest collection of books until relatively recent times. Ptolemy's institution of higher learning, the Museum, gave birth to the greatest advancements in science before the seventeenth century of our own era.

In this work, the first biography of Ptolemy in any language, Professor Ellis charts Ptolemy's extraordinary achievements in and beyond Egypt in the context of the fragmentation of Alexander's enormous empire and the creation of the Hellenistic state.

 

From the publisher

Modern historians about Macedonia – David George Hogarth

 

 

Tradition held the other element to be Hellenic, and no one in the fourth century seriously questioned its belief.

 

“Philip and Alexander of Macedon” by David G. Hogarth,page 5

 

 

The king [of macedon] was chief in the first instance of a race of plain-dwellers, who held themselves to be, like him, of Hellenic stock…

 

“Philip and Alexander of Macedon” by David G. Hogarth, page 8

 

From Alexander I, who rode to the Athenian pickets the night before Plataea and proclaimed himself to the generals their friend and a Greek, down to Amyntas, father of Philip, who joined forces with Lacedaemon in 382, the kings of Macedon bid for greek support by being more Hellenic than the Hellenes.

 

“Philip and Alexander of Macedon” by David G. Hogarth, page 9-10

 

 

Archelaus patronized Athenian poets and Athenian drama and commisioned Euripides to dramatize the deeds of his Argive ancestor.

 

 

“Philip and Alexander of Macedon” by David G. Hogarth, page 10

 

 

“Macedonia” therefore, throughout historical times until the accession of Philip the Second, presents the spectacle of a nation that was no nation, but a group of discordant units, without community of race, religion, speech or sentiment, resultant from half-accomplished conquest and weak as the several sticks of the faggot in the fable.

 

“Philip and Alexander of Macedon” by David G. Hogarth, page 10 

Πλούταρχος:Περί Ἀλεξάνδρου τύχης καί ἀρετῆς,6 329Α-D

 

Καί μήν ἡ πολύ θαυμαζομένη πολιτεία τοῦ τήν Στωικῶν αἵρεσιν καταβαλομένου Ζήνωνος εἰς ἓν τοῦτο συντείνει κεφάλαιον, ίνα μή κατά πόλεις μηδέ δήμους οἰκῶμεν ἰδίοις ἕκαστοι διωρισμένοι δικαίοις, ἀλλά πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἡγώμεθα δημότας καί πολίτας, εἷς δέ βίος ᾖ καί κόσμος, ὥσπερ ἀγέλης συννόμου νόμῳ κοινῷ συντρεφομένης. Τοῦτο Ζήνων μέν ἔγραψεν ὥσπερ ὄναρ ἢ εἴδωλον εὐνομίας φιλοσόφου καί πολιτείας ἀνατυπωσάμενος, Ἀλέξανδρος δέ τῷ λόγῳ τό ἔργον παρέσχεν.

 

 Οὐ γάρ, ὡς Ἀριστοτέλης συνεβούλευεν αὐτῷ, τοῖς μέν Ἕλλησιν ἡγεμονικῶς τοῖς δέ βαρβάροις δεσποτικῶς χρώμενος, καί τῶν μέν ὡς φίλων καί οἰκείων ἐπιμελόμενος τοῖς δ’ ὡς ζῴοις ἢ φυτοῖς προσφερόμενος, πολέμων πολλῶν καί φυγῶν ἐνέπλησε καί στάσεων ὑπούλων τήν ἡγεμονίαν, ἀλλά κοινός ἥκειν θεόθεν ἁρμοστής καί διαλλακτής τῶν ὅλων νομίζων, οὓς τῷ λόγῳ μή συνῆγε τοῖς ὅπλοις βιαζόμενος καί εἰς ταὐτό συνενεγκών τά πανταχόθεν, ὥσπερ ἐν κρατῆρι φιλοτησίῳ μίξας τούς βίους καί τά ἤθη καί τούς γάμους καί τάς διαίτας, πατρίδα μέν τήν οἰκουμένην προσέταξεν ἡγεῖσθαι πάντας, ἀκρόπολιν δέ καί φρουράν τό στρατόπεδον, συγγενεῖς δέ τούς ἀγαθούς, ἀλλοφύλους δέ τούς πονηρούς· τό δ’ Ἑλληνικόν καί βαρβαρικόν μή χλαμύδι μηδέ πέλτῃ μηδ’ ἀκινάκῃ μηδέ κάνδυι διορίζειν, ἀλλά τό μέν Ἑλληνικόν ἀρετῇ τό δέ βαρβαρικόν κακίᾳ τεκμαίρεσθαι, κοινάς δ’ ἐσθῆτας ἡγεῖσθαι καίτραπέζας καί γάμους καί διαίτας, δι’ αἵματος καί τέκνων ἀνακεραννυμένους.

Ζήνων ο Κιτιεύς

Εκείνη η πολυθαύμαστη Πολιτεία του Ζήνωνα, που ίδρυσε τη Σχολή των Στωικών, αποβλέπει σε έναν κύριο σκοπό:να μην κατοικούμε χωρισμένοι σε πόλεις ούτε σε δήμους, που έχουν ιδιαίτερους κανόνες δικαίου, αλλά να θεωρούμε όλους τους ανθρώπους συνδημότες και συμπολίτες, και να υπάρχει ένας κοινός τρόπος ζωής και μία τάξη, όπως σε μια αγέλη που βόσκει και τρέφεται μαζί υπό έναν κοινό “νόμο”.

 

Αυτά έγραψε ο Ζήνων, αναπλάθοντάς τα σαν ένα όνειρο ή μια εικόνα του φιλοσόφου για την εύνομη πολιτεία.

 

Αλλά εκείνος που έκανε πράξη τη θεωρία ήταν ο Αλέξανδρος. Γιατί δεν φόρτωσε τη διακυβέρνησή του με πολλούς πολέμους και εξορίες και συνωμοτικές εξεγέρσεις, αντιμετωπίζοντας τους Έλληνες ως ηγέτης και τους βαρβάρους ως δεσπότης, όπως τον είχε συμβουλεύσει ο Αριστοτέλης, και φροντίζοντας τους πρώτους ως φίλους και συγγενείς και τους δεύτερους ως ζώα ή φυτά. Αλλά, πιστεύοντας ότι είχε αποσταλεί από τον θεό ως κοινός ρυθμιστής και συμφιλιωτής όλων, εξαναγκάζοντας με τα όπλα όσους δεν έπειθε με τον λόγο και συνενώνοντας σε ενιαίο σύνολο τα πάντα, αναμειγνύοντας τους τρόπους ζωής και τα ήθη και τους γάμους και τις συνήθειες, όπως σε μια κούπα φιλίας, πρόσταξε πως πρέπει όλοι να θεωρούν πατρίδα τους την οικουμένη, ακρόπολη και φρουρά τους το στρατόπεδο, συγγενείς τούς αγαθούς και ξένους τους τούς φαύλους.

 

Και τον Έλληνα ή τον βάρβαρο να μην τον καθορίζει η χλαμύδα ή η ασπίδα, ούτε το περσικό ξίφος ή ο μανδύας, αλλά να συμπεραίνουν ότι κάποιος είναι Έλληνας από την αρετή του και βάρβαρος από την κακία του. και να θεωρούν κοινά τα ενδύματα και τα φαγητά και τους γάμους και τις συνήθειες, καθώς θα έχουν αναμειχθεί με δεσμούς αίματος και με κοινά παιδιά.

Bruce Dickinson - Alexander the Great (first time live in Greece)

 

© Bruce Dickinson

 

Bruce Dickinson - Alexander The Great (part)

 live in Athens  21.07.2024

The Gallery- Metal Portal 

Iron Maiden

"My son ask for thyself another kingdom

For that which I leave is too small for thee"

Near to the east

In a part of ancient Greece

In an ancient land called Macedonia

Was born a son

To Philip of Macedon

The legend, his name was Alexander

At the age of nineteen

He became the Macedon King

And he swore to free all of Asia Minor

By the Aegean Sea

In 334 B.C

He utterly beat the armies of Persia

Alexander the Great

His name struck fear into hearts of men

Alexander the Great

Became a legend amongst mortal men

King Darius the third

Defeated fled Persia

The Scythians fell by the river Jaxartes

Then Egypt fell

To the Macedon King as well

And he founded the city called Alexandria

By the Tigris river

He met King Darius again

And crushed him again in the battle of Arbela

Entering Babylon

And Susa, treasures he found

Took Persepolis, the capital of Persia

Alexander the Great

His name struck fear into hearts of men

Alexander the Great

Became a God amongst mortal men

A Phrygian King had bound a chariot yoke

And Alexander cut the 'Gordian knot'

And legend said that who untied the knot

He would become the master of Asia

Hellenism he spread far and wide

The Macedonian learned mind

Their culture was a western way of life

He paved the way for Christianity

Marching on, marching on

The battle weary marching side by side

Alexander's army line by line

They wouldn't follow him to India

Tired of the combat, pain and the glory

Alexander the Great

His name struck fear into hearts of men

Alexander the Great

He died of fever in Babylon 

Modern historians about Macedonia – Thomas R. Martin

 

Philip never achieved his goal of conquering Persia, because he was murdered in 336, before he could begin that quest. It was his son, Alexander the Great (ruled 336–323 b.c.), who astonished the world by making Philip’s dream come true. 

 

 

Alexander’s awe-inspiring conquests reached from Greece to the western border of India and convinced him that he had achieved the status of a god. 

 

 

Alexander died unexpectedly in 323, before he had a mature heir to succeed him as king of Macedonia and without having put into place a permanent restructuring of governance in Greece to suit the new political conditions of the world in the late fourth century b.c.

 

 Thomas R.Martin,“Ancient Greece From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times”  (1996) ,pages 221-223

Modern Historians about Macedonia - John Morris Roberts

 

“The Macedonians spoke Greek and attended Hellenic festivals; their kings claimed to be descented from Greek families- from Achilles, the great Achaean hero of the Iliad, no less.” 

 John.M. Roberts, “A Short History of the World”,Oxford University Press, New York, 1993 ,page 124

 

“Alexander was a passionate Hellene.

He revered the memory of Achilles his supposed ancestor,and carried with him on his campaigns a treasured copy Homer.He had been tutored by Aristotle.”

John.M.Roberts,“A Short History of the World”,Oxford University Press, New York, 1993 ,page 125

Modern Historians about Macedonia - Charles Gates

 

 

 

 Alexander, son of Philip the Macedonian

 

 

 

“Philip II came to power in Macedonia in 359 BC. Althought speaking a dialect of Greek, the Macedonians lay on the fringes of Greek culture and had contributed little to Greek political, socio-economic and artistic life.”

 

 Charles Gates,Ancient Cities:The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece, and Rome,page 269

“With Alexander’s conquests, West Asia and Egypt were brought into the fold of Greek culture. The newly formed Greek kingdoms of the Hellenistic period would be much influenced, however, by the Near Eastern and Egyptian cultures they were now controlling. ”

 

Charles Gates,Ancient Cities:The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece, and Rome,page 270
 

 

 

 

Bilkent University:Charles Gates received his Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania (1979) and taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before joining the faculty at Bilkent in 1990. 

His teaching and research interests include Greek archaeology; Cilicia, Cyprus, and the Levant in the first millennium BC; and Byzantine art and archaeology. 

He is the author of Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece, and Rome, 2nd edn (London & New York: Routledge, 2011). 

A member of the Kinet Höyük excavation project since 1993, he works primarily on the site's Iron Age and Persian and Hellenistic levels.