Aigai is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its grounds include a sumptuous palace – the largest in classical Greece and three times the size of the Parthenon – a theatre, ballrooms, ornate mosaics and a necropolis with more than 300 burial mounds, complete with royal relics. The tomb of Alexander's father, Philip II, is believed to be among them.
“After many years of painstaking work, we can unveil the palace. What we are doing today is an event of global importance,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the site’s opening ceremony on Friday, the Associated Press reported.
The palace's construction dates back more than 2,300 years, and its area is about 15,000 square metres.
The renovation took 16 years and cost more than 20 million euros, including financial support from the European Union, the Associated Press reported.
The capital was home to artists, painters and playwrights, highlighting the city's prosperity at that time, according to the official archaeological website. During the reign of Philip II, a wave of construction transformed the city, hosting sacred ceremonies, grand processions and feasts.
On one of these holidays, Philip was stabbed by an assassin, and his son Alexander became king. He would embark on a campaign to change the Hellenistic world, and his empire would extend from North Africa to Asia.
“Aigai provides important information about the culture, history and society of the ancient Macedonians, the Greek border tribe that preserved ancient traditions and carried Greek culture to the outer borders of the ancient world,” UNESCO said, describing them as “among the most important Greek tribes.” Important archaeological sites in Europe.
The city of Aegae was destroyed after the Roman defeat in 168 BC and fell into disrepair until it was excavated in 1977 by Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos.
