Description: Pella(Greek:) is an ancient city located inCentral Macedonia,Greece. It served as the capital of theancient Greekkingdom ofMacedonand was the birthplace ofAlexander the Great.Pella was probably founded at the beginning of the 4th century BC byArchelaus Ias the new capital of Macedon, supplantingAigai. The city was the birthplace ofPhilip IIin 382 BC, and of Alexander the Great, his son, in 356 BC. Pella quickly became the largest and richest city in Macedonia and flourished particularly under the rule ofCassanderandAntigonus II. In 168 BC the city was sacked by theRomansduring theThird Macedonian Warand entered a long period of decline, its importance eclipsed by that of the nearbyThessalonika.. History House of Dionysus (325300 BC). Lion hunt mosaic Stag Hunt Mosaic from the House of the Abduction of Helen. In antiquity, Pella was a strategic port connected to theThermaic Gulfby a navigableinlet, but the harbour and gulf have since silted up, leaving the site landlocked. Pella is first mentioned byHerodotusof Halicarnassus(VII, 123) in relation toXerxes' campaign and byThucydides(II, 99,4 and 100,4) in relation to Macedonian expansion and the war againstSitalces, the king of theThracians. It was probably built as the commercial capital of the kingdom of Macedon byArchelaus I,complementing the older palace-city ofAigai although there appears to be some possibility that it may have been created byAmyntas III. Archelaus invited the painterZeuxis, the greatest painter of the time, to decorate his palace. He also later hosted the poetTimotheusof Miletusand the Athenian playwrightEuripideswho finished his days there writing and producingArchelaus. EuripidesBacchaewas first staged here, about 408 BC. According toXenophon, in the beginning of the 4th century BC Pella was the largest Macedonian city.[8]It was the birthplace and seats ofPhilip II, in 382 BC and ofAlexander the Great, his son, in 356 BC. It was already a walled city in the time of Philip II and he made the city of great international importance. It became the largest and richest city in Macedonia and flourished particularly underCassander's rule who redesigned and expanded it. The reign ofAntigonusmost likely represented the height of the city's prosperity, as this is the period which has left the most archaeological remains. The famous poetAratusdied in Pella c. 240 BC. Pella is further mentioned byPolybiusandLivyas the capital ofPhilip Vand ofPerseusduring theMacedonian Warsfought against theRoman Republic. In 168 BC, it was sacked by theRomans, and its treasury transported to Rome, and Livy reported how the city looked in 167 BC toLucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus, the Roman who defeated Perseus at thebattleof Pydna: ...[Paulus] observed that it was not without good reason that it had been chosen as the royal residence. It is situated on the south-west slope of a hill and surrounded by a marsh too deep to be crossed on foot either in summer or winter. The citadel the "Phacus," which is close to the city, stands in the marsh itself, projecting like an island, and is built on a huge substructure which is strong enough to carry a wall and prevent any damage from the infiltration from the water of the lagoon. At a distance it appears to be continuous with the city wall, but it is really separated by a channel which flows between the two walls and is connected with the city by a bridge. Thus it cuts off all means of access from an external foe, and if the king shut anyone up there, there could be no possibility of escape except by the bridge, which could be very easily guarded. Pella was declared capital of the 3rd administrative division of theRoman province of Macedonia, and was possibly the seat of the Roman governor. Activity continued to be vigorous until the early 1st century BC and, crossed by theVia Egnatia,Pella remained a significant point on the route betweenDyrrachiumandThessalonika. In about 90 BC the city was destroyed by anearthquake; shops and workshops dating from the catastrophe have been found with remains of their merchandise, though the city was eventually rebuilt over its ruins.Cicerostayed there in 58 BC, though by then the provincial seat had already transferred to Thessalonika. Pella was promoted to a RomanColonysometime between 45 and 30 BC and its currency was markedColonia Iulia Augusta Pella.Augustussettled peasants there whose land he had usurped to give to his veterans (Dio CassiusLI, 4). But, unlike other Macedonian colonies such asPhilippi,Dion, andCassandreia, it never came under the jurisdiction ofius Italicumor Roman law. Four pairs of colonial magistrates (duumvirs quinquennales) are known for this period. The decline of the city was rapid, in spite of being aColonia:Dio Chrysostom(Or.33.27) andLucianboth attest to the ruin of the ancient capital of Philip II and Alexander, though their accounts may be exaggerated. In fact, the Roman city was somewhat to the west of and distinct from the original capital, which explains some contradictions between coinage,epigraphs, and testimonial accounts. Despite its decline, archaeology has shown that the southern part of the city near the lagoon continued to be occupied until the 4th century. In about AD 180,LucianofSamosatacould describe it in passing as "now insignificant, with very few inhabitants".It later bore the nameDiocletianopolis( -Diokletianoupolis). In the Byzantine period, the Roman site was occupied by a fortified village.[citation needed] Excavations there by theGreek Archaeological Servicebegun in 1957 revealed large, well-built houses with colonnaded courts and rooms with mosaic floors portraying such scenes as a lion hunt andDionysusriding a panther. In modern times it finds itself as the starting point of theAlexander The Great Marathon, in honour of the city's ancient heritage.
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Historical Period: Greek (450 BC-100 AD)
Year: 31 BC
Era: Ancient
Certification: Uncertified
