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{{short description|Town in northern Greece, site of ancient Aigai}}
{{For|the Star of Vergina or Macedonian Star|Vergina Sun}}
{{For|the archeological site and original Macedonian capital|Aegae (Macedonia)}}
{{Infobox Greek Dimos
|name = Vergina
|name_local = Βεργίνα
|type = municipal unit
|image_map = DE Verginas.svg
|map_caption = Location within the regional unit
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|periphunit = [[Imathia]]
|municipality = [[Veroia]]
|population_as_of =
|pop_municunit =
|pop_community =
|area_municunit = 69.0
}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| Official_name = Archaeological Site of Aigai (modern name Vergina)
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}}
'''Vergina''' ({{
Vergina is best known as the site of ancient '''[[Aegae (Macedonia)|Aigai]]''' ({{Langx|grc|Αἰγαί}},
Tomb I contained [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II, Alexander the Great's father]], tomb II belonged to [[Philip III of Macedon]], Alexander the Great's half-brother, while tomb III contained [[Alexander IV of Macedon|Alexander IV]], Alexander the Great's son.<ref>Antonis Bartsiokas, Juan Luis Arsuaga, Nicholas Brandmeir: The identification of the Royal Tombs in the Great Tumulus at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece: A comprehensive review. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Volume 52, December 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104279</ref><ref>Antonis Bartsiokas (2024): [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00934690.2024.2409503 The Identification of the Sacred “Chiton” (Sarapis) of Pharaoh Alexander the Great in Tomb II at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece. Journal of Field Archaeology, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2024.2409503]</ref>
Tomb I had been looted; Tombs II and III were intact and contained an array of burial goods. The ancient town was also the site of an extensive royal palace. The archaeological museum of Vergina was built to house all the [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifact]]s found at the site and is one of the most important museums in Greece.<ref name="unesco">{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/780 |title=Archaeological Site of Aigai (modern name Vergina) |website=UNESCO World Heritage Convention |publisher=United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization |access-date=25 November 2022}}</ref>
Aigai has been awarded [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] status as "an exceptional testimony to a significant development in European civilization, at the transition from classical [[city-state]] to the [[empire|imperial]] structure of the [[Hellenistic]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] periods".<ref name = "unesco"/>
==History==
{{Duplication|date=February 2024}}
In the 7th century BC, the [[Temenus|Temenids]]' dominance led to the Macedonians expanding and subduing local populations until the end of the 6th century BC, and establishing the dynasty at Aigai.
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Ancient sources give conflicting accounts of the origins of the [[Argead dynasty]].<ref>[[Justin (historian)|Justin]]: ''[[Justin (historian)#Works|Historiarum Philippicarum]]''</ref><ref>[[Strabo]]. [[Geographica|''Geography'']], Book 7</ref> [[Alexander I of Macedon|Alexander I]] is the first truly historic figure and, based on the line of succession, the beginnings of the Macedonian dynasty have been traditionally dated to 750 BC.<ref>[[N. G. L. Hammond|Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière]]; [[Guy Thompson Griffith|Griffith, Guy Thompson]] (1972). ''A History of Macedonia: Historical Geography and Prehistory I''. Oxford, United Kingdom: Clarendon Press.</ref> [[Herodotus]] says<ref>[[Herodotus]]. ''Histories'', 8.137.8</ref> that the [[Argead dynasty]] was an ancient Greek royal house led by [[Perdiccas I]] who fled from [[Ancient Argos|Argos]] in about 650 BC.<ref name="ring">{{cite book|last=Ring|first=Trudy|title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74JI2UlcU8AC&q=Vergina+Illyrian&pg=PA753|year=1996|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=1-884964-02-8|page=753}}</ref>
''Aigai'' is the name of several ancient Greek cities (see [[Aegean Sea#Etymology]])
From Aigai the Macedonians spread to the central part of Macedonia and displaced the local population of [[Pierians]].
From 513 to 480 BC Aigai was part of the [[Persian Empire]], but [[Amyntas I]] managed to keep its relative independence, avoid [[satrap]]y and extend its possessions.
In the first half of the 5th century BC Aigai became the capital of Macedonia At the beginning of the 4th century BC, Archelaus transferred the Macedonian capital northeast to [[Pella]] on the central Macedonian plain.<ref name="Roisman">{{cite book|last1=Roisman |first1=Joseph|title=A Companion to Ancient Macedonia|url=https://archive.org/details/companiontoancie00rois |url-access=limited | page= [https://archive.org/details/companiontoancie00rois/page/n183 156] |date=December 2010 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-7936-2 }}</ref>
Nevertheless,
His was the most lavish funeral ceremony of historic times held in Greece. Laid on an elaborate gold and ivory deathbed wearing his precious golden oak wreath, the king was surrendered, like a new Hercules, to the funeral pyre.
The [[Wars of the Diadochi|bitter struggles]] between the [[Diadochi|heirs of Alexander]] in the 3rd century adversely affected the city; in 276 BC [[Gauls|Gallic]] mercenaries of [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]] plundered many of the tombs.
After the overthrow of the Macedonian kingdom by the Romans [[Battle of Pydna|in 168 BC]], both old and new capitals were destroyed, the walls pulled down and all buildings burned.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In the 1st century AD, a landslide destroyed what had been rebuilt (excavations establish that parts were still inhabited then).<ref>"Vergina 2012: The excavation at the 'Tsakiridis' Section": Styliani Drougou, professor of History and Archaeology Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/vergina-2012-excavation-at-tsakiridis.html</ref>
In the 2nd to 5th centuries AD the population gradually moved
The modern settlement of Vergina was established in 1922, between two preexisting villages, "'''Kutlesh'''" (Κούτλες, ''Koútles'') and "'''Barbes'''" (Μπάρμπες, ''Bármpes''), formerly part of the Ottoman Beylik of Palatitsia. In the 19th century, both Kutlesh and Barbes were Greek villages in the Ber Kaza of the Ottoman Empire. Several inhabitants of the two villages took part in the Greek uprising of 1821. [[Alexander Sinve]] (Les Grecs de l'Empire Ottoman. Etude Statistique et Ethnographique) wrote in 1878 that 120 Greeks lived in Barbas. According to the statistics of [[Vasil Kanchov]] ("Macedonia. Ethnography and Statistics"), in 1900, 60 Greek Christians lived in Kutlesh and 50 in Barbes. The town of Vergina was settled in the course of the [[population exchange between Greece and Turkey]] following the [[Treaty of Lausanne]], by Greek families from Asia Minor. The name "Vergina" was a suggestion by the metropolitan of Veroia, chosen from a legendary queen Vergina (Bergina), who was said to have ruled somewhere north of the Haliacmon and to have had her summer palace near Palatitsia.<ref>Alexander Eliot, ''The Penguin Guide to Greece'' (1991), p. 291.</ref>
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In 1937, the University of Thessaloniki resumed the excavations. More ruins of the ancient palace were found, but the excavations were abandoned on the outbreak of war with [[Italy]] in 1940. After the war the excavations were resumed, and during the 1950s and 1960s the rest of the royal capital was uncovered, including the theatre.
The Greek archaeologist [[Manolis Andronikos]] became convinced that a hill called the ''[[Royal tombs of Vergina|Great Tumulus]]'' (Μεγάλη Τούμπα) concealed the tombs of the Macedonian kings. In 1977, Andronikos undertook a six-week dig at the Great Tumulus and found four buried tombs, two of which had never been disturbed. Andronikos identified that these were the burial sites of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II]], father of [[Alexander the Great]] (Tomb II) and also of [[Alexander IV of Macedon]], son of Alexander the Great and [[Roxana]] (Tomb III). This view was challenged by some archaeologists,<ref>{{cite book |last=Borza |first=Eugene N. |author-link=Eugene N. Borza |date=1999 |title=Before Alexander: Constructing Early Macedonia |url=https://archive.org/details/before-alexander-constructing-early-macedonia/page/68/mode/1up |series=Publications of the Association of Ancient Historians, 6 |location=[[Claremont, California|Claremont, CA]] |publisher=Regina Books |isbn=0941690970 |pages=68–74 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Bartsiokas |first=Antonis |date=21 April 2000 |title=The Eye Injury of King Philip II and the Skeletal Evidence from the Royal Tomb II at Vergina |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=288 |issue=5465 |pages=511–514 |bibcode=2000Sci...288..511B |doi=10.1126/science.288.5465.511 |pmid=10775109 |jstor=3075009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Borza |first1=Eugene N. |author-link1=Eugene N. Borza |last2=Palagia |first2=Olga |author-link2=Olga Palagia |date=2007 |title=The Chronology of the Macedonian Royal Tombs at Vergina |journal=Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts |volume=122 |pages=81–125 |issn=0070-4415}}</ref>
In 2023, nearly 50 years later, a study led by professor of anthropology at the [[Democritus University of Thrace]] Antonios Bartsiokas 'conclusively' revealed that the skeleton long identified as belonging to [[Alexander IV of Macedon]] is in fact his father [[Philip II of Macedon]], and vice versa: Tomb I contained [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip II, Alexander the Great's father]], tomb II belonged to [[Philip III of Macedon]], Alexander the Great's half-brother, while tomb III contained [[Alexander IV of Macedon|Alexander IV]], Alexander the Great's son.<ref>Antonis Bartsiokas, Juan Luis Arsuaga, Nicholas Brandmeir: The identification of the Royal Tombs in the Great Tumulus at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece: A comprehensive review. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Volume 52, December 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104279</ref> Tomb I also contained the remains of a woman and a baby, who Bartsiokas identified as Philip II's young wife [[Cleopatra Eurydice]] and their newborn child. Cleopatra Eurydice was assassinated along with her newborn child.<ref>Antonis Bartsiokas (2024): [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00934690.2024.2409503 The Identification of the Sacred “Chiton” (Sarapis) of Pharaoh Alexander the Great in Tomb II at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece. Journal of Field Archaeology, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2024.2409503]</ref>
▲This view was challenged by some archaeologists,<ref>{{cite book |last=Borza |first=Eugene N. |author-link=Eugene N. Borza |date=1999 |title=Before Alexander: Constructing Early Macedonia |url=https://archive.org/details/before-alexander-constructing-early-macedonia/page/68/mode/1up |series=Publications of the Association of Ancient Historians, 6 |location=[[Claremont, California|Claremont, CA]] |publisher=Regina Books |isbn=0941690970 |pages=68–74 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Bartsiokas |first=Antonis |date=21 April 2000 |title=The Eye Injury of King Philip II and the Skeletal Evidence from the Royal Tomb II at Vergina |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=288 |issue=5465 |pages=511–514 |bibcode=2000Sci...288..511B |doi=10.1126/science.288.5465.511 |pmid=10775109 |jstor=3075009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Borza |first1=Eugene N. |author-link1=Eugene N. Borza |last2=Palagia |first2=Olga |author-link2=Olga Palagia |date=2007 |title=The Chronology of the Macedonian Royal Tombs at Vergina |journal=Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts |volume=122 |pages=81–125 |issn=0070-4415}}</ref> but in 2010 research based on detailed study of the skeletons, vindicated Andronikos and supports the evidence of facial asymmetry caused by a possible trauma of the cranium of the male, evidence that is consistent with the history of Philip II.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2010/7207.html|title=2010: Vergina Tomb II - News - University of Bristol|first=University of|last=Bristol|website=www.bris.ac.uk|access-date=16 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Musgrave |first1=J. |last2=Prag |first2=A. J. N. W. |last3=Neave |first3=R. |last4=Fox |first4=R. L. |last5=White |first5=H. |name-list-style=amp |date=2010 |title=The Occupants of Tomb II at Vergina. Why Arrhidaios and Eurydice must be excluded |url=https://www.medsci.org/v07p00s1.htm |journal=International Journal of Medical Sciences |volume=7 |issue=6 |pages=s1–s15}}</ref> From 1987 the burial cluster of the queens was discovered including the tomb of Queen [[Eurydice I of Macedon|Eurydice]]. In March 2014, five more royal tombs were discovered in Vergina, possibly belonging to [[Alexander I of Macedon]] and his family or to the family of [[Cassander]] of Macedon. Some artifacts excavated at Vergina may be treated as influenced by Asian practices or even imported from [[Achaemenid Persia]] in late 6th and early 5th centuries BC,<ref>{{harvnb|Roisman|Worthington|2011|p=345}}.</ref> which is during the time [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]] was under the Persian sway.
===Royal burial cluster of Philip II===
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The great tumulus was constructed at the beginning of the third century BC (by Antigonos Gonatas) perhaps over smaller individual tumuli to protect the royal tombs from further pillaging after marauding Galati had looted and destroyed the cemetery. The hill material contained many earlier funeral stele.
===Palace of Aigai===
The most important building discovered is the monumental palace. Located on a plateau directly below the acropolis, this building of two or perhaps three stories is centred 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 neighbouring theatre and the whole Macedonian plain. 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. Excavations have dated its construction to the reign of Philip II,<ref name="aigai.gr"/> even though he also had a palace in the capital, [[Pella]]. It has been suggested that the building was designed by the architect [[Pythius of Priene|Pytheos of Priene]], known for his work on the [[Mausoleum at Halicarnassus]] and for his views on urban planning and architectural proportions).
Nearly 30 large columns that surrounded the palace's main [[peristyle]] have been reconstructed, some towering to a height of 25 ft.<ref name="realm">{{cite web |last1=Mandal |first1=Dattatreya |title=Philip II's massive palace at Aigai to be opened for the public in May |url=https://www.realmofhistory.com/2018/02/28/philip-ii-palace-aigai-pella/ |website=Realm of History |date=28 February 2018 |access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref> The frieze on the peristyle's southern section has also been reconstructed.<ref name="observer">{{cite web |title=Philip II's palace at Aigai to open to the public in May |url=https://thegreekobserver.com/blog/amp/2018/02/21/philip-iis-palace-aigai-open-public-may/ |website=The Greek Observer |access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref> Over 5,000 square feet of [[mosaic]]s depicting a range of scenes, including the ravishing of [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]] and motifs from nature have been carefully conserved. ▼
The Palace of Aigai is the largest building of classical Greece and is the location where [[Alexander the Great]] was proclaimed king in 336 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kantouris |first=Derek Gatopoulos and Costas |date=2024-01-06 |title=Greece unveils palace where Alexander the Great became king |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/greece-unveils-palace-where-alexander-the-great-became-king-20240106-p5evjl.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>
▲The most important building discovered is the monumental palace. Located on a plateau directly below the acropolis, this building of two or perhaps three stories is centred 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 neighbouring theatre and the whole Macedonian plain. 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. Excavations have dated its construction to the reign of Philip II,<ref name="aigai.gr"/> even though he also had a palace in the capital, Pella. It has been suggested that the building was designed by the architect [[Pythius of Priene|Pytheos of Priene]], known for his work on the [[Mausoleum at Halicarnassus]] and for his views on urban planning and architectural proportions).{{cn|date=February 2023}} The theatre, also from the second half of the 4th century BC, was closely associated with the palace.
The Palace of Aigai reopened to the public in January 2024 after an extensive 16 year restoration.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kantouris |first=Derek Gatopoulos and Costas |date=2024-01-06 |title=Greece unveils palace where Alexander the Great became king |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/greece-unveils-palace-where-alexander-the-great-became-king-20240106-p5evjl.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>
▲Nearly 30 large columns that surrounded the palace's main [[peristyle]] have been reconstructed, some towering to a height of 25 ft.<ref name="realm">{{cite web |last1=Mandal |first1=Dattatreya |title=Philip II's massive palace at Aigai to be opened for the public in May |url=https://www.realmofhistory.com/2018/02/28/philip-ii-palace-aigai-pella/ |website=Realm of History |date=28 February 2018 |access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref> The frieze on the peristyle's southern section has also been reconstructed.<ref name="observer">{{cite web |title=Philip II's palace at Aigai to open to the public in May |url=https://thegreekobserver.com/blog/amp/2018/02/21/philip-iis-palace-aigai-open-public-may/ |website=The Greek Observer |access-date=17 December 2020}}</ref> Over 5,000 square feet of [[mosaic]]s depicting a range of scenes, including the ravishing of [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]] and motifs from nature have been carefully conserved.
===Other tombs===
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[[File:Vergina2.jpg|thumb|"Rhomaios's Tomb" (discovered by K. A. Romaios)]]
The cemetery of the [[tumuli]]<ref>The Cemetery of the Tumuli, https://www.aigai.gr/en/archaeological-site-of-aigai/necropolis {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010120823/https://www.aigai.gr/en/archaeological-site-of-aigai/necropolis |date=2022-10-10 }}</ref> extends for over {{cvt|3|km}} and contains over 500 grave-mounds of significant wealth, some dating as early as the 11th century BC.
To the north-west of the ancient city is the important group of tombs from the 6th and 5th centuries BC belonging to members of the Macedonian dynasty and their courts.
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The Cluster of the Queens includes cist and pit tombs dating to the Greco-Persian Wars era, two of which probably belong to the mother and spouse of Alexander I: the all golden "Lady of Aigai" and her female relative, in whose funeral at least twenty-six small [[terracotta]] statues. One from around 340 BC with an imposing marble throne is identified as that of [[Eurydice I of Macedon|Eurydice]], mother of Philip II.
The so-called "Ionic Tomb" or "Rhomaios's Tomb", named after its excavator, Konstantinos Rhomaios, is an elegant Macedonian tomb with an Ionic facade consisting of four engaged columns crowned by a painted floral frieze, now no longer visible because of weathering. It contained a marble throne with armrests supported by sphinxes.<ref>{{cite book |
==Gallery==
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==References==
*Drougou S., [[Chrysoula Saatsoglou-Paliadeli|Saatsoglou Ch.]], ''Vergina: Reading around the archaeological site'', Ministry of Culture, 2005.
*{{cite book|last1=Roisman|first1=Joseph|last2=Worthington|first2=Ian|title=A Companion to Ancient Macedonia|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4443-5163-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QsJ183uUDkMC&q=Achaemenid+Persians+ruled+balkans&pg=PA345}}
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{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1922 establishments in Greece]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1922]]
[[Category:Populated places in Imathia]]
[[Category:Veria]]
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