Walking Back In Time Amongst Gods and Greats
We have been throwing ourselves into learning about culture and history everywhere we go. In Macedonia, we started listening to a non-fiction audiobook about the life and times of Alexander the Great as a family. We all found the information interesting. We finished the book in our first two days in Greece, as we happened to be touring around Northern Greece, which was originally part of Macedonia and where Alexander the Great was from.
We spent our first day in Northern Greece exploring Pella, the royal tombs, and a royal palace. All of which were associated with Alexander the Great and his time. Pella was the capital of Macedonia, the place where Alexander was from and where he lived. Well, when he wasn’t campaigning, anyway, which he mostly was! It was where all the royals lived until an earthquake ultimately destroyed the town. We walked around the ruins of the archaeological site and saw the baths, pottery workshop, agora (the area where public life happened – workshops, shops, business, trade, etc), temples, houses, and more. The site was massive. The girls’ favourite part was the remains of the Temple for Aphrodite, where they left flower offerings to the goddess. The palace remains were further away, where the museum now sits. Although, we did not go to the museum.
After visiting Pella, we went down south to Vergina to tour the Royal Tombs. There was a large mound of grass and an entrance into the underground area. Back in their day, large excavations were made so that elaborate tombs could be built for the deceased. There would be offerings and the tombs filled with treasures – including weapons, jewels, paintings, clothing, and more. As well as the remains of the deceased, of course. After burial, the tombs were covered with earth and buried.
Over the years, many of these tombs have been raided and looted. Many of the tombs have been partially or mostly destroyed with only some ruins remaining. In these tombs, it’s unclear who was buried here. Obviously, they were incredibly important. The one tomb that was extremely well preserved and not looted was Phillip II, the father of Alexander the Great. We saw the outside of his tomb (the picture does not do it justice for its grand size), a model that showed how it looked inside, and all the treasures that they have since pulled out of the tomb and had on display in cases. It was magnificent to see! Another well-preserved tomb was one that is believed to be the tomb of Alexander the Great’s son, Alexander. There were some amazing treasures on display from this tomb, as well. And the tomb entrance itself could also be seen. The tombs were massive, and it would have been quite the undertaking to build these! As for Alexander the Great, he is not buried here as he died abroad on a campaign. His body was moved from its original burial place in Egypt and is still presumed to be buried there somewhere, but it’s unclear where exactly he rests.
After seeing the royal tombs, we had our first authentic Greek dinner at a little family-run restaurant, Stou Charatsi. Then we headed over to the Palace of Aigai remains, which just re-opened in January 2024 after extensive restoration. This palace was not built as a home but as a palace for official royal business. It was more of a public palace and was considered the main political symbol of Macedonian rule. Alexander the Great was crowned here, among many other important historic moments. It was thoroughly destroyed by the Romans during their conquest to demoralize the Macedonians from trying to reconquer their lands. The magnificence of the building was still easy for us to imagine as we walked around. And the views out over the lands around here were impressive, as this palace was built up on a hill.
On the way up to the hill was a theatre. The remains were not all that impressive, as there was little left. However, it was fascinating to realize that this was the exact location where Phillip II was assassinated. If not for this assassination, would Alexander’s massive conquest have ever happened? What would the world look like if he hadn’t undertaken his conquest? It would be very different indeed, but how, we cannot even begin to imagine!
We finally made our way to Litochoro for the night. We walked around to stretch our legs a bit more and see the town including a beautiful little church near our apartment. It was a cute town near the coast and sat right at the base of Mount Olympus. The view of Mount Olympus from the town was impressive. I can easily understand how Mount Olympus became such an important aspect of ancient Greek life, and why they would have imagined the Greek gods lived up there!
The next morning we grabbed some delicious local cheese pastries from a bakery and fruit from the little corner market, then hit the road to do some exploring on our way down to our next home base. We went to Dion, which was an incredibly ancient city at the base of Mount Olympus. The archaeological site was massive! We walked around and saw the remains from all the various temples and the two theatres in one half. The other half was the town where people lived, the agora for public life, and more. The one theatre was especially impressive, with the backdrop of Mount Olympus behind. With Mount Olympus hovering over the entire town, it’s easy to understand why this became one of the most important holy places of worship back in the day!
While the Royal Palace nearby was completely destroyed, the Romans preserved Dion as it was so important from a religious perspective. They protected and expanded this ancient town. Dion also had ties to Alexander the Great, which we made sure to go see. At the Altar in Zeus’ Temple, Alexander the Great had made huge sacrifices before his campaign to ensure his success. He was a deeply religious man.
After exploring Dion, we made our way up Mount Olympus to do some hiking, see a religious cave, and enjoy some nature in general. Katia was thrilled to be so close to the gods. We also were able to stop at a little restaurant called Prionia as high up as you could reach on Mount Olympus by vehicle without some seriously high-quality climbing gear. The lunch was delicious, and it made Katia’s day to eat up here. We bought some local oregano to use in our cooking while we were up here, as well.
After two long days of exploring Northern Greece, we made our way down to the Peloponnese region to our first Greek home base just outside of Derveni. We are on the south side of the Gulf of Corinth. It was late when we arrived, and we all dropped exhausted but very happy into our beds. Northern Greece was stunningly beautiful, and we are so grateful we had the opportunity to explore a small section of it!