Pella

This article is about the ancient capital of Macedonia. For other uses, seePella (disambiguation).

Pella

Πέλλα
The main courtyard of the House of Dionysos
Pella Location within Greece Pella Location withinEurope
Location	Pella,Central Macedonia,Greece
Coordinates	40.754669°N 22.521050°E/40.754669; 22.521050
History
Cultures	Ancient Greece
Site notes
Website	pella-museum.gr
Architecture
Architectural styles	Ancient Greek

Pella(Greek:Πέλλα) is an ancient city located inCentral Macedonia,Greece.It served as the capital of theancient Greekkingdom ofMacedon.

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 ofAlexander 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 nearbyThessalonica.

Etymology

The name is probably derived from the wordpella,(Ancient Greek:πέλλα), "stone" which seems to appear in some other toponyms inGreecelikePellene.Julius Pokornyreconstructs the word from theProto-Indo-Europeanroot peli-s, pel-s,Old Indian:pāsāna, stone (from *pars, *pels),Greek:πέλλα,λίθος,stone,Hesychius(*pelsa),Pashto:parša (*plso), cliff,Germanic:*falisa,German:Fels,Old Norse:fell (*pelso),Illyrian:*pella, *palla.Solders in an essay onHesychiusglossary has referencedπέλλα(pella), λίθος (stone) as anancient Macedonianword. With the prefix "α" it forms the wordἀπέλλα,apella,"fence, enclosure of stones".Robert Beekesrelates the wordπέλλαwith the name of the city, but suggests that it probably haspre-Greekorigin.

History

House of Dionysus (325–300 BC).

Lion hunt mosaic

Stag Hunt Mosaic from the House of the Abduction of Helen.

Shops along the eastern edge of the agora.

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 inland.

Pella is first mentionedin relation toXerxes' campaign and 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 ofAigaialthough 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.Euripides'Bacchaewas first staged here, about 408 BC. According toXenophon,in the beginning of the 4th century BC Pella was the largest Macedonian city.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. 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 betweenDyrrachiumandThessalonica.

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 Thessalonica

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.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 ruin of the city is described byDio ChrysostomandLucianthough their accounts may be exaggerated, as the Roman city occupied the west of the original capital and coinage indicates prosperity.

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 temporarily bore the nameDiocletianopolis.

In the Byzantine period, the Roman site was occupied by a fortified village.

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.

Archaeology

The site was explored by 19th-century voyagers including Holand,François Pouqueville,Félix de Beaujour,Cousinéry, Delacoulonche, Hahn,Gustave Glotzand Struck, based on the descriptions provided byTitus Livius.The first excavation was begun by G. Oikonomos in 1914–15. The modern systematic exploration of the site began in 1953 and work has continued since then uncovering significant parts of the extensive city.

In February 2006, a farmer accidentally uncovered the largest tomb ever found in Greece. The names of the nobleancient Macedonianfamily are still on inscriptions and painted sculptures and walls have survived. The tomb dates to the 2nd or 3rd century BC. Overall, archaeologists have uncovered 1,000 tombs at Pella since 2000, but these only represent an estimated 5% of those at the site. In 2009 43 graves containing rich and elaborate grave goods were found and in 2010 37 tombs dating from 650 to 280 BC were discovered containing rich ancient Macedonian artifacts ranging from ceramics to precious metals. One of the tombs was the final resting place of a warrior from the 6th century BC with a bronze helmet with a gold mouthplate, weapons and jewellery.

Since 2011, much of the Palace of Pella has been excavated and from 2017 parts of it have been restored.It is expected to open to the public in 2024.

Many artefacts are displayed in theArchaeological Museum of Pella.

Schematic plan of Pella

Hippodamian plan

The city proper was located south of and below the palace. Designed on agrid planas envisaged byHippodamus,it consists of parallel streets which intersect at right angles and form a grid of eight rows of rectangular blocks. The blocks are of a consistent width—each approximately 45 m—and of a length which varies from 111 m to 152 m, 125 metres being the most common. The streets are from 9 to 10 metres wide, except for the middle East–West arterial, which is up to 15 metres wide. This street is the primary access to the central publicagora,which occupied a space of ten blocks. Two North-South streets are also a bit wider than the rest, and serve to connect the city to the port further South. This type of plan dates to the first half of the 4th century BC, and is very close to the ideal in design, though it distinguishes itself by large block size;OlynthusinChalcidicefor example had blocks of 86.3×35 metres. On the other hand, later Hellenistic urban foundations have blocks comparable to those of Pella: 112×58 m inLaodicea ad Mare,or 120×46 m inAleppo.

Urban area

The city is built on the former island ofPhacos,apromontorywhich dominated the sea to the south in theHellenistic period.The city wall mentioned by Livy is only partly known. It consists of a rampart of crude bricks (~ 50 cm square) raised on a stone foundation; some of which has been located North of the palace, and some in the South next to the lake. Inside the ramparts, three hills occupy the North.

In pride of place in the centre of the city is the Agora, built in the last quarter of the 4th century BC and an architectural gem, unique in conception and size; it covered ~ 7 hectares or 10 city blocks. Pella is one of the first known cities to have had an extensive piped water supply to individual house and waste water disposal from most of the city.

The agora was surrounded by the shaded colonnades ofstoas,and streets of enclosed houses with frescoed walls round inner courtyards. The firsttrompe-l'œilwall murals imitating perspective views ever seen were on walls at Pella. There weretemplestoAphrodite, CybeleandDemeter.Pella'spebble-mosaicfloors are famous: some reproduce Greek paintings; one shows a lion-griffin attacking a stag, a familiar motif also ofScythianart, another depictsDionysusriding a leopard. These mosaics adorned the floors of rich houses, often named after their representations, particularly the Houses of Helen and Dionysus.

Aerial photograph and plan of the House of Dionysos

Bathtubs in the public baths

Palace

The palace is situated on a 70 m high hill north of the city, a strategic position commanding the entire area and occupying a vast area of 75,000 m².It consisted of several large architectural groupings on terraces ascending from south-west to north-east, each with a series of rooms around a central courtyard, generally with porticos. The oldest parts date from the time of Philip II, 350-330 BC, and the palace was further developed over time.

The south facade of the palace, towards the city, consisted of one large (at least 153 metres long) portico, constructed on a 2 m-high foundation. The relationship between the four principal complexes is defined by an interruption in the portico occupied by a triplepropylaeum,15 m high, which gave the palace an imposing monumental air when seen from the city below.

Archaeologists have also identified apalaestraandbathsdating from the reign ofCassander.

The size of the complex indicates that, unlike the palace atVergina,this was not only a royal residence or a grandiose monument but also a place of government which was required to accommodate a significant portion of the administrative apparatus of the kingdom.

Language

ThePella curse tabletat theArchaeological Museum of Pella

The question of what language was spoken in ancient Macedonia has been debated by the scholars. The discovery of thePella curse tabletin 1986, found in Pella, the ancient capital ofMacedon,has given us a text written in a distinctDoric Greekidiom.Ιt contains acurseor magic spell (Greek:κατάδεσμος,katadesmos) inscribed on aleadscroll, dated to the first half of the 4th century BC (c. 375–350 BC). It was published in theHellenic DialectologyJournal in 1993. It is one of four textsfound until today that might represent a local dialectal form of ancient Greek in Macedonia, all of them identifiable as Doric. These confirm that aDoric Greekdialect was spoken in Macedonia, as was previously expected from the West Greek forms of names found in Macedonia. As a result, the Pella curse tablet has been forwarded as a strong argument that theAncient Macedonian languagewas a dialect ofNorth-Western Greek,part of the Doric dialects.

See also

• List of ancient Greek cities

References

Bibliography

• Bloomer, Martin (2005).The Contest of Language: Before and Beyond Nationalism.Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press.ISBN0-268-02190-2.
• Fantuzzi, Marco; Hunter, Richard L. (2004).Tradition and Innovation in Hellenistic Poetry.Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-83511-9.
• Fortson, Benjamin W. (2010).Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction(Second ed.). West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons Limited.ISBN978-1-4051-8896-8.
• Masson, Olivier; Dubois, Laurent (2000).Onomastica Graeca Selecta.Geneva, Switzerland: Librairie Droz.ISBN2-600-00435-1.
• Voutiras, Emmanuel (1998).Dionysophōntos Gamoi: Marital Life and Magic in Fourth Century Pella.Amsterdam, the Netherlands: J.C. Gieben.ISBN90-5063-407-9.
• Despoina Papakonstantinou - Diamantourou,Πέλλα Ι, Ιστορική επισκόπησις και μαρτυρίαι,Βιβλιοθήκη τῆς ἐν Ἀθήναις Ἀρχαιολογικῆς Ἑταιρείας 70 (1971)- (Pella Ι, istoriki episkopisis kai martyriai- in Greek)
• Ph. Petsas,Pella. Alexander the Great's Capital,Thessaloniki, 1977.
• (in French)F. Papazoglou,Les villes de Macédoine romaine,BCH Suppl. 16, 1988, pp135–139.
• (in French)R. Ginouvès, et al.,La Macédoine,CNRS Éditions, Paris, 1993, pp90–98.
• Ch. J. Makaronas,Pella: Capital of Ancient Macedonia,pp59–65, inScientific American,Special Issue, "Ancient Cities", c 1994.

External links

• Pleiades gazetteer entry for Pella/Diokletianoupolis
• Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (via Perseus)
• Macedonian Heritage
• Greek Ministry of Culture
• Local Newspaper
• House of Dionysos in Pella,3D Architectural Reconstruction