Ancient Macedonian city, birthplace of the Great Alexander the Great and his father Philip II. Pella is located right between the road leading from northwestern Greece to Thessaloniki about fifty kilometers.
Its name comes from the Doric dialect and was originally Apella but during the Byzantine and Ottoman period it was called Agii Apostoli (Santi Apostoli). Pella is definitively awarded in 1936 when Greece finally frees itself from Turkish tyranny. One of the most important political, economic and cultural centers of Greece which helped to create the great Hellenic nation.
It was founded by Archelaus I to become the capital of Macedonia Kingdom, and its position proved to be fundamental thanks to its very fertile lands and proximity to the coast which facilitated trade making it an influential point of reference for the empire It was exactly located on the hill to the north with the main road connected to the port, and its ruins are still visible today.
Its major development is due to King Philip II and his son Alexander the Great who between the fourth and second centuries BC transformed it not only as the capital of the Macedonian state but also in a lively city made of sumptuous houses with Doric columns, precious mosaics , researched murals, workshops and sanctuaries. Philip II helped unite the city-states that were perpetually at war with each other under a single flag, creating a massive union that is today modern Greece.
In 167 BC, the Roman Empire conquered Pella making it lose its importance and in the 1st century BC it was razed to the ground by a terrible earthquake. In 30 BC it was rebuilt on the west side above the promontory to the north and takes the name of Nea Pella. Originally it should be noted that Pella was located much more towards the coast but due to time and the sediments of mud sand and gravel of the Ludias Axios and Aliakamos rivers it was moved about twenty-five kilometers inland.
The excavations started in 1953 have brought to light many interesting truths about the ancient city such as its dimensions which count more than 400 hectares divided into a lower part and a part where the royal palace was located. The lower town area had a checkerboard shape with perpendicular streets 9 meters wide with a large square (agora in Greek) of 200x200 meters considered the largest in the ancient world. The Royal Palace, however, not yet completely discovered, had an extension of 7 hectares and was decorated by the most illustrious Greek artists such as the famous Zeusi. The streets were paved and equipped with sidewalks with two-story private houses with wonderful mosaic-decorated floors as you can admire at the Archaeological Museum of Pella which preserves the most famous depicting the battle of the Amazons, the kidnapping of Elena and the deer hunting.Pella was also equipped with a very respectable sewer and water system for the time.
Other finds are the ancient theater and an Odeon. More than a thousand tombs collects the archaeological site, about fifty catacombs dated between 650 and 280 BC. Between 1957 and 1964 the walls of the house were discovered with the mosaic dedicated to the God Dionysus, perhaps the most beautiful of all those in the city, which represents the God riding a panther.
For sure to go and visit for the great historical value where walking among the ruins you can imagine what life was like in the time of Alexander the Great, the youngest and greatest conqueror of all time.
Not to be missed and included in the list of things to see in Chalkidiki.