It is a palace that symbolised the golden age of antiquity, bore witness to the assassination of King Philip II and the crowning of his 20-year-old son King Alexander the Great.
Located in the ceremonial heart of the ancient Macedonian kingdom, Aigai palace spans an impressive 15,000 square meters, rivaling the size of the Parthenon. This grand complex includes fortified city walls, courtyards, temples, sanctuaries, a theatre, a palaestra (boxing school), and tombs.
The latest discovery, revealed in the final episode of Channel 4’s Bettany Hughes’ Treasures of the World series, sheds light on the palaestra and bathing area where, as mentioned in the Dailymail, Alexander the Great and his companions, including Hephaestion, reportedly bathed together.
According to the Dailymail, despite the absence of Alexander’s specific bedroom, the archaeological team has meticulously restored 1,400 square meters of banqueting hall mosaics, marble floors, and palace colonnades over a 16-year, €20 million project.
The son of King Philip II of Macedonia and Queen Olympias of Epirus, Alexander was one of the most ambitious military commanders of all time.
From his reign in 336 BCE until his death 13 years later, he built one of the largest empires the world has ever seen, stretching from Greece to Egypt and deep into the Indian subcontinent.
Bettany was also granted access to the tomb of Alexander’s sister Thessaloniki, who was buried at Aigai, which was looted in antiquity.
Source: Dailymail
