Greek Islands

Vergina Village

Vergina: King Philippos Gold Crown found inside the Gold Larnax

Welcome to Vergina!

The capital of almighty Macedonian Kingdom, Aigai, lost without trace for centuries, has at last been found. To the great distress of some modern interpreters of history, who had hoped that Aigai would be found far to the north, Vergina is securely identified as this lost city of mythical power and importance. It was from here that Alexander the Great started his campaign to establish a world wide imperium, not to enslave the peoples inhabiting the places he would conquer, but to free them from despotism.

Archaeological evidence proves that the area was continuously inhabited from the Early Bronze Age, around three thousand years B.C., to gradually become (11th-8th centuries B.C.) an important rich and densely inhabited center. The city reached its highest point of prosperity in the Archaic (7th-6th centuries B.C.) and Classical periods (5th-4th centuries), when it was the most important urban center of the area, the seat of the Macedonian kings and the place where all the traditional sanctuaries were established. Moreover, it was already famous in antiquity for the wealth of the royal tombs which were gathered in its extensive necropolis, a fact that had haunted Manolis Andronikos, who feared that his chances of finding some not despoliated tombs were minimal.