Finding Alexander the Great in Amphipolis in East Macedonia (1)

Thessaloniki Airport. On board of our rental car, the first apprehension quickly dissipates: the directions are very well indicated. Quickly, we leave the city to cross vast cultivated areas : olive groves as far as the eye can see, fields of sunflowers. This fertile hilly landscape is a pleasure for the eyes.

An hour and a half later, we arrive at our first stop, Amphipolis, reputed to be one of the major archaeological sites in Greece. No matter how I scan the landscape, nowhere do I see impressive columns or majestic temples.

A little disappointed, we nevertheless listen to the explanations of the guide who awaits us. Very educational and passionate about history, Angeliki Komsiou tells us about the past of this site, inhabited since the Neolithic era, so coveted for gold and silver in the mountains, its wood for shipbuilding.

It is about fierce fighting, massacres, political alliances…. The city was founded in 437 BC by the Athenians who had fought the Thracians. In 357 BC. JC, it is the king of Macedon Philippe II, father of Alexander, who seizes the city before the arrival of the Romans in 168 av. JC. Gold would finance Alexander's campaign against the Persians. Under his reign, Amphipolis also became an important naval base from which departed its huge fleets. Too bad, the small port at the mouth of the Strynoma river is impassable due to siltation due to alluvium from the river.

The historical context being placed, more or less, we visited the archaeological museum, small but oh so rich and well documented which covers the long human presence on the site.  Objects date from prehistoric times, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods: busts, statues, coins, jewelry, a gold death mask, vases and even terracotta baby bottles!

If the museum is small, we gladly linger there as the exhibits are intriguing and surprising.
But Angeliki wants to show us some vestiges on the ground. Finally hidden temples?
Not really. We walk along the northern walls which impress with their size.

Hidden in the weeds, the early Christian acropolis. In the ruins, we can see the layout of four basilicas, a rotunda, a few mosaics.

With the lion carved in marble from Thasos, we can finally admire a monumental work. This lion, more than 5 meters high, standing on its hind legs, watched over a burial place.

Perhaps the one discovered during excavations carried out in 2014 which uncovered an important richly decorated funeral monument. Alas, it is not the tomb of Alexander the Great but perhaps that of his mother Olympias, or of one of his wives or one of his favorite generals. The tomb cannot be visited (yet), the work seems to have stopped. The head of the sphinx found in the tomb will soon be on display at the museum.

The Amphipolis site still hides a lot of secrets. The treasures slumbering underground are only waiting for the necessary financial funds to be brought to light.