PELLA

Transferring the capital of the kingdom from Aegae to Pella in around 400 B. C., King Archelaus made it the greatest of all Macedonian cities. Grandiosity characterized the whole structure of the city. The palace complex alone, situated on the hill dominating the city, occupied 60.000 sq. meters.
For 250 years Pella was the cultural center of the Greek world and a pole of attraction for famous artists of the age (Zeuxis. Apelles, Lysippos, Leocharis), It experienced its greatest prosperity during the reign of Alexander the Great, when it came to be called "Metropolis of the Macedonians - Homeland of Philip and Alexander". Thanks to archaeological excavations, luxurious private houses with the famous mosaic floors were uncovered. as well as sanctuaries. an agora covering an area of 70.000 sq. m., cemeteries and finds which visitors may now view in the local museum.