Pella (pella)

Parish of Pella
Δημοτική Ενότητα Πέλλας
(Πέλλα)

Basic data

State :

Greece

Region :

Pella

Pella

Geographic coordinates :

40 ° 46 ′ N , 22 ° 31 ′ E Coordinates: 40 ° 46 ′ N , 22 ° 31 ′ E

Height above d. M .:

38 m
(town center)

Area :

113.619 km²

Residents :

6,798 (2011)

Population density :

59.8 inhabitants / km²

Code No .:

100305

Structure:

1 city district
5 local communities

Located in the municipality of Pella and in the regional unit of Pella

Pella ( Greek Πέλλα ( f. Sg. )) Is a small town with 6798 inhabitants (as of 2011) in the Greek Macedonia .

At the time of Philip II and Alexander the Great , Pella was the capital of ancient Macedonia . In the Byzantine and Ottoman times the city was called Agii Apostoli (Άγιοι Απόστολοι), in Slavic modified to Postol (Постол). After the reconquest of Macedonia by Greece, the place received the status of a rural community (Kinotita Pellis) in 1918 and was renamed Pella as a settlement in 1926. In 1989 it was recognized as a township ( Dimos ), which was considerably enlarged in 1997 by incorporating some neighboring towns (2001: 7295 inhabitants). In 2010 a larger municipality of Pella was created, to which the former municipality of Pella has since been one of five municipal districts.

history

At the turn of the 5th to the 4th century BC Pella was re-founded from surrounding communities by the Macedonian King Archelaos and made the capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia . Presumably, the seat of the capital changed from Aigai (now Vergina ) to Pella, as Pella had access to the sea via Loudias Lake and was more central in Macedonia, which had grown since Alexander I.

Plan of the city of Pella

Up until the time of Philip II , the city remained relatively insignificant and small in comparison with the Greek poleis , as interest in a central administrative seat and large capital was limited to the royal family. Under the strong King Philip II, Pella was then expanded and the number of residents increased rapidly. The city's heyday lasted until the 2nd century BC. Chr.

168 BC During the Third Macedonian-Roman War , Pella was conquered by the Romans and sank to an unimportant provincial town. At the beginning of the 1st century, the Macedonian city was destroyed by an earthquake.

Excavation site

A number of Pella's public buildings have been uncovered since excavations began in the 1950s. The agora and the surrounding buildings were uncovered from the former urban area and the palace to the north of it on the Acropolis . However, only a few blocks of houses, "insulae", have been excavated from the residential areas. The excavation work is still ongoing. The large pebble stone mosaics are among the most impressive finds. A new modern museum has been open on the site since the end of September 2009, which didactically presents the objects and mosaics found on the excavation site.

Personalities

Mosaic of Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia

Sons of the city

Alexander the Great (* 356 BC; † 323 BC in Babylon), King of Macedonia, hegemon of the Corinthian League
Hephaistion (* around 360 BC; † 324/23 BC in Ekbatana), friend of Alexander the Great
Ophellas (* around 355 BC; † 308 BC near Carthage), Macedonian officer under Alexander the Great and Ptolemy I.
Poseidippos (* around 310 BC; † 240 BC in Alexandria), Greek poet and epigrammatist
Paulinus von Pella (* 376; † after 459 in Bordeaux) Western Roman aristocrat and author

Further

Euripides (* 480 BC or 485/484 BC in Salamis; † 406 BC in Pella), Greek playwright
Choirilos of Samos († 4th / 5th century BC in Pella) epic poet of King Archelaos I.
Many of the favorites of the Macedonian kings (especially from Philip II onwards) grew up at the king's court in Pella and were educated there, for example Alexander of Molossis , Philip's brother-in-law and king of Molossis .

literature

Maria Siganidou / Maria Lilimbaki-Akamati: Pella. Capital of the Macedonians , Athens 2008.
Ioannis M. Akamatis: Pella , in: Robin J. Lane Fox (ed.): Brill's Companion to Ancient Macedon. Studies in the Archeology and History of Macedon, 650 BC-300 AD , Leiden / Boston 2011, pp. 393-408.

Web links

Commons : Pella - collection of images, videos and audio files

Information from the Greek Ministry of Culture ( Memento of June 3, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
Archaeological Museum of Pella

Individual evidence

↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)

[VZ2011-1] Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)