By John Thomsen
The author visits Veria and Vergina tracing St.Paul’s ancient route and discovering Macedonian History
Even though we spent only a short time in the city of Veria, I had the opportunity, which was huge for a Midwest preacher’s kid, to sit on the same steps where St. Paul stood nearly 2000 years ago as he preached about Christianity to the people of Veria. The people who were listening to St. Paul speak on these steps were most probably hearing the message of Jesus for the very first time. The first known convert to Christianity in Europe was Lydia of Thyatira in Philippi (about 100 miles/160 kilometers from Veria). She was converted by St Paul who next traveled to Thessaloniki before coming to Veria.These places are all along the ancient road of Egnatia where St Paul traveled. Egnatia is now a major motorway which we took from Veria to Thessaloniki, just like St Paul except in reverse and faster.
It’s amazing to me how far people like St. Paul traveled in these days before cars, trains, planes, etc… There were boats of course, but much of the journey would have also been long distances traveled over land via foot, donkey, horse, etc…
After a delightful lunch at an excellent little restaurant, Ap’allou, in the older part of Veria, we drove to the nearby town of Vergina, and discovered a museum just outside the town itself, the Polycentric Museum of Aigai. It’s a beautifully designed contemporary museum, elegantly displaying items from the Classical and Hellenistic periods. After beginning to soak in Greek history there, we drove on into Vergina itself where we visited a museum that holds one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. In the late 1970s the renowned archaeologist, Manolis Andronikos, trembled as he realized he and his team had found the royal tombs of the family of Phillip II and Alexander the great. Very possibly of Phillip II himself. I felt like I was being catapulted back into ancient times as I moved slowly through the darkened rooms of the museum viewing the facades of the ancient tombs themselves and the extraordinary artefacts they had held for close to 2500 years.
As I marveled at these ancient treasures, it dawned on me that they were all from a time when Zeus, Hera and all the pagan gods of nearby Mt. Olympus reigned supreme, and how strange it was to think that St. Paul was preaching the teachings of Jesus only a few hundred years later in nearby Varia.
After leaving this amazing time capsule, we had to make a serious decision. Will we climb the high hill above Vergina to the ancient palace…. or sit, relax and enjoy a Greek coffee and pastry? All of us suddenly felt like total wimps so we gave up coffee and pastry and the decision was made to take the grueling uphill hike which was approximately 1.6 kilometers (one mile) straight up, to reach the recently “restored” palace built by King Phillip II, Alexander the Great’s father, a hard climb but in the end a very rewarding experience. Recently I read that the Greek Prime Minister was there last year for the official inauguration… but instead of feet he took a helicopter!
We were all amazed by the size of the palace and soon discovered from information given to us that the palace itself was the largest building in Greece at that time- three times the size of the Parthenon, holding at least 8,000 people. Everything in this magnificent edifice was built with geometric clarity combined with genuine joy for detail. All its parts were constructed using the Pythagorean golden ratio which gave it a sense of perfect proportion. An interesting and telling fact about this great king is that unlike other palaces at the time it was structured in a uniquely democratic way. It was designed so that he or any future king would never stand above his subjects. This alone tells us a great deal about Phillip.
Phillip II was a brilliant king who had turned Macedonia into the leading power of the day and changed the course of history. He was a wise, visionary ruler whose vision Alexander the Great was to continue after his father’s death. Sadly, Alexander would have to take over his father’s dream of spreading Hellenism throughout the known world much sooner than he had expected. In 336 B.C., while celebrating his daughter Cleopatra’s wedding (not that Cleopatra), Phillip II was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards as he entered the small amphitheater near the new palace. A few seats in this ancient amphitheater can still be seen, so I of course took the opportunity to sit in one of them, but stupidly I forgot to have someone take a photo. Most of the seats in the theater however remain covered by layers of earth. I am hopeful that one day this historic amphitheater will also be restored.
Fitting his royal position, at his funeral the great king was laid on a death bed made of gold and ivory, rich offerings were given, and a golden oak-leaf wreath crowned his head. Soon after the funeral ceremony, as was the custom, his body was surrendered to a funeral pyre. It is very possible that the ashes found in one of the tombs in what is called The Golden Larnax are those of the great king himself.
For those of us who love history, art and architecture, this is an experience you owe to yourself.