2024-01-08 20:40:35
“Absolutely revolutionary and pioneering for its time”, it is possibly connected by an invisible thread with one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, as it is speculated that the same architect, Pytheos, participated in both projects.
And the Palace of the Goats may not have been called a miracle, its ingenious architect nevertheless managed to leave behind an equally important work, since the palace that was erected in the years of Philip II (359-336 BC) “is not only the largest, but together with the Parthenon the most important building of classical Greece”.
With these words, among others, 11 months ago the now honorary curator of antiquities and dedicated to the organization and promotion of the major archaeological site, Angeliki Kottaridis, presented the Palace of the Goats to the packed auditorium of the Acropolis Museum. There, where on the occasion of the remote guided tour of the Polycentric Museum of Goats, in which the total area of 15,000 sq.m. palace complex occupies a key position, he also announced the completion of the restoration works and its inauguration, which took place on Friday, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Perched in a prominent position, in the city of Aigai, the palace was erected in the years of Philip II (359-336 BC), who placed it at the center of the great building program to modernize the royal metropolis of Macedonia. A stone’s throw from the neighboring theatre, where he was to take his last breath, the edifice designed to satisfy Philip’s ambition became the site where the plans of an even more ambitious Macedonian ruler took root: his successor, Alexander III. as in the square peristyle courtyard he was proclaimed king, a move that was the first step to conquer the ends of the world known at the time and to be characterized by History as Great.
Thousands of tiles and reliefs of exquisite quality, hundreds of square meters of marble inlays and mosaics, some of which are exquisite works of art, precious pigments, copper and all kinds of luxurious materials were employed to create the imposing building with its monumental propylon, reminiscent of a sanctuary, the impressive two-story arcades of the facade that open onto the city and invite the citizens to make use of the space, the mega peristyle, around which the banqueting areas are organized, the dome which, according to epigraphic evidence, housed the sanctuary of Patroos Herakles, the library – archive and the smaller western peristyle that served auxiliary uses.
The peristyle
Heart of the pioneering building – which was destroyed in the middle of the 2nd century. e.g. by the Romans and was stoned for centuries – it is the large square peristyle with the 16 Doric columns on each side, where the 4,000 sq.m. it could host about 8,000 people and be the preeminent gathering place for Macedonians, as was proven by the excavations that began in 1865 and continued until the middle of the 20th century.
The project of maintenance, fixing, restoration and restoration of the monument and the surrounding area (total area of 25,000 sq.m.) was carried out by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Imathia from 2007 to 2023 as a co-financed project of successive European programs, with a total budget of 20,300,000 euros .
It is noted that the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni did not attend the opening because she tested positive for the coronavirus, as announced by the ministry.
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