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The Makedonian city of Aeane : historical identity and significance

• Καραμήτρου-Μεντεσίδη, Γεωργία

The systematic archaeological excavations at Aeane, which began in 1983, have revealed the monuments of a brilliant civilisation which lasted from prehistoric times into the Roman era.According to a very ancient myth, Aeane was founded by king Aeanus, son of king Elymus. It was the capital of the kingdom of Elimeia or Elimiotis, whose royal line was mentioned by both Herodotus and Thucydides and included Arridaeus (a contemporary of Alexander I of Macedonia, whose brother-in-law he was), three monarchs by the name of Derdas, Machatas the prince (probably the name on a vase found in the tomb of Philip), and Phila (first wife of Philip II). Some scholars believe that Eurydice, mother of Philip, was also descended from the royal house of Elimeia.Aeane is today at the centre of international scientific, archaeological and historical interest because of the highly important archaeological finds made there during the last ten years: monumental public buildings, sumptuous pri - vate houses, royal tombs, early inscriptions, numerous pieces of jewellery and other items in gold and other metals of great value for their type and quality, red-figure and black-figure vases, and unique statues.These archaeological finds give a fresh dimension to the history of Upper Macedonia and of Macedonia as a whole. They are incontrovertible evidence of the ethnic identity of the inhabitants of the area, and documents of the unity of Greek civilisation.The finds provide a record of important historical periods for the Greeks of Macedonia which were unknown before the excavations at Aeane: a) the set­ tling in the area of the Proto-Doric (i.e. Macedonian) tribes in the second mil­ lennium BC; b) the furthest extremity of the Mycenean world (1600-1100 BC) now has to be moved north from Thessaly into Macedonia, since the finds suggest there may have been Mycenean settlements in the area and hint at frequent contact; c) The area flourished in the Archaic and Classical periods and had properly-organised cities with public buildings at least a century before Philip II, to whom the founding of the first cities or urban centres was usually attributed by historians. Aeane has dictated the revision of generally- accepted views about the cultural and social isolation of Upper Macedonia; d) The advanced standard of living and cultural level can be seen eloquently in the archaeological finds, which form themselves into historical discourse and incorporate the area into the cultural koine of the rest of the Greek nation, an uninterrupted phenomenon stretching from the late Bronze Age to the Roman era. The identification of Late Archaic and Classical inscriptions, among the earliest found in Macedonia, proves that the absence of such inscriptions until recently was the result of the fact that excavation had been limited and unsystematic.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Κοζάνη, συνέδρια

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