Aigai, Macedonian Site, Equals Visitor Count of Acropolis Museum

During a speech at a conference in Thessaloniki titled ‘Greece Talks_Thessaloniki: Thessaloniki on the international tourist map’, Angeliki Kottaridis, Curator of Antiquities of Imathia, told audience members that visitor numbers to the Palace of Aigai – the Kingdom of Macedonia – had this year begun to match those of the Acropolis Museum.

The conference took place at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall yesterday (Thursday, March 14), where the well-known curator, referring to the archaeological site of Aigai, said, “In 2022, recovering from the coronavirus, in Aigai we had 163,255 visitors and since then, in 2024, crazy things have started to happen. In January we had 12,589 visitors and in February 22,855 visitors. Last Sunday we had 7,800 visitors. We are talking about Acropolis museum numbers. And the most impressive thing is that this is an area without tourism,” she said.

Kottaridis then proceeded to take the audience through a digital presentation showing the great and unique things about the archaeological site and museum in Aigai, the great kingdom of Macedonia.

She said that the site is home to “important, rare finds already from the archaic years. Of course we have the weighty wreaths found in the royal tombs, including Philip himself, the famous gold sun boxes of Vergina. But also an amazing gilded fabric that was saved precisely because it was gold.”

She continued, “Despite the fact that we are not Athens, we have found some amazing examples of painting, original classical works. Here, in the picture, we see the work of Nicodemus, now I can say with confidence that it is his, the Abduction of Persephone and even the amazing scene with the hunt, from the tomb of Philip.”

Adding “In Aigai we have the unique opportunity to see some of the few gold-ivory finds that have been identified in the Greek area. Along with these and some amazing busts, such as that of Philip and Alexander, which essentially constitute the birth of the realistic portrait. Yes, the Parthenon is amazing but it is an idealistic work. Here we are dealing with the birth of realistic depiction.”

The History of Aigai, The Kingdom of Macedonia

Kottaridis also spoke about the cultural and historical significance that the Macedonian kingdom held for the rest of the world, highlighting the real-life, historical value of the site.

She said “Often in museums and monuments we need stories. Narratives to enhance the visitor’s interest. But in the Goats we don’t need stories. We are not dealing with myths that we somehow have to make up. We are dealing with real events and real people.”

She also touched on the reign and legacy of Philip II of Macedon, saying that “Within 20 years, Philip manages to unite Greece and become the first ruler of the Greeks. After his death, very early one morning at the end of a long-ago October, right after his father’s murder, Alexander runs with his friends to catch up with the conspirators. He enters the peristyle of the palace first and manages to become king. A year later, and after he has first managed to control all the internal issues in the Greek area, he starts from Aigai and goes to where we all know.”