Pella was the working capital of Macedon, a larger city than Aigai and with better trade links, being close to the sea and situated by a shallow lake, which has since silted up. The city was already walled by Philip’s day. The palace was built around 410 BC by Archelaus, who commissioned the artist Zeuxis to decorate the palace.
The entrance to the palace faced south, overlooking the city, including the agora, which was downhill, towards the lake. The entrance gave onto a large courtyard which was used as a public space. It contained a central altar and three semi-circular apses which perhaps contained statuary or seating for dignitaries, and was surrounded by a stoa and public spaces such as a large dining room. Three and a half thousand people could be seated in this courtyard. The palace consisted of five main courtyards, which probably all had an upper storey.
Many of the houses excavated in the city belong to the period after Alexander’s death.
- Building 1 the entrance and main courtyard
- Building 1.jpg (230.66 KiB) Viewed 1780 times
- Pella_2.jpg (145.11 KiB) Viewed 1780 times
- Pellla-palace-plan-P1030875-600x426.jpg (52.75 KiB) Viewed 1780 times
For further information and images see:
https://www.palaceofpella.gr/the-palace ... x/?lang=en
http://www.civilization.org.uk/greece/greek-cities/
https://www.livius.org/articles/place/pella/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pella