John K. Cooley
In Nebuchadnezzar’s great image in Daniel 2, which represented the world powers from Babylon to Rome, the Greek empire was a “kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth” (Daniel 2:39). This empire had its beginnings with Philip II of Macedon (359-336 B.C.), but it was his son, Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.), who went on to fulfill the prophecy by conquering the then-known world in 13 short years. Alexander is depicted in the book of Daniel as a leopard with four heads and four wings (7:6) and a rough goat (8:21), and his rise and fall is accurately described in 11:2–4.
The following article describes what is one of the most exciting finds in Greek archaeology — an unplundered tomb thought to be that of Alexander’s father, Philip II of Macedon.
It was last Nov. 8 when Prof. Manolis Andronikos first shone his flashlight into the tomb he regards as the final resting place of King Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. At first it was a disappointment. The walls were rough, not covered with lush paintings as some other Macedonian tombs.
But then the Salonica University professor saw some of the treasures there — silver vessels and goblets, bronze and gold arms. It was an astonishing find, one estimated by many archaeologists as one of the most important since World War II.
The tomb and its contents have already greatly enriched the world’s knowledge of life and the arts in classical Greece. But Mr. Andronikos says: “We are still only in the first stage of discovery. Once the good weather begins in March, we will find out much more about the tombs already discovered, and then dig onward. If
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this is truly a royal tomb — and all the signs are that it is — then the ancient city of Aegea must lie below.”
An Early Capital
Aegae, also called Edessa, was an early royal capital of Macedon, commanding the strategic route from the Macedonian plain to northwestern Macedonia, the frontier between Greece and the Slavic lands beyond. During the interminable wars of the early Hellenes, it was captured around 274 B.C. by the forces of King Pyrrhus, known for his “Pyrrhic,” or excessively costly, military victories.
Pyrrhus garrisoned Aegae with rough, greedy Gauls, warriors who, according to the biographer Plutarch, plundered tombs and palaces until nothing remained.
Professor Andronikos and a dedicated team of experts are now engaged in the careful analysis, restoration, and archaeological dating of the treasures they have unearthed in the two adjoining tombs of Vergina, the northern Greek village that today may sit above Aegae. Some of these treasures may soon be on display in museums in Salonica, Athens, or near Vergina itself, if the local townspeople, eager to attract tourists, have their way. They will be a further archaeological attraction for the hordes of tourists that visit this sunny nation.
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Facade of the tomb believed to be King Philip II’s resting place.
Tests Under Way
A breastplate of Macedonian armor, a sword, and a helmet and cloth fabrics found in the tomb have been undergoing exhaustive tests in the laboratories of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. (“The helmet and the textiles are absolutely unique,” says Professor Andronikos. “A Swiss lady expert on ancient textiles, Dr. Lamberg, got so enthusiastic about them that she wanted to come and work here, even without any compensation, to study them closely,” he notes.)
In the main tomb, Professor Andronikos and his helpers found the marble sarcophagus containing a 24.2-pound solid gold casket, or larnax, trimmed with ivory. The casket contained the bones and golden diadem (crown) of a man, possibly King Philip. Decorating the tomb are two 4th-century B.C. Paintings — “the first we have ever found,” says Mr. Andronikos. They are to be cleaned and carefully studied when springtime weather makes resumption of work possible.
“These are the works of great artists, nothing like the crude fragments found elsewhere in Macedonia,” says Professor Andronikos. He believes one of the paintings may be the work of the noted Athenian painter Nicomachus, a contemporary of Plato and
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Some bronze artifacts found in the large tomb.
Aristotle. Nicomachus was painting in the middle of the 4th century B.C., as Philip conducted his wars and statecraft for the unification of Greece from his Macedonian base of operations. The other painting, thinks Mr. Andronikos, could be the work of a student of Nicomachus, Philoxenos of Eretreia, long believed to be the creator of a mosaic representing one of the decisive battles between Philip’s son Alexander and the Persian king Darius.
Some Skepticism Persists
A few of Professor Andronikos’ colleagues are still skeptical about the tomb being that of Philip II. For example, Photios Petsas, former director of the Greek Government archaeological service in Macedonia, insists that only written inscriptions, not yet found inside the burial mound at this writing, would be conclusive proof. But Professor Andronikos believes that “we may be lucky enough to find even inscriptions, though we rarely do in such tombs. But remember, this is the first ever found which had not been looted, so deeply buried and well-protected it was by nature.
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“Sometimes the maker or owner of a pot or vase,” he continues, “put his mark or name on the bottom. But so far, the only inscription of this period found in Macedonia was in the tomb of Lysson [a Macedonian notable], in Naussa, Lefkadia.”
However, most of Professor Andronikos’ Greek and foreign colleagues here agree that the evidence already found as to the tomb’s date, and the identity of Philip, are overwhelming. Red figured vases were found in the tomb and those were never made later than 320 B.C. (Philip’s murder, historians agree, was 336 B.C.) The form of the silver and bronze vases is of the same period. An archer’s quiver from the tomb has been positively dated to around 350 B.C. It is highly similar to the objects used by Scythian (early Slav) noblemen, shown in recent years in a traveling exhibition in Western Europe and the United States, and now in the museum at Kiev, U.S.S.R.
Clay Lamp also Dated
Work by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens has dated the small clay lamps found in the Agora of Athens to the same period. A small lamp, or lampion found in the Vergina tomb is nearly identical.
Professor Andronikos began work at Vergina in 1937 as a student assistant to the late Prof. Constantine Romaios. During World War II he fought with the free Greek forces. But since 1952, with some interruptions, he has been back at work, inspecting one of the most prominent of several mounds in the Vergina plain.
Finally, last Nov. 8, his diggers broke past the facade of the tomb, which had a magnificent frieze depicting a 4th-century B.C. lion hunt. Flicking a flashlight onto the rough walls, and seeing the treasures for the first time, Professor Andronikos was far from convinced that they were those of a king. However, two days later, opening the white marble sarcophagus, he found the gold casket with lion’s feet. On the lid was the stylized “exploding star,” emblem of the Macedonian kings.
The princely armor, including sword, shield, breast-plate, and copper leggings encrusted with gold and a spear, was arranged nearby. The Andronikos team found a round, adjustable golden diadem identical with those worn by statues and busts of Alexander and other Macedonian kings. An Athenian chemist positively identified another golden object, with a core of cloth, stucco and bamboo, as a royal scepter. There were small ivory heads of Philip and
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The solid gold, 24.2-pound casket with ivory trim.
his son Alexander, identified by their striking resemblance to their portraits on coins and busts.
The Smaller Casket
In the smaller tomb a similar but smaller gold casket, weighing about 17.6 pounds, may contain the remains of Cleopatra, the last of Philip’s seven wives. This, however, is still conjecture.
According to accounts of Plutarch, Pausanias, and other classical Greek and Latin writers, Philip concluded many alliances with other Greek states. He built an army, which under his son Alexander was to conquer an empire covering the civilized world, from what is now Spain to the Western plains of India. Philip took as his first wife Olympias. Some writers say she feared Philip might deprive her son Alexander of his legitimate inheritance and caused discord between father and son.
Cleopatra, the king’s last wife, is said to have provoked Philip to insult a Macedonian youth of good family, who finally murdered King Philip in August, 336 B.C. However, Plutarch’s account casts suspicion on Olympias for encouraging the youth to revenge, and
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even on Alexander himself.
“One thing my work has done,” says Professor Andronikos, “has been to give me the feeling that Philip was an extraordinary human being. Once I sympathized much more with Demosthenes,” the famous Athenian orator who opposed Philip’s militarism and scorned his military exploits. “But seeing and working with all this has given me the deep impression that Philip himself was a balanced, complex man with many other sides to his personality than just the military one.”
Macedonian Style Reconstructed
When the tomb’s treasures have been cleaned and restored to their original positions in a museum display, Professor Andronikos says, “They will give the visitor a shining picture of the Macedonian style, displaying not only wealth, but mainly sensitivity and a high aesthetic level.”
As cleaning and restoration of the treasures is completed, the Macedonian team hopes to penetrate unreached parts of the tomb which may conceal further secrets. And below, among the ruins of Aegae, believes Professor Andronikos, may lie the tomb he was seeking in the first place, that of a Macedonian king named Antigonus Gonatas (320-9 B.C.) who fought King Pyrrhus.
Greek President Constantine Tsatsos, an author and scholar himself, has carefully followed Professor Andronikos’ work from an early stage and has steadily encouraged it. He was one of the first to visit the Vergina site and was excited by the discoveries. After a visit by Greek Prime Minister Constantine Caramanlis Dec. 27 continued Greek Government financial support for the work, through Salonica University, was assured.
Many people from throughout the world have inquired as to whether they could help or participate in the work. For example, an expert with Corning Glass Company in the United States asked permission to study the ancient glass objects in the tombs. Professor Andronikos welcomes them. “This is not just the discovery of Greeks and shouldn’t be used for nationalistic or chauvinistic purposes,” he says. “It is part of the Western world’s heritage and belongs to all of us.”
(Reprinted by permission from the March 13, 1978 issue of The Christian Science Monitor. © 1978 by The Christian Science Publishing Society. All rights reserved.)
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