Philippi

Φίλιπποι

Greece · Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Kavala

Ancient cityExcavation ongoingUNESCO · 2016
Approximate period360 BCE — 1,400 CEMacedonian, Roman and Byzantine periods See on the map ↓

In brief

Refounded by Philip II in 356 BC, Philippi developed as a colony during the Roman period. Excavations have uncovered the remains of an important Early Christian centre alongside Macedonian and Roman buildings.

What was found?

  • 1Roman forum

    It is the public square of the Roman period. It is one of the tangible traces of the transformation the Macedonian city underwent under Roman rule.

  • 2Early Christian basilicas

    These are the remains of large church buildings. They document the early establishment and development of Christianity in the city.

  • 3Ancient theater

    It is among the surviving buildings from the city of Philippos II. It provides insight into the monumental urban fabric of Filippi before the Roman period.

  • 4Marble head attributed to Apollon

    The sculpted head, identified by researchers as Apollon, dates to the 2nd century AD or the beginning of the 3rd century. It adds a tangible example of the city's Roman-period sculpture.

What does it point to?

The buildings of Filippi show its transformation from a Macedonian city into a Roman city and a center of Christianity. The theater, forum, and basilicas reveal how public life and faith shaped urban space in different periods.

What did it teach us?

  1. It showed that a forum and other monumental public buildings were added to the existing city during the Roman period.
  2. The basilicas documented the presence of early Christianity in the city through architectural remains.
  3. It revealed that the Macedonian, Roman, and Christian periods can be traced within the same city.

Images

Archaeological site of Philippi BW 2017-10-05 12-47-21
Berthold Werner · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Staircase leading to the early christian Basilica A, Philippi (7272431838)
Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Philippi (7272248628)
Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Latest news / selected archive

The results of the 2023 excavations, announced in 2024, reported a marble head dating to the 2nd–3rd century AD, thought to represent Apollo.

Record

Culture
Ancient Macedonia; Roman; Byzantine
Team / historical
Natalia Poulou; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Coordinates
41.0131°, 24.2864°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. archaeology.org
  3. ertnews.gr
  4. en.wikipedia.org

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