Between the times of the explosion of Santorini, which ended the Minoan civilization .. and the expansionist power of the Romans started to reach out of the Italian peninsula … the dominant civilization in the Mediterranean were the Macedonians.

Between (very roughly) 500 BC and 200 AD, they accomplished two remarkable things: Philip the Second united the Greek City States into the Greek nation, and his son, Alexander the Great, in a sensational 11 year campaign, defeated one and all east to the border of India.

These were a wealthy organized people living lives that are recognizable as almost contemporary. To me, this culture was the sprouting seed of our western civilization.

The Romans and earthquakes and movements of the shoreline of the sea have all but obliterated their original capital cities of Pella and Vergina.

However, what was found in grave sites even after centuries of looting is extensive and tells us a lot about these people. Plus we can read their writing. Incredibly the grave of Philip the Second has been discovered and opened and found to be completely intact.

Here are some photos of objects from various museums, a tiny tiny fraction of what can be seen in Northern Greece, for the interested:

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