Antiquities Exhibits

Philip II (Latin: Marcus Julius Severus Philippus; 237 – 249CE), also known as Philip the Younger, was the son and heir of the Roman Emperor Philip the Arab by his wife Marcia Otacilia Severa. When his father became emperor in 244, young Philip was appointed caesar at the age of only seven-years-old. In 247, he became consul, and was later elevated by his father to the rank of augustus and co-ruler.  Although ancient historians claim both Philip the Arab and his son were killed in battle by Decius.   Decius was a distinguished senator who had served as suffect consul in 232, had been governor of Moesia and Germania Inferior soon afterwards, served as governor of Hispania Tarraconensis between 235 and 238, and was urban prefect of Rome during the early reign of Emperor Philip the Arab. In 248 or 249 Decius was sent to quell the revolt of Pacatianus and his troops in Moesia and Pannonia, a rebellion seen by some modern historians as emerging Balkan separatism.  After t...

In the summer of 2021, the palace where Alexander the Great was born, will be open for visitors although the visitor's center will not be completed until 2023. Alexander the Great, otherwise referred to as the “King of Kings”, was born on July 20 or 21, 356 BCE. in Pella, Macedonia. He led a Pan-Hellenic military campaign against Persia and in the process spread Greek culture across the entire empire he created. The palace originally encompassed about 70 acres but was looted by the Romans when the Macedonians were defeated in 168 BCE. The structure harkens back to the style of Mycenean palace-complexes and doubled as a fortified stronghold with town inhabitants, while also having particular sectors built for royal burials. Added to this high-density usage pattern, the ancient complex occupied a rather strategic site defined by two rivers and the Pieria mountains. This military significance of the stronghold mirrored the desperate political situation originally faced by Philip II, A...

“The Greeks, From Agamemnon to Alexander the Great,” through September 15, 2019 at the Hangaram Museum in Seoul, South Korea. This exhibit features 350 ancient Greek artifacts including funerary helmets with gold death masks from the mid-6th century BCE, votive sculpture, grave goods of 9th century BCE Macedonian aristocrats, gold serving ware and seal rings, ceramics featuring scenes from Homer's Odyssey, and a gold myrtle wre ath from a priestly warrior of Stavroupolis, companion to the king of 4th century BCE Macedon. I had the privilege of attending this marvelous exhibition when it was displayed at The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois in 2016. I was astonished by the wealth of the grave goods on display and I particularly liked the way the grave goods were exhibited, placed in the position they were found in the burial chamber. Be sure to examine even the small items carefully, too. I was thrilled to see a small but beautifully carved Gorgon that was said to come from the b...