Book Presentation "Aigai: the Royal Metropolis of the Macedonians" | The "Museums Cycle" series

The new dedicated volume presents Aigai, the ancient city located where Vergina currently stands, and it is an addition to the ‘Museums Cycle’ publication series. The volume ‘Aigai: the Royal Metropolis of the Macedonians’ was overseen and funded exclusively by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation. Its pages introduce the reader-visitor to extraordinary images and creations whose long-gone, sublime past still resonates today.

According to Ms Angeliki Kottaridi, author of the volume and Director of the 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities,

“The finds from Aigai – the city that after a succession of disasters fell into oblivion under the dust of centuries – have not only given back to the royal metropolis its name and identity, they have also enabled us to re-write the history of Macedonia, and more: the discoveries at Aigai document, in the most enthralling way, the astonishing evolution of the Macedonians, a conservative tribe with archaic structures which, under the inspired leadership of Philip II and Alexander the Great, became a radical instrument that changed the history of the world.”

In the book’s foreword, Ms Marianna Latsis refers, inter alia, to the symbolisms of the special region of Aigai:

“Aigai is a place that radiates optimism. The first and most obvious reason is that, leaving the tumulus-museum, the visitor emerges once more into the light of day after becoming acquainted with the idea of eternity, perhaps for the first time. The second, deeper reason is that one can perceive the innate extroversion of our race, and admire the achievements of the people in antiquity who carried the torch of Hellenic civilisation to the ends of the earth, but also those of today’s people who, day by day, through their persistence and absolute sense of responsibility, have created a nucleus of culture, study and acclaim, the like of which can be found nowhere else.”

The volume is not available for purchase; however, hundreds of copies will be sent by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation to universities, libraries, museums, foundations and cultural organisations in Greece and abroad as well as to the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture and Sports and all local Ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. Moreover, as in the case of previous volumes of the "Museums Cycle" series, this new volume is also available in e-book format in both languages at the Foundation’s e-Library, accessible for free on the website.

The volume "Aigai: the Royal Metropolis of the Macedonians" has 367 pages in total and has been illustrated with 627 photographs by Sokratis Mavromatis. This volume was published under the general supervision of Irini Louvrou, Dimitris Kalokyris being the design and curation executive; the volume was printed by Fotolio & Typicon SA, while Indigo Graphics SA was responsible for colour separation works, Nikos Lagos and Eliza Kokkini were responsible for image editing and G. Iliopoulos for binding. The work was proofread by Pantelis Boukalas and translated into English by Judy Giannakopoulou.