Thessaloniki/Northern Greece (Macedonia)

Ok, well, oversight aside, Thessaloniki was pretty cool. It was worth the trip, as i would have gone anyway, but in truth it wasn't fabulous. The city is definetly different and has a unique feel compared with Athens, and the harbor is also very interesting. What's more is that there is a lot more in the way of Roman and Byzantine ruins instead of Classical Greek, which is mostly what Athens is, providing a nice change.

So, the trip up to Thessaloniki was LONG, and i mean LONG with pitstops at Platea, Leuctra, and Chaeronea. Each of these is a battle site from three distinct periods in Greek history. Platea is the famous site where the Greeks in the Persian Wars defeated the Persians for the final time on Greek soil (see the end of 300 if you want more details, it's all there). I'll spare you the long and dry account that the historian Herodotus gives us, because honestly that actually puts me to sleep (i've tried reading it 3 times now). There's not much there, but it's a cool place to look at and think that the Greeks won their freedom at that spot. The next place was Leuctra. A cool battlefield for historian geeks, but otherwise not much there. There's a reconstruction of the monument built by the Thebans afterwards, but that's it. Leuctra basically was where Sparta was defeated (yes, Sparta wasn't invincible) by the Thebans, who took over control of Greece. After the Peloponnesian War (the one with Sparta v. Athens), Sparta had power throughout the Greek world, but this was unpopular and the Thebans threw off this Hegemony and replaced it with their own brief Hegemony. Basically, the Spartans were drunk at the battle and got defeated quite soundly. The final battlefield, Chaeronea, is where Philip II of Macedon (Alexander the Great's father) defeated the Thebans and Athenians and essentially took control of Greece. A pretty cool place, there's a monument dedicated to the Theban Sacred Band (elite troops) who were killed to the man at the place where the monument stands. Not bad.

We then continued our sojourn up to Thessaloniki, finally arriving around 6pm (we left at 7am). The hotel wasn't bad, minus being on the 7th floor and the 2 elevators only able to take 3 people at a time. I went out to dinner and pretty much passed out afterwards. The next day, we went on to Pella and the birthplace of Aristotle. Pella was disappointing. It was the capital of Macedonia and supposedly one of the greatest cities during the time after the death of Alexander the Great. They were excavating, so there wasn't much to see. This left you with little idea of how large and impressive the site was. There were some very impressive mosaics left on site which were remarkable, but that was it. The palace was closed due to the excavations, so that may have made it more impressive, who knows. The museum had a lot of material in a very small space, with some more impressive mosaics and a number of statues in bronze and marble. In the end though, not very exciting if you're not a history person. The birthplace of Aristotle was pretty fun though. It's a trek to get there, but it has a bunch of hands-on models of some of the ideas that Aristotle came up with, like the tornado tubes and sundials.

When we got back, i went to dinner and had a gyro with not tsatsiki, the cucumber/dill yoghurt that is normal, but ketchup and mustard. An interesting combo to say the least. I then walked along the waterfront of the entire port, which is long, but also very pretty at night. The next morning we did a walking tour of Thessaloniki. We went in and saw the Palace of Galatin, one of the Roman Emperors in the 4th century CE (AD), as well as his Victory Arch and a building known as the Rotunda. They were all pretty cool. The palace had a lot of bricks still standing, and some of the original flooring, and the arch had a lot of detailing, despite it's poor state of preservation. The Rotunda was being rennovated/restored, so it was hard to tell how impressive it would be, but it seemed nice. It got turned into a church, then a mosque, then later a church again. That happens a lot around Greece.

The last day (i think i may be missing something or have done this all incorrectly, but i think you get the idea) we went to Vergina, Dion, Nymphaeon, and Thermopylae. Vergina was the site of the ancient capital (before Pella) of Macedonia. Here were a number of tombs of the kings of Macedonia, as well as another palace/theater. Unfortunetly, both the palace and theater were closed. The theater is famous as it was the place where Philip II was assasinated, leading to the rise of Alexander the Great to the Macedonian throne. The tombs/museum were the highlight in my mind of the trip. There was a large number of cases housing a lot of the artifacts, and the coolest part was the tombs themselves. They were all in-situ (in location), so you walked down a flight of stairs to see them. There are 2 really good ones, one believed to be of Philip II himself, the other of Alexander IV, the son of Alexander the Great. Both of these are in doubt for reasons i won't go into, as they are still pretty impressive regardless. There's a lot of impressive stuff in here and it's well worth the trip.

Nymphaeon was another site with some famous tombs. These were very pretty and interesting to look at, but again, unless you're a history person, they just aren't that impressive and worth the trip. There was another site that i can't remember the name of which had more tombs, but again, not worth it really unless you have a love/passion for such things.

Dion was the last major site we visited. This was a sprawling site at the foothills of Mt. Olympus with a number of Roman and Greek buildings. The theater was well preserved and i think performances are still done every now and then. The rest of the site was enormous, full of ruins of all shapes and sizes. The best preserved sections are Roman, with impressive baths and houses at one end and some temple foundations in another. I really don't remember too much because the weather got so bad trees were falling and it was very very very cold.

Thermopylae wsa the final site. This was little more than a truck stop. The shape of the region has changed dramatically since the 5th century BCE, so there is little to see and you can't get an idea of how the battle took place. The only monuments are a recent one built in honor of Leonidas, the king of Sparta who died there, and the burial mound of the Spartans who died. Not very much for such a cool spot. The battlefield took on a symbolic role in the coming centuries, as other groups have made last stands there. In the 3rd century BCE, the king of the Seluccid Empire, Antiochus III, stood here against the Romans, but was defeated in EXACTLY the same way as the Greeks were 2 centuries earlier (they found a path leading around the pass and attacked the Seluccids from behind). Even in the modern day, during WWII when the Germans invaded Greece, the British made their last stand at Thermopylae, and got utterly creamed. So, Thermopylae has a record of no wins and many losses for those who stand there. I wonder why people keep fighting here??

Anway, we got back to Athens, and I passed out from exhaustion. A long weekend with a number of disappointments, but some highlights. Overall, I'd say that unless you truly enjoy/know Greek history and have a LOT of time on your hands, Thessaloniki is prob. not worth someone's time. Better off going to the Islands or some of the more famous, closer ancient Greek sites.