Thessaloniki

Picture: Kyle and Hilary contemplating Dion

My group went to Thessaloniki on October 1st. It seems like a long time ago. First we went to the sites of Dion and Vergina [pronounced Ver-ee-na]. Dion is a famous Hellenistic city that is in the shadow of Mt. Olympus. Both Phillip II and Alexander the Great held great festivals at Dion to praise the gods for the great military victories they had. Dion is the first city to be built on a grid system with a central road down the middle of the town. The layout of the town is fairly well preserved along with some floor mosaics. Vergina is the final resting place of King Phillip II. No pictures were allowed in side the museum/site. I loved the fact that the tombs were surrounded by the museum. It was incredible. Phillip was cremated, so it wasn't even built to house his body. Just his urn. Alexander IV also has a tomb there. He's Alexander the Great's son. I was fairly impressed.