The new dedicated volume presents Aigai, the ancient city located where Vergina is today, and it is an addition to the series of publications entitled "Museums Cycle". The pages of the volume entitled "Aigai, the Royal Metropolis of the Macedonians", which was overseen and funded exclusively by the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, bring the reader-visitor into contact with extraordinary pictures and creations, which are still reminiscent of their long-gone, dignified past.
According to Ms Angeliki Kottaridi, author of the volume and Director of the 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities:
“The findings in Aigai, the city which after successive destructions was forgotten in the dust of the centuries, not only gave back to the royal metropolis a name and identity, but make us rewrite the history of Macedonia and beyond: the discoveries in Aigai substantiate, in the most fascinating way, the great evolution of the Macedonians, a conservative tribe with archaic structures, who, under the inspired guidance of Philip II and Alexander the Great, became the radical force that changed the history of the world.”
In the book’s foreword, Ms Marianna Latsis refers, among others, to the symbolisms of the special region of Aigai:
“Aigai is a place that radiates optimism. The first and most obvious reason is that, when leaving the tomb-museum, the visitor comes out again in the daylight, but he is now familiar –maybe for the first time– with the idea of eternity. The second and deeper reason is that one can perceive the inherent extroversion of our race, by admiring the achievements of people who, in ancient times, spread the Greek civilisation across the world as well as of people who, today, with persistence and an absolute sense of responsibility, create, day by day, a nucleus of culture, study and promotion, which is unlike any other in the world.”
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 central services of the Ministry of Culture and Sports and all local Ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. Moreover, the new volume of the series "Museums Cycle", as well as all the previous ones, is also available in e-book format in both languages at the Foundation’s e-Library, freely accessible through the website.
The volume "Aigai, the Royal Metropolis of the Macedonians" has 367 pages in total and is illustrated with 627 photographs by Sokratis Mavromatis. Irini Louvrou was the general supervisor of the publication, Dimitris Kalokyris carried out the design and preparation of the artwork, and the printing was undertaken by the company Fotolio & Typicon SA. Indigo Graphics SA implemented the colour separation, Nikos Lagos and Eliza Kokkini carried out the editing of the images and G. Iliopoulos the binding. Proofreading was undertaken by Pantelis Boukalas and the translation into English by Judy Giannakopoulou.