An important city of Macedonia
The city was founded by settlers from Thassos Island, in 360 BC as the area was fertile, it provided abundant timber, it was rich in precious metal deposits and of course it was strategically located. These were the reasons why the king of Macedonia, Philip II, agreed to help the new inhabitants when they asked for his help, while being attacked by the Thracians. In 356 BC Philip II captured and fortified the city, giving it his name. A period of development for the city followed. In addition to the defensive wall and the houses, the theater and various other public buildings were built.
In 148 BC Macedonia was conquered by the Romans. Via Egnatia connected Philippi with the other centers of the time, contributing to the development of the city. In 42 BC Octavian captured the city after the battle of Philippi. Since then, it became an important flourishing Roman colony, known as Colonia Augusta Julia Philippensis. An important milestone for the city was the preaching of the Christian religion by Apostle Paul and his imprisonment in 49 AD. As a result, the first Christian community was founded in Philippi. As Christianity prevailed as the official religion of the new state with Constantinople its capital, Philippi developed into a religious center and was upgraded to a metropolis. In the early Christian period (4th-6th AD) three basilicas were built and the metropolitan church dedicated to the Apostle Paul. The "Octagon" complex, built on the site of older Roman buildings, is also of special architectural importance. Recession in the city of Philippi is observed in the 7th century AD when Slavic raids and intense seismic activity forced its inhabitants to abandon it. In the following centuries it functioned as a Byzantine fortified settlement until its conquest by the Ottomans in about 1383 when it was abandoned.
The visitor of the archeological site can walk in the ancient city of Philippi and see the most important buildings. These are the citadel, the city walls with a total length of 3.5 km and construction phases from the period of King Philip II (4th century BC) and Justinian I (6th century AD). The theater of Philippi was built by Philip II in the middle of the 4th century BC. The special characteristics and the needs of the Roman spectacles brought modifications to the theater in the 2nd and 3rd c. A.D. The forum, the complex of public buildings in the Roman market, was the administrative, religious and economic center of Philippi in the Roman period. From the later period, when Christianity succeeded the old religion, the following buildings survive. The building complex "Octagon", east of the market. This, in addition to the episcopal octagonal church, included a baptistery, a two-story residence of the bishop and a monumental gate to the Via Egnatia. The existence of three other large Christian temples reveals the size and importance of the city during the early Byzantine period. The three-aisled basilica A from the end of the 5th century AD dimensions 130x50m., the later, 550 AD, three-aisled basilica B with a dome, which is not preserved today. A particular characteristic of this basilica was the dome on the sacred step. The great importance of the church and the early Byzantine city is reflected in the artistic influences from the capital on the sculptural decoration. It is worth noting that Basilica B was built on the Roman palace.
Equally majestic and richly decorated is the Basilica C dating to the 6th c. AD with double pulpit and rich marble paneling and sculptural decoration. The Roman cistern is located near Basilica A. Here, Apostle Paul is believed to have been imprisoned and for this reason it is called the "prison" of the Apostle Paul and was turned into a place of worship.
The findings of the excavations carried out from 1914 until today are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Philippi.
The Early Christian monuments are among the best-preserved monuments of this type. The Archaeological Site of Philippi has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.
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