Chapter 26. Thessalonike

Abstract

In the privileged areas around the Thermaic gulf, at Karabournaki, Tell Lebet, Stavroupoli, Sindos, Aineia, Agia Paraskeui, Agios Athanasios, the Gona Toumba, Sedes and Thermi, settlements evolved during the archaic and classical period that contributed to the population which was subsequently resettled in the foundation of Thessalonike in 316/5 BC. The fourth century BC was an extremely important period for Macedonia. Cassander played an active role in the wars between the successors of Alexander the Great and ruled the Macedonian state from 317 BC. The city developed at a rapid pace in the mid-Hellenistic period. The kings of Macedonia had a permanent garrison in Thessalonike. After the defeat of the last Macedonian king, Thessalonike, like all the cities of Macedonia, surrendered to the Romans. The complex of the agora with its imposing buildings was developed in the heart of Roman Thessalonike in the middle imperial period. Keywords: archaic period; Cassander; Macedonian king; mid-Hellenistic period; middle imperial period; Thessalonike