Archaeologist Efe Angeliki Kottaridi, who is leading excavations in the Emetia region, informed the agency Efe Angelikí Kottaridi that they are convinced this refers to a school founded by Philip II, King of Macedon, from 359 BCE until his assassination in 336 BCE.
The discovered archaeological site is the ancient Macedonian city of Mieza, which covers an area of about three hectares. It contains a complex of buildings, including banquet halls, a sports pavilion, an athletics stadium, a covered running track, and classrooms with stone desks.
Among the ruins, archaeologists found coins, pottery, and four styli used by students in antiquity for writing, which may provide clues as to who received education in this place.
According to the Roman historian Plutarch in his work 'Parallel Lives,' Alexander the Great was a student of Aristotle between the ages of 13 and 16. During this period, the philosopher taught him ethics, politics, literature, and natural sciences.
Two years later, the young man was ready for governance and leadership, participating in the decisive Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, where Philip achieved victory over the combined forces of Athens and Thebes.
Kottaridi emphasized that Philip also founded other schools (gymnasia) in Amphipolis and Aigaia, the capital of the Macedonian kingdom. However, the school in Mieza represented what can be called an elite college today, where the sons of the most prominent Macedonians were prepared for war through lessons in tactics, strategy, and physical training.
This year, a complex of rooms next to the classrooms was discovered, which included a vestibule and two banquet halls. They preserved mosaic floors and raised platforms for placing couches, capable of accommodating up to 20 guests.
The school also had a covered running track (kystos) of 200 meters, surrounded by 64 Doric columns, which was used for physical training on days of extreme cold or heat.
The archaeologist noted that architectural and decorative elements similar to those of the Macedonian royal palace in Aigaia (modern Vergina), where Philip and Alexander lived, were found in this structure and other parts of the complex.
According to Kottaridi, the 'most impressive aspect' of the find is that it demonstrates that the 'history of state care for education in general and organized' began not in democratic poleis like Athens, where only private schools existed, taught by philosophers such as Socrates or Plato, but specifically in Philip II's Macedonia.
In 334 BCE, Alexander the Great began a military campaign in which he defeated the Persians, Egyptians, and Phoenicians, establishing a vast empire in just a decade, stretching from Greece to the Indus Valley, and from Egypt to Central Asia.
Across this territory, he founded dozens of cities, including Alexandria in Egypt, whose most characteristic feature was precisely these schools, which contributed to the spread of Greek culture and language among the 'people of that time,' notes the researcher.
Similar institutions have been found in distant places such as Afghanistan, in the ancient Hellenistic city of Ai-Khanoum, east of modern Kabul.
Excavations in Mieza began in 2024 and will continue this year with a focus on the sports pavilion area and classrooms.