Au royaume d’Alexandre le Grand — La Macédoine antique — Le Louvre — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: October 13, 2011 → January 16, 2012

This exhibition curated by a Greek and French team of specialists brings together five hundred works tracing the history of ancient Macedonia from the fifteenth century B.C. up to the Roman Empire. Visitors are invited to explore the rich artistic heritage of northern Greece, many of whose treasures are still little known to the general public, due to the relatively recent nature of archaeological discoveries in this area.

It was not until 1977, when several royal sepulchral monuments were unearthed at Vergina, among them the unopened tomb of Philip II, Alexander the Great’s father, that the full archaeological potential of this region was realized. Further excavations at this prestigious site, now identified with Aegae, the first capital of ancient Macedonia, resulted in a number of other important discoveries, including a puzzling burial site revealed in 2008, which will in all likelihood entail revisions in our knowledge of ancient history.

With shrewd political skill, ancient Macedonia’s rulers, of whom Alexander the Great remains the best known, orchestrated the rise of Macedon from a small kingdom into one which came to dominate the entire Hellenic world, before defeating the Persian Empire and conquering lands as far away as India. The exhibition takes as its theme the glorious past of this kingdom, impressive in its reach at the height of its prominence. It also provides an opportunity to explore the nature of royal burial sites in northern Greece at the time of these rulers: the wondrous artifacts unearthed, which had been protected by tumuli, provide unique insights into the virtuosity of this period’s artists.