Overall Impact: *** 3 stars – Galerius’ Palace impresses through its scale but, having been incorporated in the medieval and Ottoman city, the Roman remains consist of foundations and walls.
Access **** 4 stars – As with the other sites in Thessaloniki the site is well cared for and curated, and is only a short walk southwards from the Arch of Galerius toward the sea.
Atmosphere ** 2 stars – You will need to use your imagination to recreate the Roman Palace. It is overshadowed by modern housing, but hats off to the City Fathers for displaying such important remains in an area where space is tight.
Other *** 3 stars – OK, it’s not Diocletian’s Palace at Split, and it’s in a busy city and hard to visualise, BUT it is Galerius’ Palace in Thessaloniki and very much worth seeing!
The above photo shows the remains of Galerius’ Basilica or audience chamber, with the nave to the left in front of us. We should be thinking here in terms of Constantine’s Aula Palatina which survives at Trier.
We can see here – above and below – the remains of the Peristyle Hall, with 11 rooms arranged round a courtyard with a fountain.
Above are the exposed remains of the Apsidal Hall. This was a magnificent part of the Palace between the Arch and the Basilica. It has two rooms and ended in a raised niche: was it a more private and intimate Throne Room? It had rich decoration with white and coloured marble on the walls.
Marvellous reconstruction by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki City, which can be found at galeriuspalace.culture.gr At bottom was the Rotunda or Mausoleum, then a porticoed way to the Arch of Galerius, and then another portico way lead to the Apsidal Hall, which in turn lead to the Basilica with the Circus to the left (west) and the Palace Complex to the right (east).Another marvellous Plan by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki City, to be found at galeriuspalace.culture.gr They rightly won European awards for the quality of their restoration and public explanation. The idea of making visible the Late Roman City of Thessaloniki originated with the plans for the Reconstruction of the City after the disastrous fire of 1917.
Overall Impact: ***** 5 stars – Less well known than the Arch of Galerius but has the impact of the Pantheon in Rome. A unique survival (and a marvellous surprise to us!)
Access **** 4 stars – Situated a short walk (125m) north of the Arch and, unlike the Arch, in a quiet side street. Recently restored and now open to the public.
Atmosphere *** 3 stars – C5th mosaics only partially remain. Damaged during the Mausoleum’s period as an Ottoman Mosque, they have now been wonderfully restored.
Other ** 2 stars – There is no good guide book on sale at the site – but do check out local book shops for a scholarly exposition which we happened upon. No good post cards available.
The Rotunda of Galerius is north of his Arch: built in AD306, it is usually thought to have been intended as his Mausoleum. However, when in AD311 Galerius died hideously from a disease usually interpreted as gangrene, he was buried at Felix Romuliana (Gamzigrad in Serbia), his birthplace. Therefore it probably never fulfilled its intended function.
The Rotunda’s dome is 30m high and is one of the largest surviving from the Empire. The walls are extremely thick, explaining how it has survived earthquakes through the centuries.
East End Apse added when Mausoleum converted into Church in late C4th
It was empty until Theodosius I had it converted into a church in the late C4th. It was then decorated with some very fine mosaics apparently depicting prominent members of the Thessalonica community, rather than Imperial portraits.
The church was turned into a mosque by the Ottomans in 1590. It was re-opened after extensive restoration in 2015, as a Museum.
Overall Impact: *** 3 stars – the Arch is much reduced and damaged by atmospheric pollution. We approached with anticipation but were disappointed by its poor condition – nevertheless, it is a major statement of Tetrarchic power and ideology.
Access **** 4 stars – the Arch sits on what was in Galerius’ time and still is the main street of the City. Accessible 24 hours a day but be alert for traffic and touts.
Atmosphere * 1 star – it feels like a traffic island!
Other * 1 star – there is only perfunctory explanation of what is a major late Roman monument, and its condition is deteriorating exposed to high levels of street pollution.
There are three linked remaining monuments of Galerius’ Imperial Precinct in Thessaloniki. The Arch sat across the Via Egnatia‘s exit from the City to the East towards Byzantium. The Imperial Palace lies 230m south of the Arch linked by a road, and the Rotunda Mausoleum lies 125m to the north linked by an arcaded road.
The Arch was an octopylon or eight pillared gateway, forming a triple arch (one central large arch, and two smaller side arches) with four pillars to the east and four to the west. All that is left are three of the western arches. The entire eastern four arches are gone as is the southernmost of the western arches. The two pillars flanking the central large arch retain their sculptures slabs.
The Arch celebrates Galerius’ victory over the Sassanids at the Battle of Satala and the capture of their capital, Ctesiphon, in 298AD.
Our ability to understand the meaning of the Arch is impacted by the loss of the majority of the marble panels. They show:
Galerius, supported by a wreath bearing eagle, in personal mounted combat with the Sassanid Narses, with terrified Sassanids cowering under the hooves of the Caesar’s horse. This may be artistic licence, however, as it seems unlikely they ever personally met in combat.
There is panel with a relief of the Imperial Family making a sacrifice in thanksgiving. This shows Valeria, who was former Emperor Diocletian’s daughter as well as being Galerius’ wife, giving him imperial legitimacy.
In another survivor panel the four Tetrarchs (the Augusti Diocletian and Maximian, and the Caesares Galerius and Constantius) are all in togas, while the personification of Victory holds out wreaths to the two Augusti.
The final surviving panel assert the Unity of the Tetrarchy through the depiction of the Tetrarchs standing together. Galerius is dressed in armour as he makes the offering on the altar.
The Arch is thus a celebration of Galerius’ victory but one achieved very much within the unity of the then-new Tetrarchic System.
Overall Impact: ***** 5 stars – Roman Thessalonica is, with Trier, the ‘go to’ site for remains of a Tetrarchic and Late Roman regional capital. The Arch of Galerius, together with his Palace and Mausoleum, give a sense of the grandeur and power of what was essentially a militarised state. The earlier Forum is large and well displayed.
Access *** 3 stars – Thessaloniki is Greece’s second city and the sites are scattered around a busy modern metropolis. So they are easy to access, with plentiful refreshment stops – but expect to walk some miles in the sun!
Atmosphere ** 2 stars – You will need to use your imagination to recreate the Roman City. Crowds and traffic surround the Arch of Galerius, which is missing large parts and heavily eroded by pollution
Other **** 4 stars – There is something about Thessaloniki with its weight of Macedonian, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Jewish and Greek history that gives it a special feel.
The preserved remains of the C1st Forum
Thessaloniki (Thessalonica or Salonica) was founded in 315BC by King Cassander of Macedonia, and named by him his wife (Alexander the Great’s half-sister) Thessalonike. In 148BC the City became the capital of the Province of Macedonia which the Romans had conquered in 168BC. In 41BC under Mark Anthony’s eastern regime the City gained free status.
The two Storey shopping arcade – nicely sheltered in Summer
The position of Thessaloniki is second only to Byzantium/Constantinople in the Region. The Via Egnatia from Dyrrhachium on the Adriatic to Byzantium on the Bosphorus runs through Thessaloniki. It is also at the southern Aegean Sea end of the principal north-south route through the Balkans along the Morava and Axios river valleys. It has a natural harbour opening onto sea-routes along the east coast of Greece and down to the Aegean Islands. Thessaloniki prospered greatly under the Principate and the principal visible remains of that period are to be seen in the Forum, which occupies a large area of the central City.
Having been a classical – in every sense of the word – Romanised Greek trading city during the Principate, the success of Christianity and the establishment of the militarised Dominate made Thessaloniki one of the most important imperial and therefore military bases of the late Empire.
The massive ruins of Galerius’ Palace
The principal remains of the Dominate, or Late Empire, result from the decision of Galerius to make it his capital under the Tetrarchy. Galerius was the trusted military colleague of the Augustus Diocletian and was appointed as his Caesar in 293AD. He successfully fought the Sassanid Empire, sacking Ctesiphon in 299AD, and defeated the Carpi across the Danube in 297 and 300AD. Like Diocletian an enthusiastic persecutor of Christians, Galerius belatedly issued the Edict of Toleration in 311AD before dying horribly, probably of gangrene – a fate celebrated by Lactantius in ‘The Deaths of the Persecutors’ (De Mortibus Persecutorum).
It is to Galerius that we owe the triumphal arch, palace and mausoleum which taken together rival Trier as the most impressive remains of a Tetrarchic capital.
St Demetrius, founded c450, rebuilt several times, severely damaged in Great Fire of 1917, and reconstructed thereafter.
St Paul had visited the City on his Second Journey, visiting its chief Synagogue on three Sabbaths, and writing the First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians. As Christianity grew in strength it attracted both attention and persecution: Thessaloniki’s patron saint is the military martyr Saint Demetrius who was run through with spears on the the orders of the Emperor Galerius in 306AD. The relics of Saint Demetrius probably only arrived in the City when Sirmium was given up as the Army’s northern frontier base in 441/2AD. The Basilica dedicated to him was built in the mid-5th Century but was, alas, severely damaged in the Great Fire of 1917.
In 379AD the Emperor Theodosius divided the great Balkan and Danubian Prefecture of Illyricum in half, the eastern part having its capital in Thessaloniki. This meant that the defence of the Danube Frontier was split and this, in my view, caused a fundamental strategic weakening of Roman forces and focus in the key sector of the Frontier. It was the cause of continued strife between the Western and Eastern Empires. It is a division that has lasted and still today forms the dividing line between Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity; Serb and Croat; Cyrillic and Latin script.
Interior of Saint Demetrius from mid C5th, rebuilt after Great Fire in 1913.
The monuments of this third phase of Roman Thessaloniki are chiefly the churches. Chiefly, there is the Basilica of Sant Demetrius which appears to date from the mid-5th Century, but there are also other survivals: the Churches of the Acheiropoietos and of Hosios David date from the 5th Century. There are also the City Walls which have survived remarkably except on the sea-facing side. Although much knocked down and repaired over centuries of sieges, their core is of Late Roman brick and ashlar of c390AD.
Roman Sites 