Social Program

During your stay in Greece you are going to experience a unique social program "Made in Greece".

You are going to have some Greek nights in the famous Greek Taverns of Athonos Square. There, you will become familiar with the traditional Greek food, music and you will learn from first hand how Greek students enjoy.

For your night entertainment we are going to initiate you to the Greek Clubs of Thessaloniki city.  You are going to visit some Greek night clubs in which you will discover the way that Greeks like to spent their time at nights and of course you will have a lot of fun.

Finally in order to meet a part of the Greek ancient history the last day of the meeting there is going to be an excursion to the archaeological sites of Vergina and Dion.

The Ancient City of Vergina

The ancient city of Vergina lying on the north slopes of the Pierian mountains is securely identified as Aigai, the capital of the kingdom of Macedonia, the kingdom of Alexander the Great. Archaeological evidence proves that the site was continuously inhabited from the Early Bronze Age (3rd millenium BC) while in the Early Iron Age (11th-8th centuries BC) it became an important center, rich and densely inhabited.

The city reached its highest point of prosperity in the Archaic (7th-6th centuries BC) and Classical periods (5th-4th centuries), when it was the most important urban center of the area, the seat of the Macedonian kings and the place where all the traditional sanctuaries were established. Moreover, it was already famous in antiquity for the wealth of the royal tombs which were gathered in its extensive necropolis. The finds from the excavations are exhibited in the protective shelter over the royal tombs of Vergina and in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.

The most important monuments on the site are the following:

The royal tombs in the Great Tumulus. This group includes three Macedonian tombs and one cist-grave. One of them was the tomb of king Philip II and another probably belonged to king Alexander IV. These two graves were found unplundered and are lavishly decorated with splendid wall paintings, made by great and famous artists.

The royal tombs to the NW of the city. Two Macedonian tombs are included in this group, the so-called "Rhomaios Tomb", an Ionic, temple-shaped structure, dated to the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. and the "Tomb of Eurydice", which probably belongs to the mother of Philip II and is dated to ca. 340 B.C. To the same group also belong three cist-graves dating from the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., as well as four pit-graves of the late Archaic period.

The cemetery of the tumuli. This is the imposing necropolis of the Iron Age (11th-8th centuries B.C.), which includes more than 300 small earthen tumuli, constructed over clusters of burials which contained rich offerings.

The Palace and the Theatre. These two important monuments are parts of the same complex, dated to the 4th century B.C. The palace is organized around a large, central peristyle court and comprises a circular shrine (Tholos) dedicated to Herakles Patroos, and luxurious banquet halls for the king and his officers. One of these rooms includes a fine mosaic floor.

The temple of Eukleia. It lies to the north of the theatre and includes two temples of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C., a monumental peristyle and a series of offerings among which two bases of the votive statues dedicated by queen Eurydice, grandmother of Alexander The Great.

The acropolis and the city walls. It is located on a steep hill to the south of the settlement. The fortification wall extends to the east of the city. Excavations on the acropolis have revealed parts of the circuit wall and Hellenistic houses in the enclosed area. The fortification of Aigai dates to the early Hellenistic period (end of 4th-beginning of 3rd century B.C.).

The Ancient City of Dion

Dion, the Macedonians' religious centre, was situated at the northern foothills of Mount Olympus. There, from the end of the 5th until the 2nd century BC, the theatrical and athletic competitions dedicated to Olympian Zeus and the Muses, the "Olympia at Dion", took place. The city of Dion, which was not big, was surrounded by defensive walls and was laid out according to the Hippodameian system.

The city had luxurious private houses decorated with mosaics and works of art, shops, public baths and workshops. Outside its walls there were theatres, a stadium and sanctuaries. For instance, sanctuaries of Zeus and the Muses, Demeter, Dionysos, and Isis, as well as two theatres -- one Hellenistic, one Roman -- have been located and are being excavated. Dion's cemeteries were situated north and west of the city and contained burials from the mid-5th century BC to the beginning of the 5th century AD.

Immediately after 31 BC, by order of Augustus, a Roman colony was founded at Dion. Despite the settlement of Roman colonists there, the city preserved its Greek character, as manifested by the numerous Greek inscriptions that have been found. Basilicas were built in the city in the early Byzantine years, but the decline had already set in in the 5th century AD.