Philippi was a city located in the region of Thrace 120 km east of Thessolonica on the Via Egnatia, an ancient Roman road which connected Dyrrhachium and Byzantium over a distance of more than 1,000 km. The city was originally called Krinides (now the name of the modern town next to the ruins) when it was founded around 360 BCE by colonists from the nearby island of Thasos, but just four or five years later it was conquered by King Philip II of Macedon, who renamed it after himself. But Philippi would make its world-famous name as a Roman city.
There are two main legacies of Roman Philippi which excite visitors who know of the site. The most popular one is related to the city’s place in the history of early Christianity. The book Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Bible suggests that Philippi was the first place in Europe where Paul preached the Gospel, and it is believed that his missionary work there established a small Christian community. Biblical scholars say that excerpts of three of Paul’s letters to the early Christian community of Philippi were eventually combined into Epistle to the Philippians and included as one of the books of the New Testament.
The second important legacy is the one related to the Battle of Philippi, where Marc Antony and Julius Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted son Octavian (the future Emperor Augustus) faced off against Brutus and Cassius, two of the main assassins of Julius Caesar. After killing Caesar in 44 BCE in the name of defending the republic against tyranny, Brutus and Cassius soon realized they did not have support of the Roman citizenry, so they left Rome and took control of the eastern provinces of the empire. Marc Antony and Octavian eventually succeeded in securing power in the Rome and marched east to snuff out the “liberators” and their armies. The final showdown happened just outside the walls of Philippi over two days in October 42 BCE. By the time it was over, Brutus and Cassius had both committed suicide after the defeat of their armies, and Caesars’ loyal successors were in control of the empire. That is, until they turned on each other.
It’s easy to see the battlefield from the higher ground areas within the archaeological site, such as the high upper level of the theater. Looking towards the the west at the fields between there and the mountains in the distance, you can see where the battle take place.
The theater is still in decent shape and appears still to be in use for events today. In the later Roman period, it was used as an arena for animal fights.
The best-preserved city walls today can be found at the southeastern edge of the site, around the Gate of Neapolis, where the Via Egnatia made its way out of the city and towards the ancient port of Neapolis (modern Kavala).
Just west of the theater is one of the city’s 6th-century-CE basilicas, this one designated as Basilica A.
Basilica B, on the other side of the forum, seems to have been built on a much grander scale, and although it is in ruins, its easy to imagine how grand the structure was.
But perhaps the most popular spot for those looking for traces of the city’s early Christian legacy is the site traditionally associated with the cell where the Apostle Paul and his companion Silas were briefly imprisoned after being publicly flogged in the forum during a visit to the city. According to Acts of the Apostles, their cell was opened and their chains were broken by an earthquake, after which they were released. Whether or not this is the same cell which held the famous prisoners is impossible to say, but it was identified as such in early Christian times and was used as a place of devotion.
As for the city’s forum, it is still the centerpiece of the site, with ruins of various structures on four sides surrounding an open rectangular space.
There are also a lot of structures to the southeast of the forum.
In the northwestern corner of the site is a small museum which displays some of the finds from the site as well as information on the history of the city. There is also an interesting display there on the nearby prehistoric village of Dikili Tash, which still being excavated less than 2 km east of Philippi, although it is not open to the public.
Tips for the Visitor
The site is a bit on the pricey side compared to a lot of others in the region. Tickets cost 10 euro at the time of our visit, which strangely did not include admission to the onsite museum, which cost another 10 euro. It’s the first time we visited a museum within the grounds of an archaeological site in Greece that was not included in the site’s main ticket. It’s a small museum, so depending on your level of interest in seeing absolutely everything, it can easily be skipped.
In front of the parking lot, before buying tickets and entering the site or after your visit, there is a nice area where you can sit down, enjoy some refreshments, shops for books and souvenirs, and allow your kids to play.
Getting to the site is easy from the port city of Kavala, as on most days there are hourly buses from the KTEL bus terminal in the city center of Kavala to Drama, which stop in the small town of Krinides about half an hour into the journey. The entrance to the site is on the western edge of Krinides, so be sure to get off at the last stop the bus will make in Krinides before it gets back on the highway and continues on to Drama. To get back to Kavala after your visit, go and find the bus stop on the opposite side of the street from where you had gotten off when you arrived. It’s best to get there at the most 20 minutes after its scheduled departure from Drama to ensure you don’t miss it. And as Kavala is a major transport hub by land, sea, and air, it’s easy to get there as well.
In Kavala you might see some buses heading for “Philippi”, but that is the modern village of Philippi, which is 4 km east of Krinides and the ancient site of Philippi, so ignore the buses to Philippi and be sure to get a bus that stops in Krinides.
Location Map