Beroia, one of Macedonia's chief cities in Hellenistic and Roman times, was situated at the eastern foothills of Mount Bermion, south-west of Pella. Although there are no remains of the settlement itself, the site must have been continually inhabited from at least the 5th century BC, as we can deduce from the cemeteries with the rich grave goods in their pit graves.
Beroia first developed during Hellenistic times. Parts of strong walls, the remnants of public buildings and a stadium, and cemeteries with pit graves and rock-cut and 'Macedonian tombs' have been excavated. According to inscriptions the city had a gymnasium and sanctuaries dedicated to Herakles Kynagidas, Asklepios, Athena, Ennodia etc. Prosperous local workshops produced vessels and clay figurines of excellent quality.
Beroia, already prominent in Hellenistic times because of its connection to the Antigonid dynasty, reached its peak in Roman times, when it became the second most important Macedonian city after Thessalonike. It was favoured by the Roman administration, which granted it honorary titles. As seat of the Macedonian 'koinon' (commonalty) it was the centre of the Imperial cult, and a place where the arts flourished to the end of the 3rd century AD, a time when Beroia entered a new phase of its history.
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