Myrtle wreath at Vergina (, Latin: corona Verginae) made of gold myrtle (''

Myrtus communis ''Myrtus communis'', the common myrtle or true myrtle, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, Macaronesia, and the Indian Subcontinent, an ...

'') leaves and flowers, is one of the most valuable finds from the antechamber of the royal

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

tombs at

Vergina Vergina (, ) is a small town in Northern Greece, part of the Veria municipality in Imathia, Central Macedonia. Vergina was established in 1922 in the aftermath of the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey, population exchanges after t ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. From the

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

(300-30 BC), the gold wreath is thought to belong to

Meda of Odessos Meda of Odessos (), died 336 BC, was a Thracian princess, daughter of the king Cothelas a Getan, and wife of king Philip II of Macedon. Philip married her after Olympias. According to N. G. L. Hammond, when Philip died, Meda committed suicide ...

, the Thracian princess and fifth wife of

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

, which was theorized by Greek archaeologist

Manolis Andronikos Manolis Andronikos () (October 23, 1919 – March 30, 1992) was a Greek archaeologist and a professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Biography Andronikos was born on October 23, 1919, at Bursa (). His father originated from th ...

, whom excavated the tomb of Philip II, father of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

in 1977. This theory today is still in debate on whether this tomb actually belongs to these royals.

Meaning and symbolism

Myrtle and attire

A plant sacred to the goddess

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

, myrtle was a symbol of love. Greeks wore wreaths for special events and received them as athletic prizes and honors. The wreaths were made of gold foil, they were created to be buried with the dead but too fragile to be worn for everyday attire. The myrtle leaves and blossoms on the myrtle wreath were cut from thin sheets of gold, stamped and incised details, and then wired onto the stems. Many that survive today were found in graves.

The myrtle wreath

After restoration, there are 80 leaves and 112 flowers. The main wreath, from which the small twigs sprouted, consists of a narrow cylindrical rod, whose two ends are flattened by twisting together. The internal diameter of the main tube is 0.18 - 0.16 m. while the external is 0.26 - 0.23 m. The gold myrtle wreath was exposed at

Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki ( ) is a museum in Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece. It holds and interprets artifacts from the Prehistoric period in Greece, Prehistoric, Archaic period in Greece, Archaic, Classical antiquity, C ...

until 1997, when it is moved to Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai at

References

{{Reflist Art of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Culture of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Myrtus Headgear Visual motifs Plants in culture Archaeological discoveries in Macedonia (Greece) 1977 archaeological discoveries Crown jewels Individual crowns