such a complex one. The archaeological remains at Palatatsia (Heuzey’s
Palatitsa) are now generally accepted as belonging to Aigeai, but the
literary testimonia are no earlier than the fourth centurybc. Legend
connected the foundation of Aigeai with the earliest kings, whether
‘Perdikkas’or, from the fourth centurybconwards,‘Karanos’, but the
story that Herodotus gives of the Argead (or Temenid) royal origins does
not refer to Aigeai (he refers instead to the‘gardens of Midas’, allegedly
below Mount Bermion). Moreover, all of these stories have a strong
mythical or symbolic content, which makes it hard to judge what rela-
tionship they may have had, if any, with the historical evolution of the
site itself.^20
The earliest significant evidence identified to date comes from the
Early Iron Age burials excavated by Andronikos. Remarkably, the royal
burials of the successors to these foundingfigures occupy the same
hallowed terrain as their earlyfirst millenniumbcpredecessors. Further-
more, despite the considerable chronological disparity between the latter
and the former groups, the number of exceptional interments from the
intervening period, particularly from the sixth centurybc, is growing.
There is a striking congruity between the style and customs displayed in
these burials, which implies, at the very least, conscious continuities of
practice throughout much of thefirst millenniumbc.^21 As a result, one is
now in a position to say that the strong cultural connections between the
wealthier families of the middle and lower Haliakmon valley on the one
hand, and the rulers of Macedonia on the other, do not, on the face of it,
appear to be consistent with the historical-literary tradition that the
Temenid, or Argead rulers of Macedonia (depending on which royal
genealogy is accepted), originated in Argos. Many scholars do accept that
tradition, since Herodotus and Thucydides were evidently willing to
credit such stories, but the fact that early historians engaged with these
genealogical conceits does not mean that they should be considered as
scientifically proven. In fact the language of these genealogies resembles
the content of praise poems, a genre in which both Pindar and Bacchy-
lides composed for early Macedonian rulers, and we might expect
(^20) Hdt. 8.137–139; Thucydides 2.99.3 cf. 5.80.2, accepts a connection with Temenus of
Argos and his genealogical information resembles that given by Herodotus (see Greenwalt
1985); Hatzopoulos and Paschidis 2004, 798 no. 529, Aigeai, with testimonia and further
references; Mari 2002, 136–52, 163–9, discusses the origin myths in the context of Philip II’s
interventions at Delphi; Greenwalt 1985 and King 2010, 373ff., esp. 376 for discussion of the
separate putative genealogies (via Temenus or via Argeas, son of Makedon: Hes.EoaeF7);
there is an important contribution to the debate about Macedonian origins in Hall 2001.
(^21) See further discussion of this topic in Ch. 8.
Herdsmen with golden leaves—narratives and spaces 53