Mieza
Mieza is an ancient town located in Emathia, in western Macedonia, identified with a site between modern Naousa and nearby villages. Historically significant, it is noted as the place where Aristotle taught Alexander the Great and his peers for three years around 343/2 BC, a crucial period in the formation of one of history's most renowned leaders. The area is characterized by its natural springs and a nymphaeum, as described by Plutarch. Archaeological discoveries in and around Mieza, including the Great Tomb at Kephalovrysi, reveal impressive architectural and artistic elements, such as painted metopes and a frieze depicting martial themes. Other notable finds include cemeteries from the fifth and fourth centuries, remnants of residential structures with mosaic floors, and a bathhouse. The site has also yielded inscriptions related to property transactions and the remains of an early Christian basilica, highlighting the region's long and varied history. Mieza serves as a fascinating intersection of classical education, art, and cultural evolution.
Mieza
(Eisvoria or Kephalari)
A town in Emathia (western Macedonia). After numerous other suggestions it has now been identified with a site between the modern town of Naousa (once famous for its vineyards) and the villages of Lefkhadia and Kopanos, eleven miles north of Beroea ([qv], Verria). Plutarch writes of a nymphaeum (fountain building) at Mieza—one of the numerous springs of the area—where Aristotle taught Alexander and his fellow pupils for three years from 343/2 BC. According to Pliny the Elder, the place also possessed a group of stalactitic caves known as the Corycideum.
A richly painted and stuccoed vaulted grave of considerable architectural and artistic importance, the `Great Tomb,’ has been discovered at Kephalovrysi, three miles east of Mieza. The metopes of its two-storeyed pedimental façade, painted with centaurs engaged in battles, are surmounted by a continuous frieze displaying other paintings of martial scenes, while four single figures are depicted in the lower intercolumniations. The upper counterparts of these spaces, above the frieze, are decorated with seven false windows. Behind the façade are a lofty anteroom and smaller burial chamber, both arched. A further third-century tomb, which has long been known, displays a painting of a Macedonian horseman spearing a barbarian foot soldier; another of c 200, which is likewise painted, provides inscriptions of three dead brothers and their families. Cemeteries from the fifth and fourth centuries have recently been excavated near Naousa and Kopanos respectively, and houses with mosaic floors, a bathhouse, and workshops have also been uncovered in the area, which has, in addition, yielded an inscription recording deeds of purchase and sales of property, and the remains of an early Christian basilica.