Is Pella in Macedonia or Greece?

Pella is in Greece, specifically in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece, but historically it was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia, which causes confusion. Today, Pella is an archaeological site and a small modern village located about 40 kilometers west of Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, in the Pella regional unit of Greece. It is firmly within the borders of the modern Greek state. Historically, Pella was founded around 399 BC as the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia, which was a Greek kingdom in antiquity, ruled by Philip II and his son Alexander the Great, who was born there in 356 BC. The ancient Kingdom of Macedonia covered parts of modern northern Greece, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria. The modern country called North Macedonia, which became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991, is a different country to the north of Greece and does not contain ancient Pella. Greece has a region called Macedonia, which is divided into Western, Central, and Eastern Macedonia, and Pella is in that Greek region. So geographically and politically today, Pella is in Greece, but historically it was the capital of ancient Macedonia, which is why both Greeks and Macedonians claim connection to its heritage, though the archaeological site itself lies within Greece's borders.

Pella is in Greece, specifically in the modern administrative region of Central Macedonia, Greece, which is different from the neighboring country of North Macedonia, and was the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Macedon located in what is today northern Greece. Ancient Pella was founded around 399 BCE by King Archelaus I as capital of Macedon, located about 40 kilometers west of modern Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, in the fertile plains near the Loudias River, and was birthplace of Alexander the Great in 356 BCE. Today, the archaeological site of ancient Pella and the modern village of Pella are located within the Pella regional unit of Central Macedonia, Greece, a Greek province, with coordinates approximately 40.76°N, 22.52°E, and is part of the Hellenic Republic. The confusion arises because there are two modern entities with Macedonia in name: the Greek region of Macedonia, which is northern Greece divided into West, Central, and East Macedonia, and the Republic of North Macedonia, a separate independent country to the north that declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and was formerly called Macedonia, with capital Skopje. Ancient Kingdom of Macedon was centered in what is now northern Greece, not in modern North Macedonia, though it extended into that area at times. So Pella is in Greece, in the Greek region of Macedonia, not in the country of North Macedonia, and is a Greek archaeological site and village within Central Macedonia, Greece.