HISTORICAL EVIDENCE ON THE GREEKNESS OF MACEDONIA (1)

By Dr. Ioannis N. Kallianiotis
Economic/Finance Department
The Arthur J. Kania School of Management
University of Scranton,
PA 18510–4602
USA

Historical Evidence on the Greekness of Macedonia (1)

Abstract

.        The humble aspiration of this small work is to provide some information and a scientifically true analysis on the Hellenic (Greek) history and to examine what this information means to us and to the world as a whole. We will offer some thoughts and a summary of a few unshaken historic events that may help to answer questions concerning todays conditions in south-eastern Europe, the distressful Balkan peninsula, the borders of the „Christendom” (currently, the under dissolution European Union) and to prove the Greekness of Macedonia. It is imperative that all scholars, politicians, decision makers, students, and intellectual human beings have correct information regarding the artificial state (protectorate) of Skopje, created recently between Greece and Serbia, because we are responsible towards God and human beings, to tell the plain truth in simple words, away from any expediency, propaganda, and anti-scientific delusion. This new state has unlawfully chosen the Greek name „Macedonia” for its nation and Greece is objecting with historical evidence their aggressiveness and their expansiveness. It is historically wrong for them to use Greek names and symbols because they have nothing in common with Greeks and their old name was Vardarska Banovina. Of course, it is very suspicious the persistence of our western „allies” towards this fabrication that is against the science of history, for which they strive hard to put under their control. Lies have substituted truth in every aspect of life.

I. Prologue

.         Hellenic history, culture, and spirit have contributed a great deal to the European and the entire western civilization; for this reason, we find their seal everywhere, today. The democracy of ancient Greece,¹ the accomplishments of her people,² the great ideas of her moral philosophers,³ scientists and artists,⁴ and finally, the dramatic events, which have unfolded in the glorious history of the Greek nation because of its geographical position, its language, its paideia, and its persistence in Christian-Orthodox truth have always been a source of creative inspiration to all nations.⁵ Ancient and Byzantine Greece has truly improved mankind and we hope the synchronous Greece to continue to offer similar values to the oscillated world.
.       The ancient Hellenic civilization is called the „classical” one; later the word „classical” became the source of standards by which subsequent achievements can be measured.⁶ „There is a quality of excellence about Ancient Greece that brooks few comparisons.”⁷ These peoples (Greeks) shared the same language (in an oral and written literature)⁸ and they recognized a common heritage “Hellenes” ( Ἕλληνες) which they did not share with other men. They belonged, as they felt, to “Hellas” .⁹ The non-Greeks were “ barbarians” . The achievement and importance of Greece comprehended all sides of life. „The Greeks did more for future civilization than any of their predecessors.”¹⁰ All Europe drew interest on the „capital” Greece laid down, and through Europe the U.S.A. and the rest of the world have benefited from what Greeks offered to human civilization.
.       Alexander, the son of Philip, is one of those historical Greek figures called „Great”. He was a passionate Hellene,¹¹ who believed Achilles¹² was his ancestor and carried with him on his campaigns a treasured copy of Homer. He had been tutored by Aristotle,¹³ which shows the common Greekness of these three men, Homers, Aristotles, and Alexanders. Alexander the Great had a staggering record of success, even though that he died at the age of 33 years old.¹⁴ The history of Europe and the entire history of the Western civilization are based on the Greek-Christian civilization.¹⁵ Indisputable, Roman civilization was descended from the earliest Greek (Hellenic) civilization.¹⁶ Today, the controlled (δούλη ἐν ἐλευθερίᾳ) European Union has changed drastically because of so many influences by different anti-Christian sub-cultures, especially, by the latest Muslim _ invasion_  from Asia and Africa. “ European, or Western, civilization originated from the fusion of German (barbarian) culture and Roman (Hellenic-Christian) civilization during the Dark Ages from the 5th to the 10th century A.D.”¹⁷ Of course, history repeats itself. There were even monetary and economic unions in Ancient Greece, i.e., „the Common of Euboeans”, in 2nd century B.C.,¹⁸ where they issued a common currency, but they did not last for very long time because of the oppression on their small member-states (like, Karystos in Euboea).
.         History, scientific truth, divine justice, morality, independence, faith to the True God, and human respect are social necessities and they require satisfaction. Each man enjoys existence according to his labor and actions and by himself he determines his future, his heritage, his nation and thus, affects the world.¹⁹ Mutual solidarity, joint responsibility, revealed truth, and real love are essential not only for the life of families, but also for the history of nations and the coexistence of this Cosmos (Κόσμος= order, ornament). Moral, ethical, independent, uncorrupted, and pious leadership is necessary to promote patriotism and the indigenous value system of a sovereign and ancient nation, like Greece.
.         Today, the Hellenes (Greeks), even though that they are members of NATO, European Union (EU), and Euro-zone, remain ever-vigilant against the expansionistic plans of their neighbors and especially now, since the fall of the communism (the loss of the rival fear), Skopjeans have begun to make claims against northern Greece. They have spread far and wide propaganda that Macedonians are not Greeks and they style themselves as the true Macedonians (sic). They have spread lies and disinformation everywhere in all the „controlled” nations, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. But the question remains; how can they be Macedonians without being Greeks? And, how dared some nations to turn a blind eye to the historic and scientific truth and recognize this pseudo-state as „Macedonia”? A world that bases its existence on lies has no future! Alexander the Great said that, „ “I am grateful to gods that I was borne Hellen” ^[20]

II. Some Historical Evidence

.        Historical, archaeological, and linguistic evidence point to the existence of Greek-speaking inhabitants, occupying the rugged northern slopes of Pindos mountain, as early as 2200-2100 B.C. These Greek tribes (thought to have split from the main bulk of the [Indo]-European family in the course of the 5th millennium) spread throughout the area known today as northern Greece. During the early centuries of the second millennium B.C., three basic groups can already be distinguished. First, the South-Eastern group made up of Ionians; second, the Eastern group with its two linguistic subgroups, one speaking the Arcadian and the other the Aeolian Greek dialect; and third, the Western group, mainly composed of the populous tribe of the Makedni (Μακεδνοί).
.       During the 7th and 6th centuries B.C., the Macedonians pushed eastward of Orestis and populated the provinces of Pieria, Vottiaea (region of mount Vermion), Eordaea (today᾽s Ptolemaida) and Almopia. They crossed the river Axios and stepped into Chalkidiki either driving away or assimilating the indigenous tribes already established there (such as the Pelasgians). They enjoyed rapid cultural growth in this Macedonian area²¹ and reached their highest point in the era of their Kings Amyntas III (393-370 B.C.), Philip II (359-336 B.C.), and Alexander²² the Great (336-323 B.C.).²³ From at least the 5th century onward the isolation of the Macedonians began to be broken as the more sophisticated Southern Greeks began -through better sea and land transport- to infiltrate the region by setting up colonies in Chalkidiki.²⁴

.         Alexander the Great was borne on July 22, 356 B.C. and died on June 13, 323 B.C. From his mother Olympias, Alexander’s root reached the proud Aeakides (Αἰακίδες) and from his father Philip, his root was meeting the renowned race of Argeadon (Ἀργεαδῶν) that is to say one crossing of blood of two heroes’  descendants of Zeus, of Achilles, and Hercules, who were representing the beauty, the bravery, and the wisdom of the entire Hellenism.²⁵ In other words, Alexander was an offspring of Greece and a nursling of Macedonia. Arrian was saying, „But him, Alexander, I am not ashamed to admire” ²⁶.
.        Macedonia, as a geographical entity, retained its Hellenic characteristics during the reign of the Epigones (Alexander‚s successors)²⁷ and fostered the creation of many city-states governed for almost two centuries by Macedonian Kings; ²⁸ Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemy in Egypt²⁹ and Palestine), Σέλευκος (Seleucus in Mesopotamia and Syria), Κάσσανδρος (Cassander in Macedonia and Greece), Ἀντίγονος (Antigonus in Asia Minor), and Λυσίμαχος (Lysimachus in Thrace).³⁰ It was only after the decisive battle of Pydna (Πύδνα)³¹ in 168 B.C. that Macedonia finally fell to the Romans and was subsequently divided into four administrative regions. During the second and third centuries A.D., Greece was divided into provinces including Achaea, Macedonia, Epirus, Thrace, and Moesia.³² During the reign of Diocletian in the late 3rd century, Moesia was organized as a diocese, and was ruled by Galerius. Under Saint Constantine (who professed Christianity) Hellas was part of the prefectures of Macedonia and Thrace. Theodosius divided the prefecture of Macedonia into the provinces of Creta, Achaea, Thessalia, Epirus Vetus, Epirus Nova, and Macedonia. The Aegean Islands formed the province of Insulae in the prefecture of Asiana.
.       Evidence from ancient authors assures the Greekness of Macedonia. With regard to Olympic Games, the historian Herodotus (5th century B.C.) makes the following remarks: „The Kings of Macedonia that descent from Perdikas are Greeks as they say and I personally am in a position to know. Also, the Greeks who administer the games in Olympia say the same.”³³ The same historian presents the king of Macedonians, Alexander I (495-450 B.C.), as a dominant figure of the Macedonian history in the 4th century and mentions that Alexander said during the era of Persian wars that he was Greek and he wants to see Greece free instead of enslaved.³⁴ Isocrates (4th century B.C.)³⁵ in his speech „to Philip”³⁶ proposes to reconcile all the Greek cities and lead an expedition against the Persians. Could such a proposition have been made Isocrates, an Athenian flaming patriot, to someone who was not Greek or who was the leader of barbarians? Further, the most important Greek source comes from the ancient Geographer Strabo (1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.) who emphasizes something, which he knew that was not new: „Macedonia is really Greece”.^{37
.        Thucydides38 and many other Latin historians also bear witness, directly or indirectly, to the Greekness of Macedonians. In antiquity the question of Macedonian ethnicity was never put forth. It was understood by all people and all nations that they were Greeks. And because they were Greeks, Alexander and the Macedonians spread Greek and no other language throughout all the conquered world. The greatest civilizer of the world, the Greek Alexander from Macedonia, was the most illustrious among Greeks and a precursor of Jesus Christ. Hellas, the cradle of the global civilization, offered to the world her son Alexander, one of the greatest personalities of the Ancient Greece. Through him the richness of the Greek language, knowledge, and civilization was imparted to the known world and changed the march of human history. Historians and archaeologists, for thousands of years, study this great journey, and try to analyze the life and the work of this Great Hellen.
.         The development of the Hellenic world by Alexander the Great and his heirs is well known. Alexander the Great, a Macedonian, became Commander in Chief of all Greece, not only of Macedonia. His Hellenization plan offered foreign barbarians a Greek education and culture. The cities with the Greek architecture and structures were spreading by Hellenes allover Asia and North Africa, where we see them today after the excavations. His heirs continued his work by promoting the Greek language from the Mediterranean Sea up to the Indus River, thereby accomplishing the Hellenization of the ancient world. This period is, therefore, not called the Macedonian, but the Hellenistic Period Ἑλληνιστικοὶ Χρόνοι)!}

Το be continued

1 See, Jones (1997).

2. See, Kebric (1997) and Kitto (1987).

3.See, Marchant and Todd (1997)

4.See, Pedley (1998).

5. But, at the same time, Hellas faces a lot of opposition from heretics (heterodoxs) and other religions (allodoxs) because of her traditional Orthodoxy and her Hellenic paideia. Lately, an international economic mafia shows its malice against Greece, too and this _ economic war_  would affect negatively the country_ s independence and security in the near future.

6. With their wisdom, like: _ Moderation in all things_  (Πᾶν μέτρον ἄριστον), they set the foundations and advanced the world.

7. See, Davies (1998, p. 95).

8. See, Kallianiotis (2010j).

9.›Hellenes ›had ›the ›same ›blood, ›the ›same ›language, ›and ›the ›same ›religion ›(ὅμαιμον, ὁμόγλωσσον καὶ ὁμόθρησκον), according to Herodotus ( Ἡρόδοτος) 5th century B.C. See, Kallianiotis (2007, p. 179).

10. See, Roberts (1997, p. 43).

11. See, Roberts (1997, p. 47).

12. See, Homers Iliad.

13. «Ὁ Ἕλλην Ὅμηρος ὑπῆρξε ὁ ἀγαπημένος στγγραφεὺς τοῦ Ἕλληνος Ἀλεξάνδρου, ὁ ὁποῖος κατεῖχε τὴν παιδείαν τοῦ Ἕλληνος Ἀριστοτέλους», See, Varnakos (1997).

14. Is this number, _ 33_ , signifying something? The Son of God remained on earth for 33 years, too. Theodore Birt said that _ Alexander was the beginning and Christ the end_ .

15. The European civilization was a Hellenic-Orthodox civilization up to the 9th century A.D., before its barbaric invasions from West and North. See, Sakarellos (2005).

16. See, Jones (1997), Kebric (1997), Vasiliev (1980), Paparrigopoulos (2003), and Kallianiotis (2009).

17. See, Blum, Cameron, and Barnes (1970, p. 4).

18.  See, Vranopoulos (1995, p. 168).

19. Indisputably, Τὰ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος» The objective of every human being must be to reach perfection (τὸ καθ᾽ ὁμοίωσιν).

20«Εὐγνωμονῶ τοῖς Θεοῖθς ὅτι ἐγεννήθην Ἕλλην…» (Μ. Ἀλέξανδρος)

21. The Greek Macedonian Kings were: Karanus  of Macedon, Koinos of Macedon, Tyrimmas of Macedon, Perdiccas I of Macedon (700-678 B.C.), Argaeus I of Macedon (678-640 B.C.), Philip I of Macedon (640-602 B.C.), Aeropus I of Macedon (602-576 B.C.), Alcetas I of Macedon (576-547 B.C.), Amyntas I of Macedon (547-498 B.C.), Alexander I of Macedon (498-454 B.C.), Perdiccas II of Macedon (454-413 B.C.), Archelaus I of Macedon (413-399 B.C.), Craterus of Macedon (399 B.C.), Orestes of Macedon (399-396 B.C.), Archelaus II of Macedon (396-393 B.C.), Amyntas II of Macedon (393 B.C.), Pausanias of Macedon (393 B.C.), Amyntas III of Macedon (393 B.C.), Argaeus II of Macedon (393-392 B.C.), Amyntas III of Macedon (restored) (392-370 B.C.), Alexander II of Macedon (370-368 B.C.), Ptolemy I of Macedon (368-365 B.C.), Perdiccas III of Macedon (365-359 B.C.), Amyntas IV of Macedon (359 B.C.), Philip II of Macedon (359-336 B.C.), Alexander the Great (Alexander III) (336-323 B.C.), Philip III Macedon (323-317 B.C.), only titular king, Alexander IV of Macedon (323-309 B.C.), only titular king. Then, the Epigone Cassander king of Macedonia (305 – 297 B.C.).

22. Alexander is a Greek name, which means, he who brings together and around him men warriors.

23. See,  _ HYPERLINK “http://macedonian-empire.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html” __http://macedonian-empire.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html_

24. The systematic colonization of Chalkidiki by the people of Southern Greece seems to have started in the 8th century B.C. Colonists came mainly from Chalkis and Eretria of Euboea. See, Kallianiotis (1995) and

HYPERLINK “http://www.it.uom.gr/project/chalkidiki/about1.htm” http://www.it.uom.gr/project/chalkidiki/about1.htm_

25. See, Varnakos (1997, p. 154).

26.  «Ἀλλ᾽ αὐτόν γε Ἀλέξανδρον οὐκ αἰσχύνομαι θαυμάζων» (Λεύκιος Φλάβιος Ἀρριανός

27. From 323 to 301 B.C., the era is called, Period of Interregnum (Περίοδος Μεσοβασιλείας) with internal (civil) strife. After that period, the Hellenistic nations were created.

28. No heir had been appointed to the throne, and his generals adopted Philip II’s illegitimate son, Philip Arrhidaeus, and Alexander’s posthumous son by Roxana, Alexander IV, as kings, sharing out the satrapies among themselves, after much negotiation. He and his uncle Philip, as joint kings, were placed under the guardianship of Perdiccas, Peithon and Antipater in succession. After the death of Antipater (309), Roxana fled with his son to Epirus, and was afterwards taken back to Macedonia, together with Olympias, by Polyperchon. Both kings were murdered, Arrhidaeus in 317 and Alexander IV in 309 with his mother Roxana were assassinated by Cassander who then usurped the throne of Macedonia and married Thessaloniki (Alexander the Great’s sister) in order to legitimize his position (Justin xiv. 6, xv. 2). The parts of former Alexander’s empire became independent monarchies, and the generals, following Antigonus’ lead in 306, took the title of monarch. The turbulent years from 323 to 301 B.C. saw endless conflicts among Alexander the Great’s generals, which ended with the parceling out of the Alexander’s empire and the creation of the first Hellenistic kingdoms. Alexander generals known as Diadochs (Epigones) had established their own kingdoms on the rests of the Alexander’s empire: Ptolemy Lagus, Alexander’s half bother (Egypt and Palestine); Seleucus Nicator (Mesopotamia and Syria); Cassander (Macedonia and Greece); Antigonus (Asia Minor); and Lysimachus (Thrace). See, _ HYPERLINK “http://history-of-macedonia.com/wordpress/2010/06/17/macedonian-names-and-makedonski-pseudo-linguistics-the-case-of-the-name-pella/” __http://history-of-macedonia.com/wordpress/2010/06/17/macedonian-names-and-makedonski-pseudo-linguistics-the-case-of-the-name-pella/_  and _ HYPERLINK “http://1stmuse.com/frames/index.html” __http://1stmuse.com/frames/index.html_

29. Ptolemy of lagos started to build the Library of Alexandria during the years 300-290 B.C. See, Historian Ioannis Kotoulas, „Afrocentrism and the distortion of Greek history‰, Macedonia Hellenic Land, December 2010.

HYPERLINK “http://www.macedoniahellenicland.eu/content/view/1324/78/lang,el/” __http://www.macedoniahellenicland.eu/content/view/1324/78/lang,el/_

30. See, HYPERLINK “http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Bios/Lysimachus.html” __http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Bios/Lysimachus.html_

31 Pydna (Πύδνα) was founded by Euboeans in early 7th century B.C. Alexander I took the city (Thucydides I.131.1), but later Pydna regained its independence. It was besieged by the Athenians in 432 B.C. Pydna was brought back under Macedonian rule in 410 B.C. by Archelaus, who reestablished the city twenty stadia further inland (Diodorus of Sicily 13.14). The Athenians seized Pydna in 364 B.C., only to have it retaken eight years later by Philip II. Pydna was raided by Alexander the Great on his march on Persia. Cassander besieged and captured Pydna in 317 B.C. and had the queen mother, Olympias, who had taken refuge there, put to death. The Battle of Pydna (June 22, 168 B.C.), in which the Roman general Aemilius Paulus defeated King Perseus, ended the reign of the Antigonid dynasty.

32. Moesia (Greek: Μοισία, Μυσία Latin: Moesiarum) was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Northern Skopje, Southern Serbia (Upper Moesia), Northern Bulgaria, South-Eastern Romania, Southern Moldova, and Budjak (Lower Moesia).

33. First among the ancient historians, Herodotus mentions Macedonians and considers them, without hesitation, ›to ›be ›Greeks: «Ἕλληνες δὲ εἶναι τούτους τοὺς ἀπὸ Περδίκκεω γεγονότας, κατά περ αὐτοὶ λέγουσι, αὐτός τε οὕτω τυγχάνω ἐπιστάμενος καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐν τοῖσι ὄπισθεν λόγοισι ἀποδείξω…» See, Herodotus, I, 56, 2-3 and V, 20-22. How the foreigners, who do not understand Greek, could be able to read these original sources?

34. «Αὐτός τε γὰρ Ἕλλην γένος εἰμί τὠρχαῖον, καὶ ἀντ᾽ ἐλευθέρης δεδουλωμένην οὐκ ἂν ἐθέλοιμι ὁρᾶν τὴν Ἑλλάδα» (Herodotus). Herodotus (Greek: Ἡρόδοτος Ηeródotos) was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Caria, Halicarnassus (Asia Minor that is under Turkish occupation, today) and lived in the 5th century B.C. (484 B.C. ˆ 425 B.C.). He has been called the “Father of History” since he was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a well-constructed and vivid narrative. The Histories ˜ his masterpiece and the only work he is known to have produced ˜ is a record of his “inquiry” (or ἱστορία historía, a word that passed into Latin and took on its modern meaning of history), being an investigation of the origins of the Greco-Persian Wars and including a wealth of geographical and ethnographical information.

35. Isocrates (Greek: Ἰσοκράτης; 436_ 338 BC), an ancient Greek rhetorician, was one of the ten Attic orators. In his time, he was probably the most influential rhetorician in Greece and made many contributions to rhetoric and education through his teaching and written works.

36. Philip II of Macedon, (Greek: Φίλιππος Β´ Μακεδών -Philippos) 382 _  336 B.C., was a Greek king (Vasileus) of Macedon from 359 B.C. until his assassination in 336 B.C. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III. _ HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II_of_Macedon” __http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_II_of_Macedon_ and _ HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedon” __http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedon_

37. «Ἐστι μὲν οὖν Ἑλλὰς καὶ ἡ Μακεδονία» Στράβων (Strabo). Strabo (Greek: Στράβων; 63/64 B.C. _  24 A.D.) was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus (Asia Minor), a city which he said to be situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea.

38. See, Thucydides, II, 99, 3-6. Thucydides (460 B.C. _  395 B.C.) (Greek: Θουκυδίδης, Thoukydídes) was a Greek historian and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century B.C. war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 B.C. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of “scientific history” because of his strict standards of evidence-gathering and analysis in terms of cause and effect without reference to intervention by the gods, as outlined in his introduction to his work. He has also been called the father of the school of political realism, which views the relations between nations as based on might rather than right.