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Friday, December 22, 2006
Ancient Macedonian Inscriptions
Etymology of the 100 most famous ancient Macedonian names
1. ALEXANDROS m Ancient Greek
(ALEXANDER Latinized)
Pronounced: al-eg-ZAN-dur
From the Greek name Alexandros, which meant 'defending men' from Greek alexein 'to defend, protect, help' and aner 'man' (genitive andros). Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, is the most famous bearer of this name. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. The name was borne by five kings of Macedon.
2. PHILIPPOS m Ancient Greek
(PHILIP Latinized)
Pronounced: FIL-ip
From the Greek name Philippos which means 'friend of horses', composed of the elements philos 'friend' and hippos 'horse'. The name was borne by five kings of Macedon, including Philip II the father of Alexander the Great.
3. AEROPOS m Ancient Greek, Greek Mythology
Male form of Aerope who in Greek mythology was the wife of King Atreus of Mycenae. Aeropos was also the son of Aerope, daughter of Kepheus: 'Ares, the Tegeans say, mated with Aerope, daughter of Kepheus (king of Tegea), the son of Aleos. She died in giving birth to a child, Aeropos, who clung to his mother even when she was dead, and sucked great abundance of milk from her breasts. Now this took place by the will of Ares.' (Pausanias 8.44.) The name was borne by two kings of Macedon.
4. ALKETAS m Ancient Greek
(ALCAEUS Latinized)
Pronounced: al-SEE-us
Derived from Greek alke meaning 'strength'. This was the name of a 7th-century BC lyric poet from the island of Lesbos.
5. AMYNTAS m Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek amyntor meaning 'defender'. The name was borne by three kings of Macedon.
6. ANTIGONOS m Ancient Greek
(ANTIGONUS Latinized)
Pronounced: an-TIG-o-nus
Means 'like the ancestor' from Greek anti 'like' and goneus 'ancestor'. This was the name of one of Alexander the Great's generals. After Alexander died, he took control of most of Asia Minor. He was known as Antigonus 'Monophthalmos' ('the One-Eyed'). Antigonos II (ruled 277-239 BC) was known as 'Gonatos' ('knee, kneel').
7. ANTIPATROS m Ancient Greek
(ANTIPATER Latinized)
Pronounced: an-TI-pa-tur
From the Greek name Antipatros, which meant 'like the father' from Greek anti 'like' and pater 'father'. This was the name of an officer of Alexander the Great, who became the regent of Macedon during Alexander's absence.
8. ARCHELAOS m Ancient Greek
(ARCHELAUS Latinized)
Pronounced: ar-kee-LAY-us
Latinized form of the Greek name Archelaos, which meant 'master of the people' from arche 'master' and laos 'people'. It was also the name of the 7th Spartan king who came in the throne of Sparti in 886 BC, long before the establishment of the Macedonian state.
9. ARGAIOS m Greek Mythology
(ARGUS Latinized)
Derived from Greek argos meaning 'glistening, shining'. In Greek myth this name belongs to both the man who built the Argo and a man with a hundred eyes. The name was borne by three kings of Macedon.
10. DEMETRIOS m Ancient Greek
(DEMETRIUS Latinized)
Latin form of the Greek name Demetrios, which was derived from the name of the Greek goddess Demeter. Kings of Macedon and the Seleucid kingdom have had this name. Demetrios I (ruled 309-301 BC) was known as 'Poliorketes' (the 'Beseiger').
11. KARANOS m Ancient Greek
(CARANUS Latinized)
Derived from the archaic Greek word 'koiranos' or 'karanon", meaning 'ruler', 'leader' or 'king'. Both words stem from the same archaic Doric root 'kara' meaning head, hence leader, royal master. The word 'koiranos' already had the meaning of ruler or king in Homer. Karanos is the name of the founder of the Argead dynasty of the Kings of Macedon.
12. KASSANDROS m Greek Mythology
(CASSANDER Latinized)
Pronounced: ka-SAN-dros
Possibly means 'shining upon man', derived from Greek kekasmai 'to shine' and aner 'man' (genitive andros). In Greek myth Cassandra was a Trojan princess, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but when she spurned his advances he cursed her so nobody would believe her prophecies. The name of a king of Macedon.
13. KOINOS m Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek koinos meaning 'usual, common'. An Argead king of Macedon in the 8th century BC.
14. LYSIMACHOS m Ancient Greek
(LYSIMACHUS Latinized)
Means 'a loosening of battle' from Greek lysis 'a release, loosening' and mache 'battle'. This was the name of one of Alexander the Great's generals. After Alexander's death Lysimachus took control of Thrace.
15. SELEUKOS m Ancient Greek
(SELEUCUS Latinized)
Means 'to be light', 'to be white', derived from the Greek word leukos meaning 'white, bright'. This was the name of one of Alexander's generals that claimed most of Asia and founded the Seleucid dynasty after the death of Alexander in Babylon.
16. ARRIDHAIOS m Ancient Greek
Son of Philip II and later king of Macedon. The greek etymology is Ari (= much) + adj Daios (= terrifying). Its full meaning is "too terrifying". Its Aeolian type is Arribaeos.
17. ORESTES m Greek Mythology
Pronounced: o-RES-teez
Derived from Greek orestais meaning 'of the mountains'. In Greek myth he was the son of Agamemnon. He killed his mother Clytemnestra after she killed his father. The name of a king of Macedon (ruled 399-396 BC).
18. PAUSANIAS m Ancient Greek
King of Macedon in 393 BC. Pausanias was also the name of the Spartan king at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC, and the name of the Greek traveller, geographer and writer whose most famous work is 'Description of Greece', and also the name of the man who assassinated Philip II of Macedon in 336 BC.
19. PERDIKKAS m Ancient Greek
(PERDICCAS Latinized)
Derived from Greek perdika meaning 'partridge'. Perdikkas I is presented as founder of the kingdom of Macedon in Herodotus 8.137. The name was borne by three kings of Macedon.
20. PERSEUS m Greek Mythology
Pronounced: PUR-see-us
It derives from Greek verb pertho meaning 'to destroy, conquer'. Its full meaning is the "conqueror". Perseus was a hero in Greek legend. He killed Medusa, who was so ugly that anyone who gazed upon her was turned to stone, by looking at her in the reflection of his shield and slaying her in her sleep. The name of a king of Macedon (ruled 179-168 BC).
21. PTOLEMEOS m Ancient Greek
(PTOLEMY Latinized)
Pronounced: TAWL-e-mee
Derived from Greek polemeios meaning 'aggressive' or 'warlike'. Ptolemy was the name of several Greco-Egyptian rulers of Egypt, all descendents of Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great's generals. This was also the name of a Greek astronomer. Ptolemy 'Keraunos' (ruled 281-279 BC) is named after the lighting bolt thrown by Zeus.
22. TYRIMMAS m Greek Mythology
Tyrimmas, an Argead king of Macedon and son of Coenus. Also known as Temenus. In Greek mythology, Temenus was the son of Aristomaches and a great-great grandson of Herakles. He became king of Argos. Tyrimmas was also a man from Epirus and father of Evippe, who consorted with Odysseus (Parthenius of Nicaea, Love Romances, 3.1). Its full meaning is "the one who loves cheese".
23. EURYDIKE f Greek Mythology (EURYDICE Latinized)
Means 'wide justice' from Greek eurys 'wide' and dike 'justice'. In Greek myth she was the wife of Orpheus. Her husband tried to rescue her from Hades, but he failed when he disobeyed the condition that he not look back upon her on their way out. Name of the mother of Philip II of Macedon.
24. BERENIKE f Ancient Greek (BERENICE Latinized)
Pronounced: ber-e-NIE-see
Means 'bringing victory' from pherein 'to bring' and nike 'victory'. This name was common among the Ptolemy ruling family of Egypt.
25. KLEOPATRA f Ancient Greek (CLEOPATRA Latinized),
EnglishPronounced: klee-o-PAT-ra
Means 'glory of the father' from Greek kleos 'glory' combined with patros 'of the father'. In the Iliad, the name of the wife of Meleager of Aetolia. This was also the name of queens of Egypt from the Ptolemaic royal family, including Cleopatra VII, the mistress of both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After being defeated by Augustus she committed suicide by allowing herself to be bitten by an asp. Also the name of a bride of Philip II of Macedon.
26. CYNNA f Ancient Greek
Half-sister of Alexander the great. Her name derives from the adj. of doric dialect Cyna (= tough).
27. THESSALONIKI f Ancient Greek
Means 'victory over the Thessalians', from the name of the region of Thessaly and niki, meaning 'victory'. Name of Alexander the Great's step sister and of the city of Thessaloniki which was named after her in 315 BC.
28. PARMENION m ancient Greek
The most famous General of Philip and Alexander the great. Another famous bearer of this name was the olympic winner Parmenion of Mitiline. His name derives from the name Parmenon + the ending -ion used to note descendancy. It means the "descedant of Parmenon".
29. PEUKESTAS m Ancient Greek
He saved Alexander the Great in India. One of the most known Macedonians. His name derives from Πευκής (= sharp) + the Doric ending -tas. Its full meaning is the "one who is sharp".
30. ARISTOPHANES m Ancient Greek
Derived from the Greek elements aristos 'best' and phanes 'appearing'. The name of one of Alexander the Great's personal body guard who was present during the murder of Cleitus. (Plutarch, Alexander, 'The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans'). This was also the name of a 5th-century BC Athenian playwright.
31. KORRAGOS m Ancient Greek
The Macedonian who challenged into a fight the Olympic winner Dioxippos and lost. His name derives from Koira (= army) + ago (= lead). Korragos has the meaning of "the leader of the army".
32. ARISTON m Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek aristos meaning 'the best'. The name of a Macedonian officer on campaign with Alexander the Great (Arrian, Anabasis, Book II, 9 and Book III, 11, 14).
33. KLEITUS m Ancient Greek
(CLEITUS Latinized)
Means 'calling forth' or 'summoned' in Greek. A phalanx battalion commander in Alexander the Great's army at the Battle of Hydaspes. Also the name of Alexander's nurse's brother, who severed the arm of the Persian Spithridates at the Battle of the Granicus.
34. HEPHAISTION m
Greek Mythology
Derived from Hephaistos ('Hephaestus' Latinized) who in Greek mythology was the god of fire and forging and one of the twelve Olympian deities. Hephaistos in Greek denotes a 'furnace' or 'volcano'. Hephaistion was the companion and closest friend of Alexander the Great. He was also known as 'Philalexandros' ('friend of Alexander').
35. HERAKLEIDES m Ancient Greek
(HERACLEIDES Latinized)
Perhaps means 'key of Hera' from the name of the goddess Hera combined with Greek kleis 'key' or kleidon 'little key'. The name of two Macedonian soldiers on campaign with Alexander the Great (Arrian, Anabasis, Book I, 2; Book III, 11 and Book VII, 16).
36. KRATEROS m Ancient Greek
(CRATERUS Latinized)
Derived from Greek adj. Κρατερός (= Powerful). This was the name of one of Alexander the Great's generals. A friend of Alexander the Great, he was also known as 'Philobasileus' ('friend of the King').
37. NEOPTOLEMOS m Greek Mythology
(NEOPTOLEMUS Latinized)
Means 'new war', derived from Greek neos 'new' and polemos 'war'. In Greek legend this was the name of the son of Achilles, brought into the Trojan War because it was prophesied the Greeks could not win it unless he was present. After the war he was slain by Orestes because of his marriage to Hermione. Neoptolemos was believed to be the ancestor of Alexander the Great on his mother's (Olympias') side (Plutarch). The name of two Macedonian soldiers during Alexander's campaigns (Arrian, Anabasis, Book I, 6 and Book II, 27).
38. PHILOTAS m Ancient Greek
From Greek philotes meaning 'friendship'. Son of Parmenion and a commander of Alexander the Great's Companion cavalry.
39. PHILOXENOS m Ancient Greek
Meaning 'friend of strangers' derived from Greek philos meaning friend and xenos meaning 'stranger, foreigner'. The name of a Macedonian soldier on campaign with Alexander the Great (Arrian, Anabasis, Book III, 6).
40. MENELAOS m Greek Mythology
(MENELAUS Latinized)
Means 'withstanding the people' from Greek meno 'to last, to withstand' and laos 'the people'. In Greek legend he was a king of Sparta and the husband of Helen. When his wife was taken by Paris, the Greeks besieged the city of Troy in an effort to get her back. After the war Menelaus and Helen settled down to a happy life. Macedonian naval commander during the wars of the Diadochi and brother of Ptolemy Lagos.
41. LAOMEDON m ancient greek
Friend from boyhood of Alexander and later Satrap. His names derives from the greek noun laos (λαός = "people" + medon (μέδω = "the one who governs")
42. POLYPERCHON Ancient Greek
Macedonian, Son of Simmias His name derives from the greek word 'Πολύ' (=much) + σπέρχω (= rush).
43. HEGELOCHOS m
(HEGELOCHUS Latinized)
Known as the conspirator. His name derives from the greek verb (ηγέομαι = "walking ahead" + greek noun λόχος = "set up ambush").
44. POLEMON m ancient Greek
From the house of Andromenes. Brother of Attalos. Means in greek "the one who is fighting in war".
45. AUTODIKOS m ancient greek
Somatophylax of Philip III. His name in greek means "the one who takes the law into his (own) hands"
46. BALAKROS m ancient Greek
Son of Nicanor. We already know Macedonians usually used a "beta" instead of a "phi" which was used by Atheneans (eg. "belekys" instead of "pelekys", "balakros" instead of "falakros"). "Falakros" has the meaning of "bald".
47. NIKANOR (Nικάνωρ m ancient Greek
( Latin: Nicanor)
means "victor" - from Nike (Νικη) meaning "victory".Nicanor was the name of the father of Balakras. He was a distinguished Macedonian during the reign of Phillip II.Another Nicanor was the son of Parmenion and brother of Philotas. He was a distinguished officer (commander of the Hypaspists) in the service of Alexander the Great. He died of disease in Bactria in 330 BC.48. LEONNATOS m ancient GreekOne of the somatophylakes of Alexander. His name derives from Leon (= Lion) + the root Nat of noun Nator (= dashing). The full meaning is "Dashing like the lion".
49. KRITOLAOS m ancient Hellinic
He was a potter from Pella. His name was discovered in amphoras in Pella during 1980-87. His name derives from Κρίτος (= the chosen) + Λαός (= the people). Its full meaning is "the chosen of the people".
50. ZOILOS m ancient Hellinic
Father of Myleas from Beroia - From zo-e (ΖΩΗ) indicating 'lively', 'vivacious'. Hence the Italian 'Zoilo'
51. ZEUXIS m ancient Hellenic
Name of a Macedonian commander of Lydia in the time of Antigonos III and also the name of a Painter from Heraclea - from 'zeugnumi' = 'to bind', 'join together'
52. LEOCHARIS m ancient Hellenic
Sculptor - Deriving from 'Leon' = 'lion' and 'charis' = 'grace'. Literally meaning the 'lion's grace'.
53. DEINOKRATIS m ancient Hellenic
Helped Alexander to create Alexandria in Egypt.From 'deinow' = 'to make terrible' and 'kratein' = "to rule"Obviously indicating a 'terrible ruler'54. ADMETOS (Άδμητος) m Ancient Greekderive from the word a+damaw(damazw) and mean tameless,obstreperous.Damazw mean chasten, prevail
55. ANDROTIMOS (Ανδρότιμος) m Ancient Greek
derive from the words andreios (brave, courageous) and timitis(honest, upright )
56. PEITHON m Ancient Greek
Means "the one who persuades". It was a common name among Macedonians and the most famous holders of that names were Peithon, son of Sosicles, responsible for the royal pages and Peithon, son of Krateuas, a marshal of Alexander the Great.
57. SOSTRATOS m Ancient Greek
Derives from the Greek words "Σως (=safe) +Στρατος (=army)". He was son of Amyntas and was executed as a conspirator.
58. DIMNOS m Ancient Greek
Derives from the greek verb "δειμαίνω (= i have fear). One of the conspirators.
59. TIMANDROS m Ancient GreekMeaning "Man's honour". It derives from the greek words "Τιμή (=honour) + Άνδρας (=man). One of the commanders of regular Hypaspistes.
60. TLEPOLEMOS ,(τληπόλεμος) m Ancient Greek
Derives from greek words "τλήμων (=brave) + πόλεμος (=war)". In greek mythology Tlepolemos was a son of Heracles. In alexanders era, Tlepolemos was appointed Satrap of Carmania from Alexander the Great.
61. AXIOS (Άξιος) m ancient Greek
Meaning "capable". His name was found on one inscription along with his patronymic "Άξιος Αντιγόνου Μακεδών".
62. THEOXENOS (Θεόξενος) ancient Greek
Derives from greek words "θεός (=god) + ξένος (=foreigner).His name appears as a donator of the Apollo temple along with his patronymic and city of origin(Θεόξενος Αισχρίωνος Κασσανδρεύς).
63. MITRON (Μήτρων) m ancient Greek
Derives from the greek word "Μήτηρ (=Mother)". Mitron of Macedon appears in a inscription as a donator
64. KLEOCHARIS (Κλεοχάρης) M ancient greek
Derives from greek words "Κλέος (=fame) + "Χάρις (=Grace). Kleocharis, son of Pytheas from Amphipoli was a Macedonian honoured in the city of Eretria at the time of Demetrius son of Antigonus.
65. PREPELAOS (Πρεπέλαος) m, ancient Greek
Derives from greek words "πρέπω (=be distinguished) + λαος (=people). He was a general of Kassander.
66. HIPPOLOCHOS (Ιππόλοχος) m, ancient Greek
Derives from the greek words "Ίππος" (= horse) + "Λόχος"(=set up ambush). Hippolochos was a Macedonian historian (ca. 300 B.C.)
67. ALEXARCHOS (Αλέξαρχος) m, ancient Greek
Derives from Greek "Αλέξω" (=defend, protect, help) + "Αρχος " (= master). Alexarchos was brother of Cassandros.
68. ASCLEPIODOROS (Ασκληπιοδορος) m
Ancient Greek
Derives from the greek words Asclepios (= cut up) + Doro (=Gift). Asclepios was the name of the god of healing and medicine in Greek mythology. Asclepiodoros was a prominent Macedonian, son of Eunikos from Pella. Another Asclepiodoros in Alexander's army was son of Timandros.
69. KALLINES (Καλλινης) m Ancient Greek
Derives from greek words kalli + nao (=stream beautifully). He was a Macedonian, officer of companions.
70. PLEISTARHOS (Πλείσταρχος) m ancient Greek
Derives from the greek words Pleistos (=too much) + Arhos ((= master). He was younger brother of Cassander.
71. POLYKLES (Πολυκλής) m ancient Greek
Derives from the words Poli (=city) + Kleos (glory). Macedonian who served as Strategos of Antipater.
72. POLYDAMAS (Πολυδάμας) m ancient Greek
The translation of his name means "the one who subordinates a city". One Hetairos.
73. APOLLOPHANES (Απολλοφάνης) m ancient greek.
His name derives from the greek verb "απολλυμι" (=to destroy) and φαίνομαι (= appear to be). Apollophanes was a prominent Macedonian who was appointed Satrap of Oreitae.
74. ARCHIAS (Αρχίας) m ancient Greek
His name derive from greek verb Άρχω (=head or be in command). Archias was one of the Macedonian trierarchs in Hydaspes river.
75. ARCHESILAOS (Αρχεσίλαος) m ancient Greek
His name derive from greek verb Άρχω (=head or be in command) + Λαος (= people). Archesilaos was a Macedonian that received the satrapy of Mesopotamia in the settlement of 323.
76. ARETAS (Αρετας) m ancient Greek
Derives from the greek word Areti (=virtue). He was commander of Sarissoforoi at Gaugamela.
77. KLEANDROS (Κλέανδρος) m ancient Greek
Derives from greek verb Κλέος (=fame) + Ανδρος (=man). He was commander of Archers and was killed in Hallicarnasus in 334 BC.
78. AGESISTRATOS (Αγησίστρατος) m ancient greek
Father of Paramonos, a general of Antigonos Doson. His name derives from verb ηγήσομαι ( = lead in command) + στρατος (= army). "Hgisomai" in Doric dialect is "Agisomai". Its full meaning is "the one who leads the army"
79. AGERROS (Αγερρος) M ancient Greek
He was father of Andronikos, general of Alexander. His name derives from the verb αγέρρω (= the one who makes gatherings)
80. AVREAS (Αβρέας) m ancient Greek
Officer of Alexander the great. His name derives from the adj. αβρός (=polite)
81. AGATHANOR (Αγαθάνωρ) m ancient Greek
Son of Thrasycles. He was priest of Asklepios for about 5 years. His origin was from Beroia as is attested from an inscription. His name derives from the adj. αγαθός (= virtuous) + ανήρ (= man). The full meaning of his name is "Virtuous man"
82. AGAKLES (Αγακλής) m ancient Greek
He was son of Simmihos and was from Pella. He is known from a resolution of Aetolians. His name derives from the adj. Αγακλεής (= too glorious)
83. AGASIKLES (Αγασικλής) m ancient Greek
Son of Mentor, from Dion of Macedonia. It derives from the verb άγαμαι (= admire) + Κλέος (=fame). Its full meaning is "the one who admires fame"
84. AGGAREOS (Αγγάρεος) m ancient Greek
Son of Dalon from Amphipolis. He is known from an inscription of Amphipolis (S.E.G vol 31. ins. 616) It derives from the noun Αγγαρεία (= news)
85. AGELAS (Αγέλας) m ancient Greek
Son of Alexander. He was born during the mid-5th BCE and was an ambassador of Macedonians during the treaty between Macedonians and Atheneans. This treaty exists in inscription 89.vol1 Fasc.1 Ed.3"Attic inscrip."His name was common among Heraclides and Bacchiades. One Agelas was king of Corinth during the first quarter of 5 BCE. His name derives from the verb άγω (= lead) and the noun Λαός (= people or even soldiers (Homeric)). The full meaning is the "one who leads the people/soldiers".
86. AGIPPOS (Άγιππος) m ancient Greek
He was from Beroia of Macedonia and lived during middle 3rd BCE. He is known from an inscription found in Beroia where his name appears as the witness in a slave-freeing. Another case bearing the name Agippos in the Greek world was the father of Timokratos from Zakynthos. The name Agippos derives from the verb άγω (= lead) + the word ίππος (= Horse). Its full meaning is "the one who leads the horse/calvary".
87. AGLAIANOS (Αγλαϊάνος) m ancient Greek
He was from Amphipolis of Macedonia (c. 4th BC) and he is known from an inscription S.E.G vol41., insc. 556His name consists of aglai- from the verb αγλαϊζω (= honour) and the ending -anos.
88. AGNOTHEOS (Αγνόθεος) m ancient Greek
Macedonian, possibly from Pella. His name survived from an inscription found in Pella between 300-250 BCE. (SEG vol46.insc.799)His name derives from Αγνός ( = pure) + Θεός (=God). The full meaning is "the one who has inside a pure god"
89. ATHENAGORAS (Αθηναγόρας) m ancient Greek
General of Philip V. He was the general who stopped Dardanian invasion in 199 BC. His name derives from the verb αγορά-ομαι (=deliver a speech) + the name Αθηνά (= Athena).
90. PERIANDROS (Περίανδρος) m ancient Greek
Son of the Macedonian historian Marsyas. His name derives from Περί (= too much) + άνηρ (man, brave). Its full meaning is "too brave/man".
91. LEODISKOS (Λεοντίσκος) m ancient Greek
He was son of Ptolemy A' and Thais, His name derives from Λέων (= lion) + the ending -iskos (=little). His name's full etymology is "Little Lion"
92. EPHRANOR (Ευφράνωρ) m ancient Greek
He was General of Perseas. It derives from the verb Ευφραίνω (= delight). Its full meaning is "the one who delights".
93. DIONYSOPHON m Ancient Greek
It has the meaning "Voice of Dionysos". The ending -phon is typical among ancient greek names.
94. ANTIGONE f ancient GreekUsage: Greek MythologyPronounced: an-TIG-o-neeMeans 'against birth' from Greek anti 'against' and gone 'birth'. In Greek legend Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. King Creon of Thebes declared that her slain brother Polynices was to remain unburied, a great dishonour. She disobeyed and gave him a proper burial, and for this she was sealed alive in a cave. Antigone of Pydna was the mistress of Philotas, the son of Parmenion and commander of Alexander the Great's Companion cavalry (Plutarch, Alexander, 'The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans').
95. VOULOMAGA (Βουλομάγα) f ancient greek
Derives from greek words "Βούλομαι (=desire) + άγαν (=too much)". Her name is found among donators.
96. ATALANTE (Αταλαντη) f ancient Greek
Her name means in Greek "without talent". She was daughter of Orontes, and sister of Perdiccas.97. AGELAEIA (Αγελαεία) f ancient GreekWife of Amyntas, from the city of Beroia (S.E.G vol 48. insc. 738)It derives from the adj. Αγέλα-ος ( = the one who belongs to a herd)98. ATHENAIS (Αθηναϊς) f ancient GreekThe name was found on an altar of Heracles Kigagidas in Beroia. It derives from the name Athena and the ending -is meaning "small". Its whole meaning is "little Athena".
99. STRATONIKE f Ancient Greek (STRATONICE Latinized)
Means 'victorious army' from stratos 'army' and nike 'victory'. Sister of King Perdiccas II. "…and Perdiccas afterwards gave his sister Stratonice to Seuthes as he had promised." (Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War, Chapter VIII)
100. THETIMA f Ancient Greek
A name from Pella Katadesmos. It has the meaning "she who honors the gods"; the standard Attic form would be Theotimē.
"Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great: Prosopography of Alexander's Empire" by Waldemar Heckel
"The Marshals of Alexander's empire" by Waldemar Heckel"
Macedonians Abroad: A Contribution to the Prosopography of Ancient Macedonia" by A. B. Tataki"
The Greek identity of Ancient Macedonians" by Athanasios Sakalis
Monday, December 18, 2006
Ancient Writers and Macedonia
"There remain of Europe, first, Macedonia and the parts of Thrace that are contiguous to it and extend as far as Byzantium; secondly, Greece; and thirdly, the islands that are close by. Macedonia, of course, is a part of Greece, yet now, since I am following the nature and shape of the places geographically, I have decided to classify it apart from the rest of Greece and to join it with that part of Thrace which borders on it and extends as far as the mouth of the Euxine and the Propontis. Then, a little further on, Strabo mentions Cypsela and the Hebrus River, and also describes a sort of parallelogram in which the whole of Macedonia lies."
[Strabo, Geography,book 7,Fragm,9]
"And even to the present day the Thracians, Illyrians, and Epeirotes live on the flanks of the Greeks (though this was still more the case formerly than now); indeed most of the country that at the present time is indisputably Greece is held by the barbarians — Macedonia and certain parts of Thessaly by the Thracians, and the parts above Acarnania and Aetolia by the Thesproti, the Cassopaei, the Amphilochi, the Molossi, and the Athamanes — Epeirotic tribes."
[Strabo, Geography,book 7,VII,1]
"What is now called Macedonia was in earlier times called Emathia. And it took its present name from Macedon, one of its early chieftains. And there was also a city emathia close to the sea. Now a part of this country was taken and held by certain of the Epeirotes and the Illyrians, but most oii by the Bottiaei and the Thracians. The Bottiaei came from Crete originally, so it is said, along with Botton as chieftain. As for the Thracians, the Pieres inhabited Pieria and the region about Olympus; the Paeones, the region on both sides of the Axius River, which on that account is called Amphaxitis; the Edoni and Bisaltae, the rest of the country as far as the Strymon. Of these two peoples the latter are called Bisaltae alone, whereas a part of the Edoni are called Mygdones, a part Edones, and a part Sithones. But of all these tribes the Argeadae, as they are called, established themselves as masters, and also the Chalcidians of Euboea; for the Chalcidians of Euboea also came over to the country of the Sithones and jointly peopled about thirty cities in it, although later on the majority of them were ejected and came together into one city, Olynthus; and they were named the Thracian Chalcidians."
[Strabo, Geography, book 7, Fragm 11]
"When the Euboeans were returning from Troy, some of them, after being driven out of their course to Illyria, set out for home through Macedonia, but remained in the neighborhood of Edessa, after aiding in war those who had received them hospitably; and they founded a city Euboe"
[Strabo, Geography,book 10,I,15].
"From its melody and rhythm and instruments, all Thracian music has been considered to be Asiatic. And this is clear, first, from the places where the Muses have been worshipped, for Pieria and Olympus and Pimpla and Leibethrum were in ancient times Thracian places and mountains, though they are now held by the Macedonians;"[Strabo, Geography,book 10,III,17]
"….and again, of the Epeirotes, the Molossi became subject to Pyrrhus, the son of Neoptolemus the son of Achilles, and to his descendants, who were Thessalians. But the rest were ruled by men of native stock."
[Strabo, Geography, book 7, VII, 8]
"It is said that Orestes once took possession of Orestias — when in exile on account of the murder of his mother — and left the country bearing his name; and that he also founded a city and called it Argos Oresticum."
[Strabo, Geography,book 7,VII,8]
"After having described as much of the western parts of Europe as is comprised within the interior and exterior seas, and surveyed all the barbarous nations which it contains, as far as the Don and a small part of Greece, [namely, Macedonia,] we propose to give an account of the remainder of the Helladic geography. "
[Strabo, Geography, BOOK VIII, 1]
"…but after they had intrusted to Lycurgus the formation of a political constitution, they acquired such a superiority over the other Greeks, that they alone obtained the sovereignty both by sea and land, and continued to be the chiefs of the Greeks, till the Thebans, and soon afterwards the Macedonians, deprived them of this ascendency"
[Strabo, Geography, VIII- V]
"The veneration for this god prevailed so strongly among the Greeks, that the Macedonians, even when masters of the country, nevertheless preserved even to the present time the privilege of the asylum, and were restrained by shame from dragging away the suppliants who took refuge at Calauria
[Strabo, Geography,VIII-VI]
"The Acarnanians, and the Ætolians, like many other nations, are at present worn out, and exhausted by continual wars. The Ætolians however, in conjunction with the Acarnanians, during a long period withstood the Macedonians and the other Greeks "
[Strabo, Geography, Book 10, Chapter 2, 23]
Isocrates, Speeches and Letters, "To Philip"
"It is your privilege, as one who has been blessed with untrammeled freedom, to consider all Hellas your fatherland, as did the founder of your race."
[Isokrates, Speeches and Letters, "To Philip" 127]
"Argos is the land of your fathers, and is entitled to as much consideration at your hands as are your own ancestors…"
[Isocrates, Speeches and Letters, "To Philip", 32]
"Now I am not unaware that many of the Hellenes look upon the King's power as invincible. Yet one may well marvel at them if they really believe that the power which was subdued to the will of a mere barbarian–an ill-bred barbarian at that–and collected in the cause of slavery, could not be scattered by A MAN OF THE BLOOD OF HELLAS, of ripe experience in warfare, in the cause of freedom–and that too although they know that while it is in all cases difficult to construct a thing, to destroy it is, comparatively, an easy task.Bear in mind that the men whom the world most admires and honors are those who unite in themselves the abilities of the statesman and the general. When, therefore, you see the renown which even in a single city is bestowed on men who possess these gifts, what manner of eulogies must you expect to hear spoken of you, when AMONG ALL THE HELLENES you shall stand forth as a statesman who has worked for the good of Hellas, and AS A GENERAL WHO HAS OVERTHROWN THE BARBARIANS?"
[Isocrates, Speeches and Letters, "To Philip", 5.139, 5.140]
"Well, if I were trying to present this matter to any others before having broached it to my own country, WHICH HAS THRICE FREED HELLAS-twice from the barbarians and ONCE FROM THE LACEDAEMONIAN YOKE–I should confess my error. In truth, however, it will be found that I turned to Athens first of all and endeavored to win her over to this cause with all the earnestness of which my nature is capable,2 but when I perceived that she cared less for what I said than for the ravings of the platform orators,3 I gave her up, although I did not abandon my efforts."
[Isocrates, Speeches and Letters, "To Philip", 5.129]
"The Lacedaemonians were the leaders of the Hellenes, not long ago, on both land and sea, and yet they suffered so great a reversal of fortune when they met defeat at Leuctra that they were deprived of their power over the Hellenes, and lost such of their warriors as chose to die rather than survive defeat at the hands of those over whom they had once been masters."
[Isocrates, Speeches and Letters, "To Philip", 5.47]
"As I continued to say many things of this tenor, those who heard me were inspired with the hope that when my discourse should be published you and the Athenians would bring the war to an end, and, having conquered your pride, would adopt some policy for your mutual good. Whether indeed they were foolish or sensible in taking this view is a question for which they, and not I, may fairly be held to account; but in any case, while I was still occupied with this endeavour, you and Athens anticipated me by making peace before I had completed my discourse; and you were wise in doing so, for to conclude the peace, no matter how, was better than to continue to be oppressed by the evils engendered by the war. [8] But although I was in joyful accord with the resolutions which were adopted regarding the peace, and was convinced that they would be beneficial, not only to us, BUT ALSO TO YOU AND ALL THE OTHER HELLENES, I could not divorce my thought from the possibilities connected with this step, but found myself in a state of mind where I began at once to consider how the results which had been achieved might be made permanent for us, and how our city could be prevented from setting her heart upon further wars, after a short interval of peace."
[Isocrates, Speeches and Letters, "To Philip", 5.8]
Plutarch - Moralia, "On the Fortune of Alexander"
"Alexander lived many hundred years ago. He was king of Macedon, one of the states of Greece. His life was spent in war. He first conquered the other Grecian states, and then Persia, and India, and other countries one by one, till the whole known world was conquered by him. It is said that he wept, because there were no more worlds for him to conquer. He died, at the age of thirty-three, from drinking too much wine. In consequence of his great success in war, he was called Alexander the Great."
[Plutarchos, Moralia, On the Fortune of Alexander, I, 328D, 329A ]
"But he said, `If I were not Alexandros, I should be Diogenes'; that is to say: `If it were not my purpose to combine barbarian things with things Hellenic, to traverse and civilize every every continent, to search out the uttermost parts of land and sea, to push the bounds of Macedonia to the farthest Ocean, and to diseminate and shower the blessings of the Hellenic justice and peace over every nation, I should not be content to sit quietly in the luxury of idle power, but I should emulate the frugality of Diogenes. But as things are, forgive me Diogenes, that I imitate Herakles, and emulate Perseus, and follow in the footsteps of Dionysos, the divine author and progenitor of my family, and desire that victorius Hellenes should dance again in India and revive the memory of the Bacchic revels among the savage mountain tribes beyond the Kaukasos…' "
[Plutarchos, On the Fortune of Alexander, 332 a-b]
"Yet through Alexander, Bactria and the Caucasus learned to revere the gods of the Hellenes … Alexander established more than seventy cities among savage tribes, and showed all Asia with Hellenic magistracies … Egypt would not have its Alexandria, nor Mesopotamia its Seleucia, nor Sogdiana its Prophthasia, nor India its Bucephalia, nor the Caucasus a Hellenic city, for by the founding of cities in these places savagery was extinguished and the worse element, gaining familiarity with the better, changed under its influence.'
[Plutarchos Moralia. On the Fortune of Alexander, I, 328D, 329A]
Diodoros of Sicily, Histories
Such was the end of Philip … He had ruled 24 years. He is known to fame as one who with but the slenderest resources to support his claim to a throne won for himself the greatest monarchy among the Hellenes, while the growth of his position was not due so much to his prowess in arms as to his adroitness and cordiality in diplomacy."
[Diodoros of Sicily 16.95.1-2]
"Along with lavish display of every sort, Philip included in the procession statues of the twelve Gods wrought with great artistry and adorned with a dazzling show of wealth to strike awe to the beholder, and along with these was conducted a thirteenth statue, suitable for a god, that of Philip himself, so that the king exhibited himself enthroned among the twelve Gods. Every seat in the theater was taken when Philip appeared wearing a white cloak and by his express orders his bodyguard held away from him and followed only at a distance, since he wanted to show publicly that he was protected by the goodwill of all the Hellenes, and had no need of a guard of spearmen."
[Diodoros of Sicily 16.92.5-93.2]
"After this Alexandros left Dareios's mother, his daughters,and his son in Susa, providing them with persons to teach them the hellenic dialect,…"
[Diodoros of Sicily 17.67.1]
"Alexandros observed that his soldiers were exhausted with their constant campaigns. …The hooves of the horses had been worn thin by steady marching. The arms and armour were wearing out, and the Hellenic clothing was quite gone. They had to clothe themselves in materials of the barbarians,…"
[Diodoros of Sicily 17.94.1-2]
"Is considered this king (Philip) began his monarchy with the bad conditions and he conquered the bigger monarchy of Hellenes (Macedonia) increasing the hegemony no so much with the heroism of arms, as long as with the skilful handlings and his diplomacy."
[Diodorus Sikeliotis, 16-95]
"and the Athenians were not ready to concede the leading position among the Greeks to Macedon."
[Diodorus of Sicily, 17.3.2]
"Similarly, the Thebans voted to drive out the garrison in the Cadmeia and not to concede to Alexander the leadership of the Greeks."
[Diodorus of Sicily, 17.3.4]
"First he [Alexander] dealt with the Thessalians, reminding them of his ancient relationship to them through Heracles"
[Diodorus of Sicily, 17.4.1]
"where he convened the assembly of the Amphictyons and had them pass a resolution granting him the leadership of the Greeks"
[Diodorus of Sicily, 17.4.2]
"He [Demosthenes] was generally believed to have received large sums of money from that source [King of Persian] in payment for his efforts to check the Macedonians and indeed Aeschines is said to have referred to this in a speech when he taunted Demosthenes with his venality:At the moment, it is true, his extravagance has been glutted by the king's gold, but even this will not satisfy him; no wealth has ever proved sufficient for a greedy character""
[Diodorus of Sicily, 17.4.8]
"he spoke to them in moderate terms and had them pass a resolution appointing him general plenipotentiary of the Greeks and undertaking themselves to join in an expedition against Persia seeking satisfaction for the offences which the Persians had committed against Greece"
[Diodorus of Sicily, 17.4.9]
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Etymology of the Macedonian name
Of course with the notable exception of the Germans, who use two names: "Makedonen" for the Ancient Macedonians, and "Mazedonier" for the various contemporary brands of Macedonians).Let explain one by one the various brands of Macedonians.
The Macedonian (Makedon) derives from the ancient Greek adjective makednos (μακεδνός). The latter was formed by the stem of the noun makos=mekos (this mean length) with the suffix –d-(delta) and the ending –nos.This came from the Homer (Od h-106).
From the Greek name "Makedon", there are many derivative names, such as the Greek "Makedonianos","Makedonios", "Makedonas" and of course the Slavonic terms such as "Makedonci" and "Makedonjia".
A tribe of Greek culture and language The etymology of their name is further proof of their greek identity as I explained previous. They gave their name to the land and self-identified themselves in their Greek vernacular as , [pronounced 'makethnΙ' (a as in about, e as in bet, Ι as ea in eat')]. Under Alexander the Great they united the Greeks and spread the Greek language and Greek civilisation to the known limits of the world.
For centuries, in Byzantine and Ottoman times, Greek-speakers of the wider and usually ill-defined Macedonian regions identified themselves as Macedonians in the regional as well as in a cultural sense. Particularly after the revival of Greek cultural heritage, educated Makethones also compounded their Greek identity with elements of the ancient Macedonian heritage and proud references to the Kings Alexander and Philip and their generals such as Philotas, Krateros, etc. It is interesting to notice that such names were given only by the Greeks of Macedonia to their children, not by the Slavs of Macedonia, who opted for names of the medieval Bulgarian tradition (Boris, Ivan). How popular the Macedonian name is among the Greeks of Macedonia, is attested by its widespread use. Since the 19th century, and especially during the 20th until today, numerous Greek firms, shops, associations, schools (both private and state institutions) have used the adjective "Macedonian" as part of their trade mark
Today the name Makedonia is the name of a provivance of the Hellenic republic.
At the time of the Bulgarian renaissance of the 19th century, and during the national liberation struggles, the Bulgarians, like the Greeks, used regional names, in addition to their ethnic Bulgarian name, to identify themselves. Thus the name Makedonc(ts)i was used to differentiate the Bulgarians of Macedonia from the Dunavtsi, Trakiitsi etc. The name Makedonc(ts)I gained more prominence after the establishment of the Bulgarian state (1878) and during the Bulgarian armed fighting in Macedonia in the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th. It was used to describe the Bulgarians of Macedonia and distinguish them from those of the Bulgarian Principality. The term is still being used in this sense by Bulgarian Macedonians in Bulgaria and the diaspora.
C. Slav-MACEDONIAN VIEW
According theirs scholars derives from the Makedonjia that mean mother land. Nationalists and scholars continue their debate over their diametrically opposing views concerning the origins of the name Makedontsi as an ethnic term. It is still a controversial issue. It is true, however, that at the beginning of the 20th century, certain Slav- (Bulgarian-) speaking intellectuals and nationalists from Macedonia sought to define themselves, through the Macedonian name, as a separate national group from the Bulgarians. But the main impetus came during the 1930s when the Comintern and the communist parties of the Balkan states, motivated by political reasons, adopted the term not only as a regional but as an ethnic one. It was on this basis, that during the Second World War and after the Liberation, the Yugoslav communists accepted and sanctioned the Macedonian name as the ethnic and national name of a separate people within the Yugoslav federation.
This is also today the name of the citizens of the UN recognized state of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). By this name, the state recognizes not only the ethnic Slav Macedonians, but also the Albanians, the Vlachs, the Serbs and other citizens of the country. The constitutional name is Republic of Makedonja.
-History of the Name Macedonia,Nikolaos Adriotis,Thessaloniki 1960
-Macedonia and Macedonians,C Antonovski,Skopje 1974
-The Macedonian Question ,Dimiter Minchev, Ph.D.,Sofia, 2002
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
E.N.Borza and Macedonia
"This larger Macedon included lands from the crest of the Pindus range to the plain of Philippi and the Nestos River. Its northern border lay along a line formed by Pelagonia, the middle Axios valley and the western Rhodopi massif. Its southern border was the Haliac- mon basin, the Olympus range and the Aegean, with the Chalcidic peninsula as peripheral... We thus have a conception of Macedonia both more and less extensive than Hammonds's -less in that IT REDUCES EMPHASIS ON THE north western LANDS that lie today WITHIN THE YUGOSLAV STATE, but more in that it takes into greater account the territory east of the Axios. It is a definition BASED on the political DEVELOPMENT of the MACEDONIAN STATE OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME,..."
page 29-31
The macedonians themselves may have originated from the same population pool that produced other Greek peoples
page 84
"There is NO reason to deny the Macedonians' own tradition about their early kings and the migrations of the Makedones. "
page 84
"The basic story as provided by Herodotus and Thucydides minus the interpolation of the Temenid connection, UNDOUBTEDLY reflects the Macedonians' own traditions about their early history "
page 84
""Their daughter, who would be the half-sister of Alexander the Great and, later the wife of Cassander, was appropriately named Thessalonike, to commemorate Philip's victory in Thessaly. In 315 Cassander founded at or near the site of ancient Therme the great city that still bears her name. ""
page 220
""It is difficult to imagine that Philip's policy toward Greece was an end in itself. Once his Balkan borders had been secured his general course seems to have been directed toward the establishment of stability in Greece, NOT CONQUEST. ""
page 230
"Macedonia Redux", Chapter 16, The Eye Expanded: Life and the Arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity, Frances B. Titchener and Richard F. Moorton, Jr., editors
""During medieval and modem times, Macedonia was known as a Balkan region inhabited by ethnic Greeks, Albanians, Vlachs, Serbs, Bulgarians, Jews, and Turks. ""
""The emergence of a Macedonian nationality is an offshoot of the joint Macedonian and Bulgarian struggle against Hellenization. With the establishment of an independent Bulgarian state and church in the 1870s, however, the conflict took a new turn. Until this time the distinction between "Macedonian" and "Bulgarian" hardly existed beyond the dialect differences between standard "eastern" Bulgarian and that spoken in the region of Macedonia.""
""Modern Slavs, both Bulgarians and Macedonians, cannot establish a link with antiquity, as the Slavs entered the Balkans centuries after the demise of the ancient Macedonian kingdom. Only the most radical Slavic factions—mostly émi-grés in the United States, Canada, and Australia—even attempt to establish a connection to antiquity. """
""...the Macedonians are a newly emergent people in search of a past to help legitimize their precarious present as they attempt to establish their singular identity in a Slavic world dominated historically by Serbs and Bulgarians. """
""The twentieth-century development of a Macedonian ethnicity, and its recent evolution into independent statehood following the collapse of the Yugoslav state in 1991, has followed a rocky road. In order to survive the vicissitudes of Balkan history and politics, the Macedonians, who have had no history, need one. They reside in a territory once part of a famous ancient kingdom, which has borne the Macedonian name as a region ever since and was called ''Macedonia'' for nearly half a century as part of Yugoslavia. And they speak a language now recognized by most linguists outside Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece as a south Slavic language separate from Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, and Bulgarian. Their own so-called Macedonian ethnicity had evolved for more than a century, and thus it seemed natural and appropriate for them to call the new nation "Macedonia" and to attempt to provide some cultural references to bolster ethnic survival. ""
""It is difficult to know whether an independent Macedonian state would have come into existence had Tito not recognized and supported the development of Macedonian ethnicity as part of his ethnically organized Yugoslavia. He did this as a counter to Bulgaria, which for centuries had a historical claim on the area as far west as Lake Ohrid and the present border of Albania.""
Friday, December 01, 2006
Caranos and Pheidonas
What Alexander had been able to demonstrate was something which, if not unique in Greek history, must nevertheless be regarded as extremely unusual. He was an Argive Greek ruling over a Kingdom. His descent, he claimed, could be traced back to Temenus, a legendary king of Argos who was himself a descendant of Heracles, the son of Zeus. Herodotus (8.137-8) tells a charming folktale of how three brothers of that line, who had been exiled from Argos, had ended up in Lebaea in Upper Makedonia. Herodotus recited the Macedonian pedigree as it was known to him: Perdiccas -- Argaios -- Philippos -- Aeropos -- Alcetas -Amyntas -- Alexander. The alleged Argive connection began with Perdiccas:who obtained the royal power in Macedon as I shall show. Three brothers of the lineage of Temenos, Gouanes, Aeropos and Perdiccas were banished from Argos to Illyria; they crossed into Macedonia and took service as bondsmen with the king for an agreed wage.The story goes on as a fairy-tale, with the deception of the brothers by the wicked king and their magical deliverance by the youngest, who received with open arms the sunbeam offered to them by the king. A later enlargement of the pedigree is more plausible as a narrative but no more credible as history. Perdiccas is there fourth in descent from Caranos(Κάρανος), a reputed brother of Pheidon (Φείδων) of Argos, of whom Georgius Syncellus reports: He raised a force from his brother ( Pheidon) and the whole of Peloponnese, with which he made an expedition against the regions above Macedonia and took half the country.
Who was the Pheidon of Argos ?
Argive tyrant (or king) Pheidon, was a central figure of early Greek history according to the ancients, has long been one of the most disputed questions in the history of Archaic Greece. The reason is obvious – even in antiquity there was no agreement on this point. According to Herodotos, Pheidon's son Leokedes was among the suitors of Agariste, the daughter of the Sikyonian tyrant Kleisthenes.Since the wedding must be dated to the 570s BC, this suggests that Pheidon must have livedroughly at the end of the seventh and the beginning of the sixth centuries BC. But allthe authors who wrote after Herodotos dated him much earlier.They do, however,make contradictory statements. According to Ephoros, Pheidon was the 10th descendant of Temenos, the Herakleid founder of Dorian Argos. Argive tyrant (or king) Pheidon, was a central figure of early Greek history according to the ancients, has long been one of the most disputed questions in the history of Archaic Greece. The reason is obvious – even in antiquity there was no agreement on this point. According to Herodotos, Pheidon's son Leokedes was among the suitors of Agariste, the daughter of the Sikyonian tyrant Kleisthenes. Since the wedding must be dated to the 570s BC, this suggests that Pheidon must have livedroughly at the end of the seventh and the beginning of the sixth centuries BC. But allthe authors who wrote after Herodotos dated him much earlier. They do, however,make contradictory statements. According to Ephoros, Pheidon was the 10th descendant of Temenos, the Herakleid founder of Dorian Argos. Since Ephoros dated the invasion of the Herakleids to 1069 BC, counting inclusively6 and probably equating three generations to a century, the 10th generation from Temenos should have fallen somewhere in the eighth century BC, presumably in the years ca. 769– 736 BC. Ephoros' younger contemporary,Theopompos, on the other hand, regarded Pheidon as Temenos' 6th descendant (inclusively), which would lead roughly to the first third of the ninth century BC. Of the later sources, Marmor Parium, considering Pheidon to be the 11th descendant of Herakles (which means that he must have been the 7th descendant of Temenos) and dating him to 895 BC, was fairly close to Theopompos' point of view, while Pausanias, dating Pheidon's intervention and agonothesia at Olympia to Ol.8 (748 BC), conforms to Ephoros' opinion. But we have two other datings which do not at first sight accord with any of the previous statements: the chronicle of Eusebios introduces Pheidon at Abr. 1220, that is, 797 BC, while Isidorus of Sevilla dated him to the time of the first Olympic games in 776 BC. As I said according to Ephoros, Pheidon was the 10th descendant of Temenos, and so presumably active in the years ca. 769–736 BC, while Pausanias dated his agonothesia at Olympia to Ol.8. (748 BC). These statements obviously agree with each other.
Also this chronology synchronisation can be demonstrated in other ways as well.
VelleiusPaterculus explicitly synchronised three epochal events of world history:
(1) the destruction of Assyria by the Medes and the beginning of the Median hegemony in Asia, (2) the foundation of the Argead dynasty in Macedonia by Karanos, and
(3) Lykourgan legislation in SpartaAll these cases demonstrate that the synchronisation of Pheidon (and Karanos) with Lykourgan legislation was a basic assumption of the ancient chronographers. The synchronisation was dated in two basically different ways.
Proceeding from the standard Lykourgan genealogy, it led to the 6th and 7th generations from Temenos. In this way Theopompos and the Parian chronicler achieved their datings.Except of course the ancient writers in recent decades,, archaeologists (Andronikos, Hammond) have revealed the remains of the early Macedonian capital of Aegae and the adjacent royal cemetery, the important sanctuary of Zeus at Dion, and an Archaic Age cemetery rich in spectacular gold jewelry at Sindos. The combination of literary and archaeological sources has made it possible for historians to reconstruct the history of Makedonia in greater detail than ever before.
Herodotus, Histories
Georgios Sykellos, Chronograpies
Diodoros Sikeliotis
E.J. Forsdyke, Greece Befor Homer
Mait Koiv,The Dating Of Pheidon in Antiquity
Ancient Greece, Oxford University Press
Ancient Greece, Cambringe University Press
Hammond, History of Macedonia
Friday, November 24, 2006
Greece only SEE country listed as "full democracy" in Economist index
Greece is the only Southeast European (SEE) country included in the group of the most democratic nations in the world, according to a new survey released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) this week.
Ranking 22nd among the surveyed 165 countries and two territories, Greece is classified as a "full democracy," along with 27 other nations. The rest of the countries fall into one of other three groups listed in the EIU democracy index -- "flawed democracies," "hybrid regimes" and "authoritarian regimes".
The index is based on the scores the countries are given for 60 indicators across five broad categories: electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties.
For each of these categories, the surveyed nations are given scores from 0 to 10. The overall index of democracy is the simple average of the five category indexes. Almost without exception, the SEE countries' best scores are for the electoral process and pluralism and civil liberties categories.
With an overall score of 9.88 and marks of 10.00 in four of the five categories, Sweden is the highest-ranked nation in the table.
Greece's overall score of 8.13 places it behind Belgium and Japan, which share the 20th position and ahead of Britain and France, ranked 23rd and 24th, respectively. Its best marks are for electoral process and pluralism (9.58), and civil liberties (9.41), while its lowest (6.67) is for political participation.
Most of the other countries in the region are categorised in the second grouping, "flawed democracies". Leading them is Cyprus, which joined the EUin May 2004 along with Poland and eight other Central and East European countries. It shares 36th position with Botswana on the basis of an overall score of 7.60.
Like Greece and most of the other SEE countries, it has been given its highest marks for electoral process and for pluralism and civil liberties -- 9.17 and 9.12, respectively. Cyprus's lowest score of 6.25 is for political culture.
Six other SEE countries -- Bulgaria (49th), Romania (50th), Croatia (51st), Serbia (55th), Montenegro (58th) and FYROMacedonia (68th) -- also fall in the "flawed democracies" group.
Bulgaria's overall score of 7.60 is only 0.04 points better than that of its northern neighbour, Romania. The two countries, which will join the EU on January 1st, are given the same marks of 9.58 and 8.53 for electoral process and for pluralism and civil liberties. Both also got their lowest mark of 5.00 for political culture.
Although scoring slightly better than Bulgaria and Romania in this specific category, Croatia, which has an overall score of 7.04, also got its worst mark (5.63) for political culture.
Serbia and Montenegro are given overall scores of 6.62 and 6.57, respectively. They have the same best mark of 9.17 for electoral process and pluralism and the same worst mark of 5.00 for political participation.
FYROMacedonia has an overall score of 6.33. Its lowest mark of 3.75 is for political culture.
Ranked 83rd, 87th and 88th, respectively, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey are in the 30-nation "hybrid regimes" group. Their overall scores range from 5.91 points for Albania to 5.78 for BiH and 5.70 for Turkey. Their highest marks are for electoral process and pluralism. Albania's worst mark of 4.44 is for political participation, while BiH's lowest score of 3.29 is for functioning of government. Turkey's lowest mark of 3.75 is for political culture.
South East European Times
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Ancient Macedonian Language,is a Greek?
One from the primary source to define a language is the writing system. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems defines a writing system as "a set of visible or tactile signs used to represent units of language in a systematic way". This simple explanation encompasses a large spectrum of writing systems with vastly different stylistic and structural characteristics spanning across the many regions of the globe.
So the inscription or the script was, is and will be the major definition source of a language
There is no defined line between a language and a dialect, but it is often said that a language is a dialect with an army and a navy, a statement credited to Max Weinreich.
To the question, what kind of language did the ancient Macedonians use, the answer can be given based on, what else, the existing references in ancient documents and the excavated inscriptions. What we have concluded is, that the ancient Macedonians were Hellenophon and the original dialect of the Hellenic language they used (Macedonian dialect) was very much similar to the Doric dialect (that is in accordance to Herodotus' references on the common origin of the Dorians and the Macedonians). Later on (in Hellenistic era) that dialect was gradually replaced by the Koini Attiki dialect, just like in all of the other Greek states. Every native Macedonian name, is Hellenic and is formed in the Hellenic way of producing words, as for example the names:"Adista, Philista, Sostrata, Philotas, Perdikkas, Mahatas," and hundreds more
And, of course, the strongest evidence of the Greekness of the Macedonian dialect are:
- The excavated inscriptions, where you can find only Greek characters and words
- The coins of Macedonia, where again you can find only Greek characters and words
- The quotations of the ancient writers on the Macedonians' speech
- The characteristics of the Macedonian dialect
- Etymology of some names in Macedonia
Some years back,a German linguist by the name Otto Hoffman wrote a book with the title "Makedonians, their language and their Ethnicity". Hoffman analyzed the paradoxical or idiomatic words (calling them languages),which past grammatical, lexicographers and more in general everyone engaged around the Hellenic language had noted them as "worthy to be analyzed" in Makedonia.
To begin with,all those people were believing that the Makedonian language was an Hellenic dialect, and exactly this is the reason mentioning certain of its peculiarities, had they believe that the Makedonian language was alien to that Hellenic one, there was not a reason mentioning those Makedonian paradoxical and/or idiomatic "languages".
According to the same Hoffman his conclusions after "supervising" other peoples work are the following:
And now after supervising the ancient Makedonian linguistic thesaurus we are posting the decisive question,if what is adding to the Makedonian language its character,are the hellenic or the barbarian elements of it,the responce can not be of any doubts. From the 39 "languages" that according to Gustav Mayer their form was "completely alien" has been proven after this research of mine,that 10 of them are clearly Hellenic,with 4 more possibly dialectical forms of common hellenic words,so from the entire collection are remaining only 15 words appearing to be justifiable or at least suspected of anti-hellenic origins. Adding to those 15, few others which with regards their vocals could be Hellenic, without till now being confirmed as such,then their number, in comparison to the number of pure hellenic ones in the Macedonian language, is so small that the GENERAL HELLENIC CHARACTER OF THE MAKEDONIAN LINGUISTIC TREASURE CAN NOT BE DOUBTED.
Another major evidence was the ancient Theaters. It is a well-known fact that only the ancient Greeks had theaters in Classical period. The four ancient theaters in Macedonia are in Dion, Vergina, Philippi, and Thassos. The theater of Dion hosted the first performance (before an audience of Greek-speaking Macedonians, of course) of Euripides world-famous tragedy Bacchae, which he wrote at Pella of Macedonia. Euripides died and was buried in Macedonia.
The official code name that given recetly from the linqustics is Ancient Macedonian language (provisional ISO-DIS 639-3.5 XMK). Subgrouping Code : Ancient Greek language or IEGreekB Group code: Greek Language or IEGreek.
Anyone can read the insriptions that found in Macedonia as also and the texts through the Epigraphical database
Of course all are in the ancient Greek language.Also I want to add some critical points regarding the ancient Macedonian language.
Linguistically, there is no real distinction between a dialect and a language without a specific factor. People usually consider the political factor to determine whether a certain kind of speech is a language or a dialect. Since the Pan-Hellenic area consisted of many small city- states (Attica, Lacedaemon, Corinth, etc.), and larger states (Molossia, Thesprotia, Macedonia, Acarnania, Aetolia, etc.), it was common knowledge at the time that the people of all those states were speaking different languages, when in fact they were all variations of the same language, Hellenic or Greek. The most advanced of all Hellenic dialects was the dialect of Attica (Athens) or Attic. When people state "ancient Greek language" they mean the Attic dialect and any comparison of the Macedonian dialect to ancien Greek is actually a comparison to the Attic dialect.
The difference between Macedonian and Attic was like the difference between Low and High German. Nobody doubts that both are Germanic languages, although they differ from one another. Another good example of a multi-dialectal linguistic regime is present-day Italy. The official language of Italy is the Florentine, but common people still speak their own dialects. The same goes and in the present Greece. The Cretans speak their own dialect, even and for some Greeks is very difficult to understand them
As I mention in my first post German kinguistic Hoffman considers 40 names of official Makedonians found on an inscription from 423 B.C adding:
""In final analysis it is possible that the name VYRGINON KRASTWNOS is of Thracian origins,while independent remains the name DIRVE.....ALL the other names are BEAUTIFULL,CLEAR,HELLENIC CONSTRUCTIONS and only two of them NEOPTOLEMOS and MELEAGROS could have been loans from the HELLENIC MYTHOLOGY. ""
Hoffman considers the names of the populations of upper or Western Makedonia including the Orestians (Kastoria), Eordians (Ptolemais-Arnissa),Tymfaians (Pindos-Konitsa), Elimiotians (Kozani), and Lyngestians (Florina-Monastiri.
He considers and analyzes the names of the King's body-guards,of the generals,of the administrative employees,of the leaders of the Makedonian cavalry,the leaders of the name and army,and those of many other common people of the 5th and 4th and even later centuries. His conclusions?
And he continues,...
""The general Hellenic character of the Makedonians linguistic treasure can not be disputed even in case some of them might be loans from the Hellenic Mythology or from non-hellenic myths or for the better pre-hellenic myths (Teytamos-Marsyas-Seilinos....*).
The reason?
Both Hellenic mythology and pre-Hellenic SUCH,contributed many of their names not only in the Makedonian but as well in thegeneral hellenic vocabulary of names. Names that in their phonology and the laws governing their formations are clearly different than those Thracians and Illyrians,and they can not even be used as "in between" those and the Greek ones.
One from the strong archaeological evidence that show what language spoken from the ancient Macedonians is the Pella katadesmos(see picture ) .Is a katadesmos (a curse, or magic spell) inscribed on a lead scroll, probably dating to between 380 and 350 BC. It was found in Pella (at the time capital of Macedon) in 1986; it was published in the Hellenic Dialectology Journal in 1993.
The tab has been dated by the original publishers to the "Mid-4th century BC or slightly earlier (letter forms, spelling)". This dating has been contested by Prof. Edmonds of Bryn Mawr College, who proposes a 3rd century BC date.
The former opinion is concurred by the Oxford Classical Dictionary, in which Professor Olivier Masson writes:
"Yet in contrast with earlier views which made of it {i.e. Macedonian} an Aeolic dialect (O.Hoffmann compared Thessalian) we must by now think of a link with North-West Greek (Locrian, Aetolian, Phocidian, Epirote). This view is supported by the recent discovery at Pella of a curse tablet (4th cent. BC) which may well be the first 'Macedonian' text attested (provisional publication by E.Voutyras; cf. the Bulletin Epigraphique in Rev. Et. Grec. 1994, no.413); the text includes an adverb "opoka" which is not Thessalian." (OCD, 1996, pp 905, 906).
Of the same opinion is James L. O'Neil's (of the University of Sydney) presentation at the 2005 Conference of the Australasian Society for Classical Studies, entitled "Doric Forms in Macedonian Inscriptions" (abstract):
"A fourthâcentury BC curse tablet from Pella shows word forms which are clearly Doric, but a different form of Doric from any of the west Greek dialects of areas adjoining Macedon. Three other, very brief, fourth century inscriptions are also indubitably Doric. These show that a Doric dialect was spoken in Macedon, as we would expect from the West Greek forms of Greek names found in Macedon. And yet later Macedonian inscriptions are in Koine avoiding both Doric forms and the Macedonian voicing of consonants. The native Macedonian dialect had become unsuitable for written documents."
In English the text of Pella katasemos
On Thetima and Dionysophon the ritual wedding and the marriage I bind by a written spell, as well as (the marriage) of all other women (to him), both widows and maidens, but above all of Thetima; and I entrust (this spell) to Macron and to the daimones. And were I ever to unfold and read these words again after digging (the tablet) up, only then should Dionysophon marry, not before; may he indeed not take another beside myself, but let me alone grow old by the side of Dionysophon and no one else. I implore you: have pity for [Phila (?)], dear daimones, [for I am indeed bereft (?)] of all my dear ones and abandoned. But please keep this (piece of writing) for my sake so that these events do not happen and wretched Thetima perishes miserably [---] but let me become happy and blessed
The 154 words are the words that recorded from the ancient writers and not those that found in the inscriptions (200 more). The majority are part of the Greek syntaxis sentences
Relatively few words of the Macedonian dialect have been preserved about 154 as i said and they are recorded by Athenaeus and in the Lexicon of Hesychios, who drew them mainly from the work of the Macedonian lexicographer Amerias. I want be should noted that ancient lexicographers did not record all the words of a language or dialect, but only those that presented a certain peculiarity or difficulty in comprehension. For this reason foreign words and idioms are recorded, and thus the proportion of foreign words is not representative of the total vocabulary of the Macedonian dialect. Many of the words which have been treasured as Macedonian occur in all Greek dialects, but in the Macedonian dialect they had a specific meaning and they were recorded by the ancient lexicographers, for example the word υπασπιστής (adjutant).
These words that were handed down as Macedonian do not bear any resemblance to the Thracian-Illyrian language. The Macedonian linguistic material (proper names, place-names and common nouns) testifies to the Greek character of the Macedonian dialect in my opinion because of :
- The etymology of the words is Greek
- the features and vowel changes are common in Greek and
- so are the inflections and endings.
As for the few words which are recorded as Macedonian in the Lexicon of Hesyxhios and which are not considered by some to be Greek, it is most likely that they are loan-words, a phenomenon that is observed in all languages, and one which does not put their origin in doubt.
Also there are another 200 words that found in several inscriptions (Posidipus,Pella katadaesmos,Dervinion ppayrus e.t..c) except of course those that recorded from the ancient writers(about 154) that has the same chareacteristiscs.
Summirize the argyments as about the Macedonian language we have 5 facts that proov the Greek origin of the ancient Macedonian language….
Fact 1-ISO Identification
Ancient Macedonian language (provisional ISO-DIS 639-3.5 XMK).
Subgrouping Code : Ancient Greek language or IEGreekB
Group code: Greek Language or IEGreek.
Fact 2-Excavated inscriptions
Were 6000 and the most famous are the Pella katadesmos and Dervenion Papyrus and of course all of them are in the Greek languages
Fact 3-Words
The known Macedonian words have Greek roots(except some of them)according the linguistics that anlyzed the ancient inscription (e.g. Pella katadesmos )
Fact 4-Evidence of non Greek inscription
There is not found yet any single non-Greek text , not only in the Macedonia but also and in the regions that Macedonian passed and leave theirs roots.
Fact 5-The Opposite side
Non of them that claim the opposite they don't have any single Linquistic proove in order to support theirs speculations
The Question now is...
is it Greek? Its up to you to deside.
Thanks for your time
1- Hellenic Dialectology Journal in 1993
2- C. Brixhe, A. Panayotou, Le Macédonien in: Langues indo-européennes,
ed. Bader, Paris, 1994, 205–220.
4-Hatzidakis,The language of the ancient Macedonians
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Historical revisionism / negationism in the Balkans
Historical revisionism can be used as a label to describe the views of self-taught historians who publish articles that deliberately misrepresent and manipulate historical evidence. This usage has occurred because some authors who publish articles that deliberately misrepresent and manipulate historical evidence (such as David Irving, a proponent of Holocaust denial), have called themselves "historical revisionists.
Examples of historical revisionism in Balkans are the Macedonism and Albanianism.
MACEDONISM is the political idea prevalent in the FYROM advocates revising history in order to project an ethnic group that formed in the 20th century - ethnic Macedonians - in the context of the 19th century and even in the middle ages. For example, Bulgarian Tsar Samuil is denied the Bulgarian nature of his kingdom, despite overwhelming evidence supporting it, and is defined as a "Slavic" or "Macedonian" king. Further attempts are made to deny the Hellenic nature of the ancient kingdom of Macedon and to seek connections between present day ethnic Macedonians and the Ancient Macedonians.Fundamentally, history knows that the "Macedonianism" of Vardar Province's slavophone inhabitants and Albanians is exclusively based on the role played by external factors of paramount importance when in the early 1940s they were transformed into "Macedonians" for political reasons by communist dictators (Tito, Stalin, and Dimitrov) and infamous communist organizations (Comintern and the Balkan Communist Federation).'" In reality, it was not even a self-ascription or ascription by others and assignment of a cause, but a dictatorial order, a forceful conversion that preceded the FYROM Slavs' self-ascription as "Macedonians," resulting in an unorthodox and scandalous creation of a new artificial ethnicity in a manner similar to Byelorussia's formation by Lenin and Stalin.
As Danforth pointed out..........
"Given the common nationalist view of the immutability of identity, conversion from one identity to another [by ascription by others] is bound to raise serious questions of authenticity and legitimacy"
"It is possible precisely because Greeks and Macedonians are not born, they are made. National identities, in other words, are not biologically given, they are socially constructed"
That is what happened to the Slavs of the People's Republic of Macedonia. They were not born ethnic Macedonians, their Macedonian ethnicity was constructed by the state in 1943-1945. In contrast, the Greek Macedonians, whose forebears always lived in Hellenic Macedonia, always spoke Greek, were not made Macedonians by a totalitarian communist system.......they were born Macedonians.
What characteristics (historical, cultural, genetic, linguistic, or anthropological) does the FYROM population possess- besides inhabiting a section of the former Vardar Province - to be described by communists first, by anthropologists later, as "Macedonian"?
Why did the Slav "Macedonians" describe themselves as Bulgarians from 1870 to 1943 -and many do so today - waiting for almost seventy-five years to be transformed into "Macedonians" by the dictatorial powers of a communist state.
The second one is the so-call ALBANIANISM.
Albanianism as the state ideology was brought to its ultimatelimits during the rule of Enver Hodza, when there was a strong instigation from Tirana of separatist tendencies in Kosovo. The only period when this ideology was not a state one was the time between the two world wars, when the civic parties were in power. In Tirana today there is a strong political factor which is strongly opposed the official politics towards Kosovo. The opposition in Kosovo and Metohija region, gathered around Adem Demadji, is of the view that Ibrahim Rugova and his Democratic Alliance of Kosovo offering false optimism regarding the realization of the Albanian demand, while Democratic Alliance of Kosovo, they say, is transforming itself into a party fighting for a nonexistent power.
As the Albanians said"The religion of Albanians is Albanianism."
Friday, November 10, 2006
Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov) Historical revisionism
Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov) once more use his Historical revisionism (also but less often in English "negationism"), .This term describes the process that attempts to rewrite history by minimizing, denying or simply ignoring essential facts. Perpetrators of such attempts to distort the historical record often use the term because it allows them to cloak their illegitimate activities with a phrase which has a legitimate. It is sometimes hard for a non-historian to distinguish between a book published by a historian doing peer-reviwed acedemic work, and a bestselling "amateur writer of history".
In the specific article Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov) used the most known forms , parts from the most common tactics of the Historical Revisionism
-The selective use of facts
-The denial or derision of known facts
-Argument from ignorance (hence the historian community's emphasis on the importance of historical memory and historical studies)
-The assumption of unproven facts
-The fabrication of facts
-The obfuscation of factsOf course the above techniques
Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov) used in the whole net-work and specially in the called "Greek Lies series".
Who is Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov)?
He is fun of the so call Macedonism. But what is Macedonism ?Is the political prevalent in the FYROM advocates revising history in order to project an ethnic group that formed in the 20th century –ethnic Macedonians- in the context of the 19th century and even in the Middle Ages. For example, Bulgarian Tsar Samuil is denied the Bulgarian nature of his kingdom, despite overwhelming evidence supporting it, and is defined as a "Slavic" or "Macedonian" king. Further attempts are made to deny the Hellenic nature of the ancient kingdom of Macedon and to seek connections between present day ethnic Macedonians and the Ancient Macedonians.But Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov) speak for ethnic Macedonians ? Who are they ? Loring Danforth quoted that ""the history of the construction of a macedonian national identity does not begin with alexander the great in the fourth century b.c. or with saints cyril and methodius in the ninth century a.d., as Macedonian nationalist historians often claim. nor does it begin with tito and the establishment of the people's republic of macedonia in 1944 as greek nationalist historians would have us believe. It begins in the nineteenth century with the first expressions of macedonian ethnic nationalism on the part of a small number of intellectuals in places like thessaloniki, belgrade, sophia, and st.petersburg. this period marks the beginning of the process of "imagining" a macedonian national community, the beginning of the construction of a macedonian national identity and culture.""
In this last article Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov) put some questions as about the Balkan wars and the Treaty of Bucharest. As Historical propagandists and clever user forget as usual to mention some historical facts.
Mark Mazower in "the Balkan describes" in equal distances the situation. He quoted(page 103)…."" Macedonia was a region with no clear borders and not even a formal existence as an administrative Ottoman entity. A bewildering mix of different peoples, hemmed in by newly created states - Greece to the south, Serbia and Bulgaria to the north - it became the focus for their expansionist ambitions at the century's close. Its ethnography, however, posed a challenge for the most ardent Balkan nationalist and had changed out of all recognition since the days of Alexander the Great. The peasantry of the region were predominantly Orthodox, and mostly Slavs; Greek-speakers fringed coastal areas and inhabited the towns.""
Of course Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov) as clever politically Historical Revisionist-Negationist abandoned the initial paragraph (the title of his thread) and in the rest of the paragraphs we have a delirium of cutting quotes from ancient and modern writers that describe the diffrneces between the ancient Greeks and Macedonians!!!
He using the below tactical Historical negoniatism elements:
-The selective use of facts
-The denial or derision of known facts
-Association fallacy
-Hasty generalization
-The use of attractive or neutral euphemisms to disguise unpleasant facts concerning their own positions
-The use of unpleasant euphemisms to describe opposing facts
-The two wrongs make a right fallacy
-Constant attack against those disputing their views (Ad hominem) (close to slander and libel)
Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov) is a part of the Macedonianism System. His people speak a language understood by both Serbs and Bulgarians. They hate the Serbs because they [the Serbs] treat them as Bulgarians; and they hate the Bulgarians because they draft their sons to the army .... IMRO e.t.c.Before 1944 Carter-Norris characterized the slavophones of geographical Macedonia as a "shapeless mass of Slavs with no particular ethnicity."One thing, however, is certain: ethnologically, Tito's new "Macedonian" republic was always a fluid country inhabited by six or seven ideologically contentious groups with ties to Albania, Bulgaria, or Serbia .The 1940 official Yugoslav census recognized only two large ethnic groups in Vardar Province, Slavs(some other said Serbs) at 66% and Muslims at 31 percent. In 1945, 3 years after the formation of the People's Republic of Macedonia, the Slavs disappeared from the census which showed 66 % t "Macedonians."
And I am ask you Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov).
Was this remarkable transformation process an en lnasse genetic mutation or a census falsification?"
How could a group of people (Bulgarians and Slavs) change ethnicity, becoming "Macedonians" in five years?
Disregarding the shrill campaign about the Macedonianism of the People'sRepublic of Macedonia, who was responsible for the transformation of the Slavs and Bulgarians into "Macedonians" and the appropriation of the Macedonian name belonging to a neighbour?
How did the egregious political decision to create a new Macedonian ethnicity emerge?
There are many documents available now leading to an indisputable conclusion.Kofos quoted ""Tito's ideologically Marxist authoritarian regime was responsible. The Marxist revolutionary theory on ethnic minorities, cleverly adjusted by Lenin and Stalin to compromise communist internationalism with their own nationalist aspirations, was also responsible.""In the question as about the historical rights in the Treaty of Bucharest Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov) as Historical Revisionist-Negationist "forget" to remmeber some historical facts. The British historian Dakin quoted that the trichotomy of Macedonia did not please the British foreign minister, Sir Edward Grey. He proposed revision of the treaty, strongly opposed by Greece, Serbia, and Romania. France and Germany also rejected Grey's proposal. In the end, Russia went along with France and Germany, with Austria-Hungary remaining uncommitted. Finally, England formally recognized the treaty in the spring of 1914. Most analysts of Balkan foreign and military policy of the early twentieth century would agree that the signing of the Treaty of Bucharest was an event of great historical and political significance. Temporarily at least, it settled the differences among the four Balkan allies and pushed the Macedonian Question to obscurity. George papavizas quoted that "it was a great event for Greece because it brought back a large part of Macedonia to Greece, all the way from the Pindus mountain range in the west to the River Nestos in the east. The end of the war and the withdrawal of the Bulgarian troops from sections of eastern Macedonia raised new hopes for cooperation and peace among the tired and devastated Greek Macedonian people, but the dreams were rapidly dashed. Peace was not to come soon in the land.""The Treaty of Bucharest would soon be challenged and undermined by Bulgaria with its great appetite for more Macedonian land and later by the columnists regimes of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. With support from Austria-Hungary, the Bulgarians would still hold firmly the relay of the struggle for Macedonia, not as Macedonians, but as pure nationalist Bulgarians. Perhaps a final solution of the Macedonian problem could have been achieved if the Treaty of Bucharest had forced an exchange of populations among the three sections of Macedonia as was done later by the Treaty of Lausanne between Greece and Turkey.
George Papavizas make a clever historical quote…."" After the Balkan Wars and World War I, many leaders, diplomats, groups, parties, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) became involvedwith the problem, exacerbating it rather than solving it.""
Finally a quote from Cappeli (Bosnia issue) statement that point out …." "international recognition by no means necessarily endows a state with legitimacy, especially when the recognition has been granted in such an impetuous manner in the midst of a crisis and if legitimacy is held to have any connection with a common history and a sense of common destiny as characteristics of the state's population, without which no state can survive"".
Every word of the above statement on Bosnia applies to FYROM .
Of course I have and my finally question to Chris Stefou(aka Risto Stefov).
Why avoid any serious debate as about the Macedonian Question if you have as you claim the historical facts with your side ?
2-Mark Mazower,The Balkans.
3-Loring Danforth, The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational Word.
4-Douglas Dakin, The Macedonian Struggle,1966
5-George Papavizas, Claiming Macedonia, 2004


text:
10:00 PM Tags: 18Plus
Click here to confirm that you have read the Terms of Purchase before buying
"When you see a band you really like, the reason you really like them is because you wish you'd had that idea. And when I saw Battles I thought, "Damn! Why didn't I think of that?" -Battles fan Brian Eno
You can often spot the best bands – the truly once-in-a-generation type – by their names alone. The all time greats usually come ready made with nomenclature that encapsulates their sound and ethos effortlessly. Battles are no exception. They are a rock group locked in conflict with the very limitations of what it means to be a rock group; conducting an all out assault on mediocrity and waging a fearsome campaign against genre conventions and pigeonholes. Their sound is that of an elite guard engaging in a series of complex sonic skirmishes. This is the sublime noise of equally talented musicians pushed to their limit – as interested in conducting synchronized audio attacks and ambushes on the listener as they are on each other.
If you are reading this, it means you're about to listen to their new album Gloss Drop, a remarkable second album by anyone's standards… including their own.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
There are many taro varieties some are grown mainly for the roots, others only for the leaves or stems. Some are dual purpose and both the stems and leaves can be eaten. However, you usually have to choose. If you cut a lot of leaves, the root will not be large. Taro can be grown year round. Luau leaves usually come from taro that is grown in wetland (loi). Eleele roots are used to make poi and the leaves for making laulau or luau (usually chicken and taro leaves cooked in coconut milk. It doesn't look appetizing but tastes good). There is dry land taro that does not need to be in water, although they will grow larger in water. Samoan taro is grown usually for the root. I did have Samoan taro but mine only grew huge leaves. Someone told me the leaves were good to eat but the reason the root stayed small was because I have too much nitrogen and made leaves instead of roots. I have Tahitian taro that is called spinach taro that is grown mostly for the leaves, I have another taro someone gave me that grows over 8 ft and the pink stem is what I would eat. I have araimo, or Japanese taro. It is used in nishime for New Year and for Chinese pork and taro hot pot. I grow the taro in pots, since I had the Samoan and Bun Long (chinese taro) in the ground before and regretted it. They are very hard to dig out and kill once they get established. Araimo can be ready in 5-7 months. The larger taro take between 7-9 months to mature. When the taro is ready to harvest, the tops will start to yellow and die down. If I wait too long to harvest, the mother corm will start to rot and the energy will go to the keiki instead. To get larger taro later, the keiki will need to be transplanted to where they will not be so crowded. This is how I went from one pot of araimo to three.
It takes a lot of luau leaves to make anything and it requires 45-90 minutes cooking to get rid of the oxalic acid crystals, so it usually is not worth doing unless I do a lot. The leaves are usually sold in the market in large bags or from the farm in large burlap bags. It needs to be cooked down until it looks like overcooked spinach. If it is not cooked enough the oxalic crystals will make your throat itchy. It is also why some taro are only used for their roots and not the leaves. Some varieties have more oxalic acid then others.


text:
The video shocked the world for two reasons. First was the nature of the torture, with Indonesian security forces using extremely cruel interrogation methods.
The second, which was the most compelling, is that this torture happened under a democratic government. Despite a quick response from the President to bring the case to justice, the Jayapura military court handed down sentences of only a few months to four members of the TNI Infantry Battalion from Yonif PFC 753/AVT Nabire.
They were charged under Article 103 of the Military Penal Code regarding rejected service orders, service orders exceeded and invitations to refuse service orders.
The lenient sentences, which never mentioned torture, were part and parcel of the Indonesian legal system, which does not use the word "torture" even though Indonesia has already ratified the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
Meanwhile, the Indonesian government did not investigate another video showing a horrific crime — a Papuan farmer, Tunaliwor Kiwo, allegedly tortured by the Indonesian Military (TNI).
These tortures violated human rights, particularly protected under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). There is an important question to ask after the release of these videos: How can the military in Papua be justified in addressing Papuan issues?
TNI chief Adm. Agus Suhartono recently admitted that there are ongoing military operations in the province. Meanwhile, the President said during his visit to the province on Nov. 22 that his government would not use security approaches in addressing Papuan issues.
This statement would be welcomed by Papuans if the President provided a framework to withdraw non-regular troops in the province, as in Aceh's peace agreement.
In a related development, the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commander Maj. Gen. Lodewijk F. Paulus is looking forward to deeper ties with Australia's Special Air Service Regiment (SAS). Recently, Kopassus and SAS held joint military exercises at Bali's airport.
The Kopassus chief is pushing for urban warfare training in Australia and jungle warfare training in Indonesia next year.
This is alarming for human rights in Indonesia because of past cases of human rights violations allegedly committed by Kopassus members.
It will create diplomatic problems between Jakarta and Canberra because there is no assurance that training will stop Kopassus troops from committing wrongdoing or violating human rights in the future.
Another element of human rights is the poor protections for Indonesian migrant workers. As oil is no longer a pillar for the Indonesian economy, labor export has been one of the drivers of our country's economic development.
Millions of Indonesians work overseas as migrant workers, contributing significantly to the economy by repatriating remittances. The official remittances were reported at US$3 billion in 2005, just over 1 percent of GDP.
One human rights case in point is the physical abuse of Sumiati, an Indonesian migrant worker, by her Saudi Arabian employer.
Her case is merely the tip of the iceberg, as there are more than 2.67 million Indonesian migrant workers who generally work in countries where labor regulations do not really protect workers.
Under the Saudi kingdom's labor sponsorship system, known as kafalah, migrant workers cannot leave the country or change jobs without explicit permission.
Although the issue of migrant workers has received national media attention, the Sumiati tra-gedy is evidence the Indonesian government does not have an effective policy to protect its migrant workers.
In response to Sumiati's tragedy, the President ordered each Indonesian migrant worker be given access to a cell phone. The President's order received a blunt response from a House of Representatives member from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Diah Pitaloka, who said the President must have the courage to sternly warn his staff regarding the poor fate of Indonesian migrant workers abroad.
During his recent visit to Indonesia, US President Barack Obama praised Indonesia as a diverse country with many ethnic and religious groups under the framework of the state ideology Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).
However, there are serious concerns about the protections for minority religious groups such as Ahmadiyah. Ahmadiyah followers have been under attack by hardline groups, while the Indonesian government has issued restrictions against Ahmadiyah.
Meanwhile, the Protestant Batak Church (HKBP) in Bekasi, West Java, was recently attacked in front of police by suspected Muslim extremists.
In a separate case, Kontras, Indonesia's human rights NGO, reported that in 2005 there were many cases of mistaken arrests of bombing suspects, who were then released because of lack of
After the second Bali bombing on Oct. 1, 2005, there were as many as 20 people arrested in error, and many were tortured by the police in this era of reformasi, when Indonesia has already ratified CAT and ICCPR.
The resolution of these and other past and recent human rights violations depends on the judicial system and law enforcement. There is much corruption within law enforcement and Yudhoyono is unable to address this effectively, including the Gayus case. Law enforcement has also never been properly reformed.
For example, there has been no strong and independent oversight of the Indonesian Police and the TNI. Even the police chief has refused to come to Komnas HAM to testify about his alleged involvement in human rights abuses in 1998.
This human rights situation shows the dark side of President Yudhoyono's administration. This is reflected by the administration ignoring past human rights abuses, and with no assurance that violations will not be repeated in the future. The case of the torture in Papua shows how legal impunity influences the violent mentality of state apparatuses.
In view of the human rights conditions and security approach taken by the government after the Bali bombings, it can be concluded that counterterrorism measures in Indonesia have always involved the excessive use of power.
This should be corrected in the future because there could be a boomerang effect for democracy and for establishing peace and security. In essence, human rights protection should not be provided for the Indonesian people against torture and physical abuse alone, but also for minority groups and many of the country's 240 million who still live below the poverty line and require access to social security, education, healthcare and food.
This is the role a democratically elected government is expected to perform.
Eko Waluyo is a program coordinator at Indonesian Solidarity, a human rights NGO based in Sydney, and currently completing a master's degree in international social development at the University of New South Wales.
Rusdi Marpaung is a senior researcher at Imparsial, The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor, and currently completing a master's degree in international human rights and policy at the University of New South Wales.


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I've been exploring the idea of using Anime Studio Pro as a tool for creating one off illustrations, ASP is designed for animation however some of the line/vector tools and simple layer system make it a faster workflow than Illustrator or Photoshop.
It's illuminating to show my first sketches. Primarily when I'm designing I want to capture the idea, quick and rough. I get a good directive of the sort of energy or personality I'm trying to retain for when I go into the rather methodical impersonal world of vectors.
I'm always surprised at how much stuff in the doodles ends up in the final work.
In the following example, the first drawing was a tiny scribble, spring-boarding off an idea for arm placements. Everything I needed to know was in the first doodle, when I figured this was going to be Conan O'Brian I did another quick doodle for his head, only then did I go searching for references.
Since I was pretty happy with the illustration of Hipster-types I thought I'd do another one of people. I chose to do a random group waiting for a bus (this turns out to be a fairly common idea I found).
This sketch was pretty complete as a starting point. Notice the small man / woman in the vest, I had no idea what I was going for and figured I'd resolve it in the final image.
But I never did, is it a short feminine man or a man-ish woman? It's the weakest part of the image because I don't know what I'm saying with that character, but then they're random people so perhaps I'm not mean't to know.
Click on the images for larger views.