11-19-2010, 03:02 AM
This whole FYROM thing has me fairly bemused. In antiquity, most of the territory that is now the Republic of Macedonia was included in the kingdom of Paeonia, which was populated by the Paeonians, a people of Thracian origins, It also includes parts of ancient Illyria and Dardania, inhabited by various Illyrian tribes, and a small part of Lyncestis and Pelagonia (populated by Molossian tribes). Sometimes these tribal areas were subject to the Kings of Macedon, and sometimes not.
In 356 BC Philip II of Macedon conquered "Upper Macedonia" and incorporated it with "Lower Macedonia" to form a larger kingdom of what we might call "Greater Macedonia", including its northern part (Lyncestis) and southern Paeonia, which both now lie within the Republic of Macedonia. Philip's son Alexander III (the Great) conquered the remainder of the region, reaching as far north as the Danube, in order to secure his northern borders and prevent the interminable raiding that previously occurred, and would occur again after the break-up of Alexander's Empire. ( A bit like England incorporating Scotland ('upper England' :lol: ) into 'Great Britain' for much the same reason......)
Given the tenuous links to ancient Macedonia, not to mention the many ethnic groups (notably Slavs) that have inhabited the area since, if the locals, in asserting their independence from the former Yugoslavia wanted to look to the Classical period past, then a more appropriate name might be "Republic of Paeonia", but I guess that wouldn't be so cool, with people going "Republic of who??? Who were the Paeonians?"
Of course RAT readers know about Paeonia, right? :wink: :wink:
As to 'Hellenisation', that would take place wherever Greeks colonised or traded - from Massilia in the West to the Crimea in the North, and Libya in the South and Asia minor in the East, all to a greater or lesser degree, depending on how enthusiastically the locals embraced Greek culture......perhaps we might say that the ancient 'Makedones' were a people of mixed race - Greek/Dorian combined with Balkan/Thracian tribes, with Greek predominating.
As an example, we may take Alexander himself. His father Philip was a Makedone, but his mother Polyxena/Myrtale/Olympias ( she gained the latter name in honour of Philip's Olympic victory) was a Molossian princess given in marriage to cement an alliance between Macedon and the Molossians ( her brother AlexanderI was king of Epirus; Molossus being part of the Epirot League). Just to compound matters, her family claimed descent from Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, via his supposed descendant Molossus - who was himself supposedly half-Greek, half Trojan !! The Molossians were supposed to speak a form of Greek, or a Greek influenced language too, or at least the Royal House (Aeacid dynasty) did, and inscriptions were written in a form of Greek.....
What a tangled web, even in ancient times.......... :lol: :lol:
In 356 BC Philip II of Macedon conquered "Upper Macedonia" and incorporated it with "Lower Macedonia" to form a larger kingdom of what we might call "Greater Macedonia", including its northern part (Lyncestis) and southern Paeonia, which both now lie within the Republic of Macedonia. Philip's son Alexander III (the Great) conquered the remainder of the region, reaching as far north as the Danube, in order to secure his northern borders and prevent the interminable raiding that previously occurred, and would occur again after the break-up of Alexander's Empire. ( A bit like England incorporating Scotland ('upper England' :lol: ) into 'Great Britain' for much the same reason......)
Given the tenuous links to ancient Macedonia, not to mention the many ethnic groups (notably Slavs) that have inhabited the area since, if the locals, in asserting their independence from the former Yugoslavia wanted to look to the Classical period past, then a more appropriate name might be "Republic of Paeonia", but I guess that wouldn't be so cool, with people going "Republic of who??? Who were the Paeonians?"
Of course RAT readers know about Paeonia, right? :wink: :wink:
As to 'Hellenisation', that would take place wherever Greeks colonised or traded - from Massilia in the West to the Crimea in the North, and Libya in the South and Asia minor in the East, all to a greater or lesser degree, depending on how enthusiastically the locals embraced Greek culture......perhaps we might say that the ancient 'Makedones' were a people of mixed race - Greek/Dorian combined with Balkan/Thracian tribes, with Greek predominating.
As an example, we may take Alexander himself. His father Philip was a Makedone, but his mother Polyxena/Myrtale/Olympias ( she gained the latter name in honour of Philip's Olympic victory) was a Molossian princess given in marriage to cement an alliance between Macedon and the Molossians ( her brother AlexanderI was king of Epirus; Molossus being part of the Epirot League). Just to compound matters, her family claimed descent from Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, via his supposed descendant Molossus - who was himself supposedly half-Greek, half Trojan !! The Molossians were supposed to speak a form of Greek, or a Greek influenced language too, or at least the Royal House (Aeacid dynasty) did, and inscriptions were written in a form of Greek.....
What a tangled web, even in ancient times.......... :lol: :lol:
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
