The fyromians based their propaganda in a misunderstanding!

in Alexander the Great, Ancient Historians, ancient macedonian ethnicity, Ancient Macedonian History, Ancient Macedonian Kings, Articles, FYROM Propaganda, Greece, Hellenic language, Macedonian Culture, Macedonian Symbols, maps, Skopjan Propaganda / by / on July 22, 2008 at 2:42 am /

 

Many people often ask me what is the difference between a Greek and a Macedonian, and if Macedonians were Greeks of a different nation. Actually this is the same question that most foreign people with little or a basic -and we all have to admit rich and many times complicated - historical knowledge have. Basically this is the exact lack of knowledge over the Greek history which the propaganda of fyrom uses, in order to create a huge confusion and chaos in people’s minds between the term ”Macedonians” and ”Greeks.”

This article will not proceed further in whether Macedonians were Greeks or not, because as it has already been mentioned and proved thousands of times not only from this blog, but from every valid historical ancient and modern source, that Macedonians were and are Greeks! This article aims in giving a very plain but essential explanation related to the way the fyromians used the confusion and lack of historic details of foreign people, -even the lack of knowledge of the Greek language.- in the names of the Kingdoms of the Greek Cities and how Greeks were calling each other and continue to call until today, according to their heritage, descent and lineage.

Plain and simple for every foreign friend. Greece was divided in Greek City States, all of them under the definition of the Greek nation according to Herodotus «όμοαιμον, ομόγλωσσον, ομόθρησκον, ομότροπον» (omemon – same blood, omoglosson – same language, omothriskon – same religion, omotropon – same ways, behaviour.), but with any Greek City State maintaining it’s independent leadership and rulers, with their own alliances and their own civil wars in the Greek region. From Homer up to Herodotus who also mentions that ” το Ελληνικόν γλώσση αιεί τη αυτή διαχράται ” (a general translation as ”the Greek language has always been spoken”) and in the pass of time, in this long Greek history, the Greeks were calling themselves with a variety of names. (Ex. Hellenes, Achaeans, Ionians, Grecians, etc. ) they also had their personal introduction beyond their father’s names, who preserves the tendency for a Greek to distinguish himself with pride for the City he comes from. This localism is something we continue to have as Greeks until today.

Ancient Greeks after all never had flags, but they had symbols:

Athenians had the owl:

Corinthians had the Pegasus:

Spartans had the Λ which stated their origin: ΛΑΚΕΔΑΙΜΟΝΙΟΙ (Lacedemonians)

And of course Macedonians had the Star of Vergina:

So this is where we reach the word ”macedonian” and the fyromian’s trick. The two maps below shows the major Greek City States of antiquity and the third one, the modern Greek Provinces which maintained the same names and the same political map’s distinction.

Every Greek then and every Greek today, continue to introduce to each other with their family name and the place they live or the place they descend from. When a Greek wanted back then or wants until today to introduce himself according to their birthplace and local heritage, mentions that he is for example Thessalian from the town of Trikala, or Volos, of that he is a Thracian from Alexandroupolis, or Kavala, or that he is a Cretan from Chania or Heraklion, or that he is Macedonian from Kilkis or Thessaloniki, or that he is a Peloponnesian from Sparta. A very specific and simple introduction which of course foreigners ignore, as it is natural to ignore the Greek language and habits that the Greeks like any other nation, have with each other.

A very bright example of that is the words of Alexander:

The speech of Alexander I, when he was admitted to the Olympic games


“Men of Athens…
Had I not greatly at heart the common welfare of Hellas I should not have come to tell you; but I am myself Hellene by descent, and I would not willingly see Hellas exchange freedom for slavery….


If you prosper in this war, forget not to do something for my freedom; consider the risk I have run, out of zeal for the Hellenic cause, to acquaint you with what Mardonius intends, and to save you from being surprised by the barbarians.


I am Alexander of Macedon.”

(Herodotus, The Histories, 9.45)

Really interesting isn’t it?

So the fyromian propaganda based an entire falsification in taking advantage of people’s lack of knowledge, in creating step by step the impression that the Macedonians were something ”different”, something ”distant” from the rest of the Greeks, who after all were not conquered from Phillip, but agreed in an alliance with him in uniting all the Greeks under his guidance, against Persia, after the battle of Chaeronia, which was not the first civil war from the many civil conflicts, the Greek Cities had between them.

By Ariadni_Nefeli

Related posts:

Want more of this? See these Posts:

  1. Answer to Gandeto #3 ( Macedonian name conflict - Who is afraid of Macedonia)
  2. Skopjan propaganda # 8,”Tito created the Macedonian Nation”
  3. Quiz for FYROM’s Slavs regarding the Ethnicity of Ancient Macedonians
  4. FYROM propaganda regarding the ethnicity of ancient Macedonians
  5. Macedonia : FYROM propaganda and the Right of Self-Determination
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Comments
1146754 says:
September 23, 2009 at 7:44 am

Mariachi,

If this libel is your best shot i feel sorry about you. The Slav propagandist you quote appears ignorant of basic concepts of ancient history, letting alone his heinous attempts to distort facts.

His groundless claims have been refuted not long ago.

Both Ignorance and Forgery (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – Greece)

http://history-of-macedonia.com/wordpress/2009/09/10/both-ignorance-and-forgery-former-yugoslav-republic-of-macedonia-greece/

Mariachi says:
September 23, 2009 at 6:47 am

just visit the link to see that YOU ARE COMPLETELY DELUDED! MACEDONIA WAS NEVER A PART OF ANCIENT GREECE!

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/115377

EFGENIOS says:
July 22, 2011 at 3:40 pm

YOU MUST BE KIDDING….. I JUST READ THE ARTICLE. HERE IS THE SIMPLEST OF ALL PROOF TO THE IDIOT AUTHORS QUESTION: THE ANCIENT MACEDONIANS SPOKE A CLEAR GREEK DIALECT, USED THE GREEK ALPHABET (AND ONLY THAT), BELIEVED IN THE GODS OF OLYMPUS, HAD GREEK NAMES -BOTH FOR THEMSELFS AND THEIR CITIES-, USED THE GREEK DRACHMA AS MONEY AND FINALY TOOK PART IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES WHERE ONLY GREEKS HAD THE RIGHT TO DO SO.
NOW LETS SEE WHAT MODERN GREEKS DO: WE STILL SPEAK A CLEAR GREEK DIALECT, WE STILL USE THE GREEK ALPHABET, WE MOSTLY STILL HAVE GREEK NAMES, OUR CITIES ARE STILL NAMED IN GREEK (MOST CITIES NAMES ARE THE SAME AS IN ANCIENT TIMES), UP TILL THE YEAR 2000 WE STILL USED THE DRACHMA AS CURRENCY, ALOT OF US STILL BELIEVE IN THE GODS OF OLYMPUS, AND WE NOW SHARE THE OLYMPIC GAMES WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD.
NEED ANY PROOF NOW ? BAH, DIDNT THINK SO…. NOW GO FIND YOUR OWN HISTORY YOU EX-YUGOSLAV FYROMIAN GYPSIES…!!! YOU ARE NOT PART OF MACEDONIANS HISTORY, NOR WILL YOU EVER BE…. YOU ARE SLAVS-BULGARS-ALBANIANS-GYPSIES AND OTHER…. DEFINITELY NOT RELATED TO ANYTHING ANCIENT OR EUROPEAN….AND THATS THE FACT.

Diogenis says:
December 19, 2008 at 3:37 am

The problem is basically that these people who want to be called Macedonians don’t have an identity of their own that is as famous or as interesting as ours, the Greeks. So what is the best way for them to find an identity that will easily be accepted by the world? To steal one that already exists. And that is exactly what they are trying to do. A politician from Skopia said that the people of this former Yugoslavian state are friends with the Greeks, and that if we recognise them as Macedonians then we will be brothers. So they do now where Macedonia bellongs. OK, we will be brothers, so out of brotherly love why don’t they forget the name Macedonia and try to find their own true identity. These people do have their own history and identity, but it has nothing to do with the Greeks. The only thing they do have in common is that they are living on a piece of land that does no longer bellong to the newer Greek region of Macedonia. Maybe it would be a good idea to just take our land back and get this matter resolved once and for all…

joe blog says:
November 11, 2008 at 1:02 am

hey this is kinda u related does the syomble on the sheild have any effect in battle
also how come sparta was destroyed evan though it fought athens and wone and eventuly had the largest army and navy?
so yea just wondrin cus im doin a report on greece and rome

Stergios Bakas says:
July 26, 2008 at 3:47 am

It is a very good article and we need to expand the communication with internet-people so they have always the greek answer to fyromian propaganda. I see that every day are losing in their propaganda, especially here in Europe. Nobody trusts them anymore and especially after the cirkus with the pakistani Hunza-clan, people laugh. For a couple of months ago a fyromian lady argued that the word daskalos is…not greek, but fyromian. A swedish teacher reminded her that the ancient greek word didaskalos pre-existed any kind of fyromian descendence from Greek Macedonians…and the students had fun….

Ariadni_Nefeli says:
July 25, 2008 at 4:14 am

Good point indeed, but the purpose of the article was to describe the misunderstanding and the lack of basic and cultural knowledge of the foreigners in the culture and names of the Greek people and Greek mainland, the fyromians used so they can create a blurry and confused situation, so everyone can think that a ”maceconian” was something different than a ”greek”. The imperialism and the hidden motives behind the fyromian propaganda against Greece and why Greece reacts in offering a Greek name in a foreign country, and the imperialistic intentions of fyrom by using the name dispute, will be analysed very soon in an upcoming article.

Thank you very much for your comment.

Vasilis says:
July 24, 2008 at 1:41 pm

Nice article, but I miss the reasons WHY Greece is opposed to the use from Skopjia of the name Macedonia. It should maybe shown i.e. the famous photo of Gruevski laying a wreath in front of a map of the so called United Macedonia…Explaining maybe the Skopjian political situation,demographical problems etc, and finally the irredentism in their nowdays politic.

Thank you,
Yours
Vasilis