Albanians, Macedonia’s autochthonous population

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    Diodorus SiculusAncient Greek HistorianThe ancient Greek historian Diodorus wrote much of the history of Macedonia from the times of PhilipII and Alexander the Great up to the last Macedonian king Perseus. In his writings, Diodorus is clearthat the ancient Macedonians were a distinct nation, not related to any of the Balkan peoples (Greeks,Thracians, and Illyrians). The below 40 quotes from his books XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXII, XXVIII,XXIX, XXXI, and XXXII are indeed an overwhelming proof of that:[1] For even Greeks Thespians, Plataeans and Orchomenians, and some other hostile to theThebans who had joined the king (of the Macedonians) in the campaign. 17.13.5.[2] For many days the king lay helpless under his treatment, and the Greeks who had been settled inBactria and Sogdiana, who had long borne unhappily their sojourn among peoples of another race andnow received word that the king has died of his wounds, revolted against the Macedonians. Theyformed a band of 3000 men and underwent great hardship on their homeward route. Later theywere massacred by the Macedonians after Alexanders death. 17.99.5-6.[3] The Macedonians and Alexander backed Coragus because he was one of them while theGreeks favored Dioxippus. 17.100.4.[4] Then the Macedonian (Coragus) poised his long lance and charged, but the Greek(Dioxippus),when he came within reach, struck the spear with his club and shuttered it. After these two defeats,Coragus was reduced to continuing the battle with sword, but as he reached for it, the other leapedupon him and seized his swordhand with his left, while with his right hand the Greek upset theMacedonians balance and made him lose his footing. 17.100.6-7[5] He (Alexander the Great) was plainly disappointed at the defeat of the Macedonian.Dioxippus released his fallen opponent, and left the field winner of the resounding victory andbedecked with ribands by his compatriots, as having brought a common glory to allGreeks. 17.101.1-2.[6] From Europe, the Greek cities AND the Macedonians also sent embassies, as well as theIllyrians and most of those who dwell about the Adriatic Sea, the Thracian peoples and even those oftheir neighbors the Gauls, whose people became known then first in the Greek world. 17.113.2.[7] When Perdiccas heard of the revolt of the Greeks, he drew by lot from theMacedonians 3000 infantry and 800 horsemen. 18.7.3[8] They (the Greeks) had more then 20000 foot soldiers and 3000 horse. 18.7.2. 3000 of these23000 Greeks were led by a "traitor" who "left his allies without warning and withdrew to e certain hill,taking his 3000 men". 18.7.6.[9] When oaths to this effect had been sworn and the Greeks were interspersed among the

    Macedonians, Pithon was greatly pleased, seeing that the affair was progressing according to hisintentions; but the Macedonians remembering the orders of Perdiccas and having no regardfor the oaths that had been sworn, broke faith with the Greeks. Setting upon themunexpectedly and catching them off their ground, they shot them all down with javelins and seizedtheir possessions as plunder. Pithon then, cheated of his hopes, came back with the Macedonians toPerdiccas. 18.7.8-9[10] When Alexander died a short time thereafter and left no sons as successors to the kingdom, theAthenians ventured to assert their liberty (from Macedonia) and to claim the leadership of theGreeks. 18.9.1

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    [11] When the Aetolians listened to him gladly they gave him 7000 soldiers, he sent to the Locriansand the Phocians and the other neighboring peoples and urged them to assist their freedom and ridGreece of the Macedonian despotism. 18.9.5.[12] The decree of the Assembly of Athens: "people should assume responsibility for the commonfreedom of the Greeks and liberate the cities that were subject to (Macedonian) garrisons; that theyshould prepare 40 quadriremes and 200 triremes (ships); that all Athenians up to age of 40 should beenrolled; that three tribes should guard Attica, and that the other seven should be ready for campaignbeyond the frontier; that envoys should be sent to visit the Greek cities and tell them that formerlythe Athenian people, convinced that all Greece was the common fatherland of the Greeks, hadfought by see against those (Macedonian) barbarians who had invaded Greece to enslaveher, and that now too Athens believed it necessary to risk lives and money and ships indefense of the common safety of the Greeks." 18.10.1-3.[13] Of the rest ofthe Greeks, some were well disposed toward the Macedonians, others remainedneutral. 18.11.1[14] A few of the Illyrians and the Thraciansjoined the alliance (with the Greeks) because oftheir hatred of the Macedonians. 18.11.1-2[15] As soon as, however, as he learned of the movement concerted against him by the Greeks, heleft Sippas as general of Macedonia, giving him a significant army and bidding him enlist as manymen as possible, while he himself, taking 13000 Macedonians and 600 horsemen, set out fromMacedonia to Thessaly (into Greece). 18.12.2[16] Now that this great force had been added to the Athenians, the Greeks, who far outnumberedthe Macedonians, were successful. 18.12.4[17] As the Macedonians defended themselves stoutly, many ofthe Greeks who pushed on rashlywere killed. 18.12.1-2[18] Antiphilus, the Greek commander, having defeated the Macedonians in a glorious battleplayed a waiting game, remaining in Thessaly and watching for the enemy to move. The affairs ofthe

    Greeks were thus in thriving condition, but since the Macedonians had command of the sea, theAthenians made ready other ships 18.15.7-8.[19] Then after such a combat I have described, the battle was broken off, as the scales ofvictoryswung in favour of the Macedonians. More then 500of the Greeks were killed in the battle,and 130of the Macedonians. 18.17.5[20] The commandant of the garrison of that city, Archelaus, who was a Macedonian by RACE,welcomed Attalus and surrendered the city to him 18.37.3-4.[21] Seleucus and Pithon again tried to persuade the Macedonians to remove Eumenes from hiscommand and to cease preferring against their own interests a man who was a foreigner and whohad killed very many Macedonians. 19.13.1[22] Peucestes (Macedonian commander) had 10000 Persian archers and slingers, 3000 men of everyorigin equipped for service in the Macedonian array, 600 Greek and Thraciancavalry and morethen 400 Persian horsemen. 19.14.5.[23] Although the risk involved in all these circumstances was clear, nonetheless she decided toremain there, hoping that many Greeks AND Macedonians would come to her aid by sea. 19.35.6.

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    [24] Then, after making a truce with the other Boeotians and leaving Eupolemus as generalforGreece, he went into Macedonia, for he was apprehensive of the enemys crossings. 19.77.5-6[25] In this year Antigonus ordered his general Ptolemaeus intoGreece to set the Greeks free19.77.2[26] Ptolemaeus, the general of Antigonus, had been placed in charge of affairs thoughout Greece;19.87.3 (not in Macedonia).[27] This was the situation in Asia and in Greece AND Macedonia. 19.105.4[28] And first he planned to establish order in the affairs of Greece and then go on againstMacedonia itself if Cassander did not march against him. 20.102.1[29] While these held office, Cassander, king of the Macedonians, on seeing that the power oftheGreeks was increasing and that the whole war was directed against Macedonia, became muchalarmed about the future. 20.106.1-2[30] Demetrius was followed by 1500 horsemen, not less then 8000 Macedonian foot-soldiers,

    mercenaries to the number of 15000, 2500 from the cities throughout Greece. 20.110.4[30] The utmost spirit or rivalry was not lacking on either side, for the Macedonians were bent onsaving their ships, while the Siceliotes wished not only to be regarded as victors over theCarthaginians and the barbarians of Italy, but also to show themselves in the Greek arena as morethen a match for the Macedonians, whose spears had subjected both Asia and Europe. 21.2.2[31] Brennus, the king of the Gauls invaded Macedonia and engaged in battle. Having in thisconflict lost many man .. as lacking sufficient strength when later he advanced into Greece andto the oracle of Delphi which he wished to plunder. 22.9.1-2[33] A native of Terentum, Heracleides was a man of surprising wickedness, who had transformedPhilip from a victorious king into a harsh and godless tyrant, and had thereby incurred the deep hatred

    of all Macedonians AND Greeks. 28.9.2[34] Flamininus held that Philip (the Macedonian king) must completely evacuate Greece, whichshould thereafter be ungarrisoned and autonomous. 28.11.1[35] To this Flamininus replied that there was no need of arbitration whom he ha wronged;furthermore he himself was under orders from the Senate to liberate Greece (from Macedonia).28.11.3-4[36] When the news of settlement reached him, Flamininus summoned the leading men of allGreece, and convoking an assembly repeated to them Romes good services to the Greeks. 28.13.2(Macedonians excluded from the leading men of Greece)[37] In defense of the settlement made with Nabis he (Flamininus) pointed out that the Romans haddone what was in their power, and that in accordance with the declared policy of the Roman people allthe inhabitants of Greece were now free (of Macedonia), ungarrisoned, and most importantof all, governed by their own laws. 28.13.3[38] Philip threatens the Greek Thessalians: "They were not aware, he said, that theMacedoniansun had not yet altogether set." 29.16.1-2[39] He said, namely, that after seeing the sun rise as he was about to begin transporting hisarmy from Italy to Greece five day later he arrived in Macedonia. 31-11.2-4

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    [40] Having as his accomplice a certain harpist named Nicolaus, a Macedonian by birth 32.15.9JustinRoman Historian"It came to pass, that during the absence of exertion on the part of the Greeks, the name of theMacedonians, previously mean and obscure, rose into notice; and Philip, who bad been kept threeyears as a hostage at Thebes, and had been imbued with the virtues of Epaminondas andPelopidas, imposed power of Macedonia, like a yoke of bondage, upon the necks ofGreece and Asia" [6.9]."Philip assigned the number of troops to be furnished by each state and only the King of Macedoniawill be the commander of their forces. Weather Macedonia was attacked or was in a war with anyother power, the Greek troops assigned by Philip had to support the Macedonian army and serveunder him as their general. It's obvious that Philip had Persia in mind and knew that this is the pointthat obligated the Greeks to serve his dream of conquering that empire. TheMacedonian army,which will have the exclusive status, was to be supported by the Greek army and by the armies of

    the adjacent conquered nations" [9.5.5-8]."Antipater was appointed governor ofMacedonia and Greece" [13.4.5]"After the death of Pyrrhus there were great warlike commotions not only in Macedonia, but inAsia and Greece" [26.1.1]Arrian Ancient Greek HistorianThe Campaigns of Alexander[1] "Destiny had decreed that Macedon should wrest the sovereignty of Asia from Persia, as Persiaonce had wrested it from the Medes, and the Medes, in turn, from the Assyrians." [p. 111][2] "Our enemies are Medes and Persians, men who for centuries have lived soft and luxurious lives;we of Macedon for generations past have been trained in the hard school of danger and war. Aboveall, we are free men, and they are slaves." [p.112][3] "When received the report that Alexander was moving forward to the attack, he sent some 30,000mounted troops and 20,000 light infantry across the river Pinarus, to give himself a chance of gettingthe main body of his army into position without molestation. His dispositions were as follows:

    in the van of his heavy infantry were his 30,000 Greek mercenaries, facing the Macedonianinfantry, with some 60,000 Persian heavy infantry- known as Kardakes." [p.114][4] [Book II - Battle of Issus] "Darius' Greeks fought to thrust the Macedonians back into thewater and save the day for their left wing, already in retreat, while the Macedonians, in their turn,with Alexander's triumph plain before their eyes, were determined to equal his success and not forfeitthe proud title of invincible, hitherto universally bestowed upon them. The fight was furtherembittered by the old racial rivalryof Greek and Macedonian."[p.119]

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    [5] "The cavalry action which ensued was desperate enough, and the Persians broke only when theyknew that the Greek mercenaries were being cut and destroyed by theMacedonianinfantry." [p.119-20][6] "The same painstaking attention to details is evident in administrative matters. Appointments ofgovernors are duly mentioned, and throughout his book Arrian is careful to give the father's name inthe case of Macedonians, e.g. Ptolemy son of Lagus, and in the case of Greekstheir city oforigin." [p.25][7] "In the spring of 334 Alexander set out from Macedonia, leaving Antipater with 12,000 infantryand 1,500 cavalry to defend the homeland and to keep watch on the Greek states."[p.34][8] "The backbone of the infantry was the Macedonian heavy infantry, the 'Foot Companions',organized on territorial basis in six battalions (taxeis) of about 1,500 men each. In place of the nine-foot spear carried by the Greek hoplite, the Macedonian infantryman was armed with a pike orsarissa about 13 or 14 feet long, which required both hands to wield it. The light circular shield wasslung on the left shoulder, and was smaller than that carried by the Greek hoplite which demandedthe use of the left arm. Both, Greek and Macedonian infantry wore greaves and a helmet, but it ispossible that the Macedonians did not wear a breastplate. The phalanx (a heavy infantry), like all theMacedonian troops had been brought by Philip to a remarkable standard of training and discipline."

    [p.35][9] Modern Greeks, have used this particular passage as evidence of Alexander's greekness.Alexander sent to Athens, as an offering to the goddess Athena, 300 full suits of Persian armor, withthe following inscription:"Alexander, son of Philip, and the Greeks (except the Lacedaemonians)dedicate these spoils, takenfrom the Persians who dwell in Asia."[p.76]J.R. Hamilton, Associate professor of Classics and Ancient History from the University of Auckland,New Zealand, writes: 'In view of the small part that the Greeks had played in the battle the inscription(with its omission of any mention of the Macedonians) must be regarded as propaganda designed forhis Greek allies. Alexander does not fail to stress the absence of the Spartans.'[10] Alexander's rationale as to why he would not like to engage the Persian fleet in a battle:"In the first place, it was to rush blindly into a naval engagement against greatly superior forces, andwith an untrained fleet against highly trained Cyprian and Phoenician crews; the sea, morever, was atricky thing - one could not trust it, and he was not going to risk making a present to the Persians ofall the skill and courage of his men; as to defeat, it would be very serious indeed and would affectprofoundly the general attitude to the war in its early stages, above all by encouraging the Greeksto revolt the moment they got news of a Persian success at sea." [p.80][11] Alexander speaking to his officers: ".......But let me remind you: Through your courage andendurance you have gained possession of Ionia, the Hellespont, both Phrygias, Cappadocia,Paphlagonia, Lydia, Caria, Lycia, Pamphylia, Phoenicia and Egypt; the Greek part of Libya is now

    yours, together with much of Arabia, lowland Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylon, and Susia;........."[p.292][12] Alexander addressing his troops: With all that accomplished, why do you hesitate to extend thepower of Macedon - your power- to the Hyphasis and the tribes on the other side? [p.293] Arrian,book 5.[13] Alexander continues to address his troops: "Gentlemen of Macedon, and you my friends andallies, this must not be. Stand firm; for well you know that hardship and danger are the price of

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    glory, and that sweet is the savour of a life of courage and of deathless renown beyond the grave."[p.294][14] Alexander continues to speak to his Macedonians and allies: "Come, then; add the rest of Asia towhat you already possess - a small addition to the great sum of your conquests. What great ornoble work could we ourselves have achieved had we thought it enough, living at ease inMacedon, merely to guard our homes, excepting no burden beyond checking the encroachment ofthe Thracians on our borders, or the Illyrians and Triballians, or perhaps such Greeks as mightprove a menace to our comfort." [p.294] Arrian, Book 5.Quintus Curtius Rufus Roman HistorianThe History of Alexander - Penguin ClassicsTranslation by John Yardley[1] "Alexander meanwhile dealt swiftly with the unrest in Greece - not only did the Athenians rejoiceat Philips death, but the Aetolians, the Thebans, as well as Spartans and the Peloponnesians, wereready to throw off the Macedonian yoke. (Diod. 17.3.3-5) - and he marched south into Thessaly,demanding the loyalty of its people in the name of their common ancestors, Achilles (Justin 11.3.1-2;cf. Diod. 17.4.1). And with speed and diplomacyAlexander brought the Thebansand Atheniansinto submission (Diod. 17.4.4-6) [p.20][The "unrest in Greece" encompasses all the city-states in Greece. These city-states were ready tothrow off the Macedonian yoke. Here we have a clear delineation between Greek city-states, who werethe conquered party, and Macedonia, the conqueror. This quote in a very unambiguous way illustrateshow pitiful and ridiculous is the modern Greeks position when they claim, or equate, Macedonia asbeing one of, or the same as, the Greek city states. "Thebans and Athenians into submission"meansone thing: Greece was won by the spear; it was a war of conquest. Therefore, modern Greeksposition that Alexander "united" the Greek city-states, rests on euphemistic foundation, and as such,

    has no validity with historical justice. Bottom line is, that there was no "unification" of the Greekstates by Alexander or his father Philip II. When one "unifies" one does not force submission of thesubjects. When one unifies, there is no "yoke" to be thrown off.][2] "It was decided to raze the city to the ground as a lesson to all Greek states whichcontemplated rebellion." [p.21] [Point of interest: "as a lesson to all Greek states". This statementindicates that Macedonia was not, and could not be included in Greece, for Macedonia was the one"giving" the lesson.][3] "Alexander also referred to his father, Philip, conqueror of Athenians, and recalled to theirminds the recent conquest of Boeotia and the annihilation of its best known city." [p.41][4] Alexander, in a letter, responds to Darius: "His Majesty Alexander to Darius: Greetings. The Darius

    whose name you have assumed wrought utter destruction upon the Greek inhabitants of theHellespontine coast and upon the Greek colonies of Ionia, and then crossed the sea with a mightyarmy, bringing the war to Macedonia and Greece." [p.50-1] [Alexander here himself clearlyseparates Greece from Macedonia][5] "From here the Macedonians crossed to Mitylene which had been recently seized by theAthenianChares, and was now held by him with a garrison of Persians, 2,000 strong. Unable to withstand thesiege, Chares surrendered the city on condition that he be allowed to leave in safety, after which hemade for Imbros. The Macedonians spared those who surrender." [p.63]

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    ["Athenian" Chares with 2,000 of Persian soldiers fighting against Alexanders Macedonians. Anotherexample of Greeks fighting against Macedonia. If this was a war to revenge Greece from Persia,Greeks would have not have fighting on the side of the Persians against the Macedonians. The truthis that they hated the Macedonians more for conquering Greece, then they did thePersians.][6] "There is a report that, after the king had completed the Macedonian custom of marking out thecircular boundary for the future city-walls with barley-meal, flocks of birds flew down and fed on thebarley. Many regarded this as unfavorable omen, but the verdict of the seers was that the city wouldhave a large immigrant population and would provide the means of livelihood to many countries."[p.69] [The Macedonians had their own distinct customs][7] "As it happened, Alexander had been sent from Macedonia a present ofMacedonian clothes anda large quantity of purple material." [p.97] [Macedonian clothes, and purple material. (Macedoniancustoms 2) Macedonians dressed differently than the Greeks. One very peculiar feature beingthe kautsia, the well known Macedonian hat.][8] "...but the kings conscience would not permit him to leave his men unburied, for byMacedonianconvention there is hardly any duty in military life as binding as burial of ones dead." [p.100][9] Inflamed with greed for kingship, Bessus and Nabarzanes now decided to carry out the plan theyhad long been hatching. [The plot to kill Darius the III.] "If, as they feared, Alexander rejected theirtreacherous overtures, they would murder Darius and head for Bactria with the troops of their ownpeople. However, open arrest of Darius was impossible because the Persians, many thousands strongwould come to the aid of their king, and theloyalty of the Greeks also caused apprehension."[p.111] [The Greeks remained loyal to Persia and against Alexander and his Macedonians to the end][9] Patron, the Greek commander, speaks with Darius: "Your Majesty", said Patron, "we few are allthat remain of50,000 Greeks. We were all with you in your more fortunate days, and in yourpresent situation we remain as we were when you were prospering, ready to make for and to acceptas our country and our home any lands you choose. We and you have been drawn together both byyour prosperity and your adversity. By this inviolable loyalty of ours I beg and beseech you: pitch yourtent in our area of the camp and let us be your bodyguards. We have left Greece behind; for us there

    is no Bactria; our hopes rest entirely in you - I wish that were true of the others also! Further talkserves no purpose. As a foreigner born of another race I should not be asking for the responsibility ofguarding your person if I thought anyone else could do it." [p.112-13][50,000 strong Greeks were with Darius fighting the Macedonians, while Alexander took only 7,000Greeks next to his Macedonians which served as "hostages" and "were potential trouble makers",(Green) which he got rid of only when he learned that the rebellion in Greece against the Macedonianoccupation forces there was suppressed (Badian, Borza). The fact that 50,000 Greeks were fightingAlexandersMacedonians shows clearly that their loyalty and their numerical superioritylies with Darius and his Persians, not with Alexander and his Macedonians. As Peter Greenputs it: "if this was a Greek conquest where were the Greektroops?" Alexanders conquest cannot therefore be at all a Greek conquest, but simply a Macedonian conquest.][10] "Men! If you consider the scale of our achievements, your longing for peace and your weariness

    of brilliant campaigns are not at all surprising. Let me pass over the Illyrians, the Triballians, Boeotia,Thrace, Sparta, the Aecheans, the Peloponnese - all of them subdued under my direct leadershipor by campaignsconducted under my orders of instructions."[p.121-22][The Greeks of Boeotia, Sparta, Aechea, Peloponnese - "all of them subdued";Alexander himselfcleraly considers Greece subdued, not united][11] "In capital cases it was a long-established Macedonian practice for the king to conduct thetrial while the army (or the commons in peace-time) acted as jury, and the position of the king

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    counted for nothing unless his influence had been substantial prior to the trial." [p.135] [AnotherMacedonian custom][12] Alexander speaks: "The Macedonians are going to judge your case," he said. "Please statewhether you will use your native language before them."Philotas: "Besides the Macedonians, there are many present who, I think, will find what I am going tosay easier to understand if I use the language you yourself have been using, your purpose, I believe,being only to enable more people to understand you."Then the king said: "Do you see how offensive Philotas find even his native language? He alonefeels an aversion to learning it. But let him speak as he pleases - only remember he ascontemptuous of our way of life as he is of our language." [p.138][This is again Alexander himselfclearly separates the Macedonian as an independent language andthe Macedonian way of life, from the Greek language and the Greek way of life which Philotas hadreferred to be the diplomatic language in the Macedonian court][13] "The general feeling was that Philotas should be stoned to death according toMacedonian

    customs, but Hephaestion, Craterus, and Coenus declared that torture should be employed to forcethe truth out of him, and those who had advocated other punishment went over to their view."[p.142] [Another Macedonian custom][14] "What they feared was the Macedonian law which provided the death penalty also for relativesof people who had plotted against the king." [p.143][15] "While Alexander was in stationary camp here, reports arrived from Greece of theinsurrection of the Peloponnesians and the Laconians." [Alexander learns about the revolt of theGreeks against the Macedonians][16] "Roxanes father was transported with unexpected delight when he heard Alexanders words, andthe king, in the heat of passion, ordered bread to be brought, in accordance with their traditions,for this was the most sacred symbol of betrothal among the Macedonians." [p.187] [AnotherMacedonian custom][17] [Alexander attempts to appropriate divine honours to himself] "He wished to be believed, not justcalled, the son ofJupiter, as if it were possible for him to have as much control over mens minds astheir tongues, and to give orders for the Macedonians to follow the Persian customs in doing homageto him by prostrating themselves on the ground. To feed this desire of his there was no lack ofpernicious flattery - over the course of royalty, whose power is often subverted by adulation than byan enemy. Nor were the Macedoniansto blame for this, for none of them could bear the slightestdeviation from tradition; rather it was the Greeks, whose corrupt ways had also debased theprofession of the liberal arts." [p.187-8] [Macedonian traditions, this passage above, without anyambiguity, strongly implies that the ancient Macedonians were distinct ethnic group of peoplemarkedly differed from the Greeks.][18] "Accordingly, one festive day, Alexander had a sumptuous banquet organized so that he couldinvite not only his principle friends among the Macedonians and Greeks but also the enemynobility." [p.188] [Greeks and Macedonians clearly separated][19] [The trial of Hermolaus] "As for you Callisthenes, the only person to think you a man (becauseyou are an assassin), I know why you want him brought forward. It is so that the insult whichsometimes uttered against me and sometimes heard from him can be repeated by his lips before thisgathering. Were he a Macedonian I would have introduced him here along with you - a teacher trulyworth of his pupil. As it is, he is an Olynthian and does not enjoy the same rights." [p.195]

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    [Calisthenes could not be brought in front of the army (the jury), because hewas a Greek and not aMacedonian. Callisthenes ethnicity is of primary significance here. Similarly, Eumenes ethnicity wasthe primary determining factor in the final outcome. It is also suggested in Plutarch Eum. 3.1, whereEumenes expresses his belief that, being a foreigner, he had no right to take sides in the disputewhich broke out among the Macedonians over the succession to Alexander after the latters death.Furthermore, in Diodoros narrative 19.13.1 Seleucos urges Eumenes officers and men to desert himbecause he is a foreigner,who, furthermore, has killed many Macedonians. The wealth of evidence

    supporting the fact that ancient Macedonians were a separate ethnos from the Greeks isoverwhelming. Eumenes and Callisthenes, being foreigners, foreign born individuals - Greeks, did notstand a chance among the Macedonians. At the end, their Greek ethnicity cost them their lives.][20] [Alexander speaks to his Macedonians] "Where is that shout of yours that shows yourenthusiasm? Where that characteristic look of my Macedonians?" [p.217][21] "Starting with Macedonia, I now have power over Greece;I have brought Thrace and theIllyrians under my control; rule the Triballi and the Maedi. I have Asia in my possession from theHellespont to the Red Sea." [p.227][22] At a banquet prepared by Alexander for the ambassadors of certain tribes from India, among theinvited guest present was the Macedonian Horratas and the Greek boxer named Dioxippus. Now at the

    feast the Macedonian Horratas who was already drunk, began to make insulting comments toDioxippus and to challenge him, if he were a man, to fight a duel. Dioxippus agreed and the two menfought rather short fight with Dioxippus emerging a victor. A huge crowd of soldiers, including theGreeks, supported Dioxippus. "The outcome of the show dismayed Alexander, as well as theMacedoniansoldiers, especially since the barbarians had been present, for he feared thatamockery had been made of the celebrated Macedonian valour." [p.229][23] "But destiny was already bringing civil war upon the Macedonian nation." [p.254][24] "The customary purificationof the soldiers by the Macedonian kings involved cutting abitch in two and throwing down her entrails on the left and right at the far end of the plain into whichthe army was to be led. Then all the soldiers would stand within that area, cavalry in one spot,phalanx in another." [p.255] [Another Macedonian custom]

    The difference between ancient Macedonians and the ancient Greeks is obvious. It is not a matter fordebate. Language, customs, traditions and the every-day soldiers behavior, all point to two distinctand separate ethnic groups. In short, the ancient Macedonians were simply that Macedonians, andthe Greeks were foreign people next to them.Thucydides Greek Commander and Historian[1] The modern Greeks claim that the ancient Macedonians were Greek based on the below passage of

    Thucydides:"The country by the sea which is now called Macedonia... Alexander, the father of Perdiccas, and hisforefathers, who were originally Temenidae from Argos"(Thucydides 2.99,3)That this myth does not prove that the Macedonians were Greek I offer the extensive study conductedby the Macedonian specialist, Professor Eugene Borza. Analyzing the Temenidae myth transmitted byHerodotus and Thucydides, in details in two Chapters, Eugene Borza -In the Shadow ofOlympus p.82-83 gives the following conclusion:

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    a) "It is clear that the analysis ofour earliest-and sole-sourcecannot produce a consistent andsatisfactory sequence of events. My own view is that there is some underlying veracity to the Mt.Vermion reference (as evidenced by the Phrygian connections), that among the Makedones a family ofVermion background emerged as pre-eminent, but that the Argive context is mythic, perhaps abit of fifth-century B.C. propaganda (as I argue in the next chapter). To deny such fablesand attribute them to contemporary Macedonian propaganda may appear minimalistic.Butgiven the historical milieu in which such stories were spawned and then adorned, the denial

    of myth seems prudent.b) The Temenidae in Macedon are an invention of the Macedonians themselves, intended in partto give credence to Alexander I's claims of Hellenic ancestry, attached to and modifying some half-buried progenitor stories that had for a long time existed among the Macedonians concerning theirown origins. The revised version was transmitted without criticism or commentbyHerodotus. Thucydides (2-99.3; 5.80.2) acquired the Argive lineage tale from Herodotus, orfrom Macedonian-influenced sources, and transmitted it. His is not an independentversion. [There is no hard evidence (pace Hammond, HM i: 4) that Thucydides ever visitedMacedonia, but it makes no difference; Thucydides is reflecting the official version of things.] Whatemerged in the fifth century is a Macedonian-inspired tale of Argive origins for the Argead house, anaccount that can probably be traced to its source, Alexander I (for which see Chapter 5 below). TheTemenidae must disappear from history, making superfluous all discussion of them ashistorical figures.c) There were further embellishments to the myth of the early royal family. In the last decade of thefifth century B.C. Euripides came to reside in Macedon at the court of King Archelaus,thereby contributing a new stage to the evolution of the Macedonian creation-myth.Euripides' play honoring his patron, Archelaus, probably adorned the basic story, replacingPerdiccas with an Archelaus as the descendant ofTemenus-no doubt to the delight of hisroyal host. Delphic oracles were introduced, and the founder's tale was extended by theintroduction of Caranus (Doric for "head" or "ruler"). In the early fourth century, new early kingswere addedduring the political rivalry among three branches of the Argeadae following thedeath of King Archelaus in 399, another example of the Macedonian predilection to rewritehistory to support a contemporary political necessity. The story continued to be passed throughthe hands of local Macedonian historians in the fourth century B. C., and by Roman times it was widelyknown in a number of versions. Nothing in this later period can be traced back earlier than Euripides'

    revision of the Herodotean tradition. The notion that Alexander I or one of his predecessorsobtained a Delphic oracle to confirm the Macedonian tie with Argos has no evidence tosupport it. Had such an oracle existed we can be confident that Alexander, eager to confirmhis Hellenic heritage, would have exploited it, and that Herodotus, who delighted in oracles,would have mentioned it. In the end what is important is not whether Argive Greeksfounded the Macedonian royal house but that at least some Macedonian kings wanted it so".d) Borza also mentiones that the "two advocates of the Argos-Macedon link are Hammond, HM, vol. 2,ch. I, and Daskalakis, Hellenism, Pt. 3, both of whom support the notion of a Temenid origin for theMacedonian royal house", however, we have seen above that both of them were corrected with theextensive evidence that Borza carefully reviewed. We have already seen that both Daskalakis andHammond were incorrect on many matters on the ethnicity of the Ancient Macedonians, therefore itshould come to no surprise that their now outdated and poor in evidence material can not be used toclaim a Greek identity to the ancient Macedonians. Click here for Daskalakis and Hammond.[2]Thucydides however, did not consider the Macedonians to be Greek, despite the above myth whichwasnt his original work but it as we saw was only transmitted by him.Here Thucydides clearlyseparates the Macedonians from the Greeks (Hellenes):"In all there were aboutthree thousand Hellenic heavy infantry, accompanied by all theMacedonian cavalrywith the Chalcidians, near one thousand strong, besides an immensecrowd ofbarbarians." (Thucydides 4.124)

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    Borza comments: "The use of barbaros [barbarians] is problematic, although it would appear that henormally includes at least some of the Macedonians in this category. See 4.125.3 and Gomme,Comm. Thuc.,3:613,615 and 616 on Thuc. 4.124.1, 126.3 and 126.5 respectively. In the Shadow ofOlympus p 152."Both Herodotus and Thucydides describe the Macedonians as foreigners, a distinct peopleliving outside of the frontiers of the Greek city-states" Eugene Borza, In the Shadow ofOlympus p. 96Isocrates Ancient Greek WriterTo Philip[1] "The feeling of being peoples of nonkindred race existed on both side" referring toIsocrates' statement. Earnst Badian[2] Isocrates letter to Philip II where he, Isocrates refers to Philip "as one who has been blessed withuntrammeled freedom to consider Hellas your fatherland" Green calls this a"rhetoricalhyperbole". "Indeed, taken as a whole the Address to Philip must have caused its recipientconsiderable sardonic amusement". [p. 49] "Its ethnic conceit was only equaled by itsnaivety" [p.49] Peter Green[3] "And though Philip did not give a fig for Panhellenism as an idea, he at once saw how it could beturned into highly effective camouflage (a notion which his son subsequently took over ready-made).Isocrates had, unwittingly, supplied him with the propaganda-line he needed. From now on hemerely had to clothe his Macedonian ambitions in a suitable Panhellenic dress." [p.50] PeterGreen[4]"This was the Panhellenic crusade preached by Isocrates, and assuch the kingspropaganda section continued - for the time being- to present it. No one, so far as we

    know, was tactless enoughto ask the obvious question: if this was a Panhelleniccrusade,where were the Greek troops? [p. 157] Green[5] "Isocrates never for an instant thought of a politically unified state under Philip's leadership. It issimply the internal unification of Hellas which he calls on Philip to bring about ." [p.37][Macedonia specifically excluded from Greece] WilkenNote: Macedonians were not Hellene, and Macedonia was never a member of the Hellenic League, aleague that encompassed and "united" all the Greek city-states. Isocrates expanded the term Helleneto include, no racial descent, but mode of thought, and those who partook of Attic culture, rather thanthose who had a common descent were called Hellene. He saw the true Hellene only in the Greekeducated in the Attic model. He did not regard the barbarians of Attic education as Hellenes.[6] "When Philip read the book, the insistence of his descent from Heracles must have been welcometo him; for in his policy he had to stress this mythical derivation, as the types of Heracles on his coinsshow. But on the other hand he must have smiled at the naiveteshown by Isocrates." [p.36] Wilken[7] Isocrates must have taken this strong realist for an idealist, such as he was himself, if he believedthat Philip would draw his sword for the beaux yeux of the Greeks." [p.36] Wilken[8] "When Isocrates in this treatise makes so much of Heracles as Philip's ancestor, this was meantnot merely for Philip, but for the Greek public as well." [p.35] Wilken

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    [9] "At the end of his speech, Isocrates, summarizing the programme which he was proposing toPhilip, advised him to be a benefector to the Greeks,a king to the Macedonians, and to thebarbarians not a master, but a chief." [p.106] PIERRE JOUGUETAlexander the Great and theHellenistic World[10] [On Macedonian ethnicity] So little do the Macedonians seem to have belonged to the Helleniccommunity at the beginning, that they did not take part in the great Games of Greece, and when theKings of Macedon were admitted to them, it was not as Macedonians, but as Heraclids. Isocrates, inthe 'Philip' praises them for not having imposed their kingship on the Hellenes, to whom the kingshipis always oppressive, and for having gone among foreigners to establish it. He, therefore,did notregard the Macedonians as Greeks." [p.68]PIERRE JOUGUETAlexander the Great and theHellenistic World[11] "In the Panegyricus he [Isocrates] had urged an understanding between Sparta and Athens, sothat the Greeks might unite in a common expedition against the Persian empire. Nothing of that sortwas any longer thinkable. But the policy of which he now had such high hopes offered a surprisinglysimple solution for the distressing problem that lay heavily on all minds the problem of what was to bethe ultimate relationship betweenGreece and the new power in the north(Macedonia)." [p.152] WERNERJAEGERDemosthenes[12] "But for Isocrates that was no obstacle. He had long since come to recognize the impossibility ofresisting Macedonia, and he was only trying to find the least humiliating way to express theunavoidable submission ofall the Greeks to the will of Philip. Here again he found the solutionin a scheme for Macedonian hegemony over Greece. For it seems as if Philip's appearance in this rolewould be most effective way to mitigate his becoming so dominant a factor in Greek history;moreover, it ought to silence all Greek prejudices against the culturallyand ethnicallyalien character of the Macedonians." [p.153] WERNERJAEGER[13] "With the help of the role that Isocrates had assigned to him, he had the astutenesstolet his cold-blooded policy for the extension of Macedonian powertake on the eyes oftheGreeks the appearance of a work of liberation for Hellas. What he most needed at thismoment was not force but shrewd propaganda; and nobody lent himself to this purpose soeffectively as the old Isocrates, venerable and disinterested, who offered his services of his own freewill." [p.155] WERNERJAEGER[14] "Looking far beyond the actualities of the Greek world, hopelessly split asunder as it was, he(Isocrates) had envisaged a united nation led by the Macedonian king." [p.172]WERNERJAEGER[15] "Quite apart, however, from any theoretical doubts whether the nationalistic movement ofmodern times, which seeks to combine in a single state all the individuals of a single folk, can properlybe compared with the Greek idea of Panhellenism, scholars have failed to notice that after theunfortunate Peace of Philocrates Demosthenes' whole policywas an unparalleled fight fornational unification.In this period he deliberately threw off the constrains of thepoliticianconcerned exclusively with Athenian interests, and devoted himself to a task morelofty than any Greek statesman before him had ever projected or indeed could have projected.In thisrespect he is quite comparable to Isocrates;but an important point of contrast stillremains.The difference is simply that Demosthenes did not think of this "unification"as a

    more or less voluntary submission to the will of the conqueror;on the contrary,hedemanded a unanimous uprising of all the Greeks against theMacedonianfoe." [p.172] WERNERJAEGER[16] "His Panhellenism was the outgrowth of a resolute will for national self-assertiveness, deliberatelyopposed to the national self-surrender called for by Isocrates - for that was what Isocrates' programhad really meant, despite its being expressed romantically as a plan for a Persian war underMacedonian leadership." [p.172-3] WERNERJAEGER

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    [17] The first resolution passed by Synedrion at Corinth was the declaration of war againstPersia. "The difference was that this war of conquest, which was passionatelydescribed as awar of vengeance, was not looked upon as a meansof uniting the Greeks, as Isocrateswould have had it, but wasmerely an instrument of Macedonianimperialism."[p.192] WERNERJAEGER[18] "For the six years or more that follow, Philip's life, alas! is withdrawn, except at rare intervals,from our knowledge. Alas, indeed! for these are the years in which his men at arms marched, thefirst foreigners since history has begun, into the Peloponnese, and he himself besieged and tookcities on the Adriatic, and led his spearmen up to, or even beyond, the Danube; years, too, in whichhis final ambition took shape, 'for it was coming to be his desire to be designated Captain- General ofHellas, and to wage the War against the Persians'." (p.97) David Hogarth[Please visit "Green" and "Isocrates' Letter to Philip" (345), for furtherenlightenment]Notice also the usage of quotes by David Hogarth, regarding Philip's desireto beCaptain-General of Hellas.][19] "The dispute of modern scholars over the racial stock of the Macedonians have led to manyinteresting suggestions. This is especially true of the philological analysis of the remains of theMacedonian language by O. Hoffmann in his Makedonen etc. Cf. the latest general survey of the

    controversy in F. Geyer and his chapter on prehistory. But even if the Macedonians did have someGreek blood- as well as Illyrian- in their veins, whether originally or by later admixture, this wouldnot justify us in considering them on a par with the Greeks in point of race or in using thisas historical excuse for legitimizing the claims of this bellicose peasant folk to lord it overcousins in the south of the Balkan peninsula so far ahead of them in culture. It islikewise incorrect to assertthat this is the only way in which we can understand the role of theMacedonian conquest in Hellenizing the Orient. But we can neglect this problem here, as our chiefinterest lies in discovering what the Greeks themselves felt and thought. And here we need not citeDemosthenes' well-known statements; for Isocrates himself, the very man who heralds the idea ofMacedonian leadership in Hellas, designates the people of Macedonia as members of an alienrace in Phil.108. He purposely avoids the word barbaroibut this word is one that inevitably finds aplace for itself in the Greek struggle for national independence and expresses the views of everytrue Hellene. Even Isocrates would not care to have the Greeks ruled by the Macedonian people:it is only the king of Macedonia, Philip, who is to be the new leader; and the orator tries to give

    ethnological proof of Philip's qualifications for this task by the device of showing that he is no son ofhis people but, like the rest of his dynasty, a scion of Heracles, and therefore of Greek blood."[p.249] WERNERJAEGER[Point ofInterest](a) Macedonians cannot be considered as Greeks even if they had some Greek blood in their veins.(b) Macedonia's conquest of the Orient should not be contingent upon Greek culture.(c) Isocrates places the Macedonians with alien races and hitherto, outside the Hellenic world.(d) Isocrates takes care of this "alien race" not to be seen as leaders of Greece. He isolates their kingPhilip as not of the same race as the people over which he governs.Note: The speech On the Chersonese was, to be sure, delivered in a specifically Athenian emergency;but the interest of the Greeks as a whole is never left out of sight. The Third Philippicis entirelydedicated to the danger that threatens all Greece. Similarly, when the past and future are compared,it is the whole of Hellas that is considered, not Athens alone.

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    EphorosThe ancient Greek historians and geographers from the classical and the post-classicalperiod, Ephoros, Pseudo-Skylax, Dionysius son of Kalliphon, and Dionysius Periegetes, allput the northern borders of Greece at the line from the Ambracian Gulf in the west to thePeneios River to the east, thus excluding Macedonia from Greece.Michael Sakellariou, Macedonia: 4000 years of Greek History. p.50.Ptolemy of AlexandriaAncient GeographerPtolemy of Alexandria is an author of a great geographical work in which he produced maps of variousancient countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. His map of Macedonia is clearly separated from Greece,Illyria, and Thrace. He also produced a map of Albania which in ancient times was in Asia, parallel tothe map of Illyria in Europe, which makes it clear that the Albanians and the Illyrians had always beentwo separate nations.Pausanias Greek Historian"Leosthenes at the head of the Athenians and the united Greeks defeated the MacedoniansinBoeotia and again outside Thermopylae forced them into Lamia" [1.1.3]."I have already said in my history of Attica that the defeat at Chaeronea was a disaster for allthe Greeks" [9.6.5]. "After the death of Alexander, when the Greeks had raised a second war against theMacedonians, the Messenians took part, as I have shown earlier in my account of Attica" [4.28.3]."When Philip the son of Amyntas would not let Greece alone, the Eleans, weakened by civil strife,joined the Macedonian alliance, but they could not bring themselves to fight against the Greeks atChaeronea. They joined Philip's attack on the Lacedaemonians because of their old hatred of thatpeople, but on the death of Alexander they fought on the side of theGreeks against Antipater andthe Macedonians" [5.4.9]."When Philip, the son of Demetrius, reached men's estate, and Antigonus without reluctance handedover the sovereignty of the Macedonians, he struck fear into the hearts of all the Greeks. He

    copied Philip, the son of Amyntas" [7.7.5].Medeius of LarisaGreek Companion in the Macedonian Army

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    Medeius of Larisa was one of the Greeks accompanying Alexander the Great in Asia. According to himthe Thessalians are the most northerly of the Greeks, thus excluding the Macedonians as non-Greekssince they live north of Thessaly.Pseudo-Herodotus Greek HistorianPseudo-Herodotus in Peri Politeias (34-37) calls the Macedonians barbarians anddistinguishes them from the Greeks.Plutarch Ancient Greek HistorianThe Age of Alexander

    [1] "Alexander was born on the sixth day of the month Hecatombaeon, which theMacedonians callLous, the same day on which the temple of Artemis at Ephesus was burned down." [p.254][Macedonians had a their own distinct calendar][2] Alexander was only twenty years old when he inherited his kingdom, which at the moment wasbeset by formidable jealousies and feuds, and external dangers on every side. The neighboringbarbarian tribes were eager to throw off the Macedonian yoke and longed for the rule of their nativekings: As for the Greek states, although Philiphad defeated them in battle, he had nothad time to subdue them or accustomed them to his authority. Alexander's Macedonian advisersfeared that a crisis was at hand and urged the young king to leave the Greek states to their owndevices and refrain from using any force against them. [p.263] [Alexander chose the opposite course]Plutarch never said that Philip "united" the Greeks, but he states that Philip "defeated" them inbattle.[3] Alexander returns from the campaigns at the Danube, north of Macedon. When the news reachedhim that the Thebans had revolted and were being supported by the Athenians, he immediatelymarched south through the pass of Thermopylae. 'Demosthenes', he said, 'call me a boy while Iwas in Illyria and among the Triballi, and a youth when I was marching through Thessaly;Iwill show him I am a man by the time I reach the walls of Athens.'[p.264][4] "Thebans countered by demanding the surrender of Philotas and Antipater and appealing to allwho wished to liberate Greece to range themselves on their side, and at this Alexander ordered histroops to prepare for battle." [p.264] [The ones who want to liberate Greece against the Macedoniantroops][5] Alexander asks a women, who was being taken captive, who she was, she replied: 'I am the sister

    of Theogenes who commanded our army against your father, Philip, and fell at Chaeronea fightingfor the liberty of Greece.' [p.265][6] There is a story that on one occasion when a large company had been invited to dine with theking, Callisthenes (Alexander's biographer) was called upon, as the cup passed to him, to speak inpraise of the Macedonians. This theme he handled so eloquently that the guests rose to applaud andthrew their garlands at him. At this Alexander quoted Euripides' line from the BacchaeOn noblesubjects all men can speak well. 'But now', he went on, 'show us the power of your eloquency bycriticizing the Macedonians so that they can recognize their shortcomings and improve themselves.'Callisthenes then turned to the other side of the picture and delivered a long list of home truths about

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    the Macedonians, pointing out that the rise of Philip's power had been brought about by the divisionamong the rest of the Greeks, and quoting the verse Once civil strife has begun, even scoundrels mayfind themselves honoured. The speech earned him the implacable hatred of theMacedonians,and Alexander that it was not his eloquence that Callisthenes had demonstrated, buthis ill will towards them. [p.311][7] Alexander's letter to Antipater in which he includes Callisthenes in the general accusation, hewrites: 'The youths were stoned to death by the Macedonians, but as far as the sophist I shall punishhim myself, and I shall not forget those who sent him to me, or the others who give shelter in theircities to those who plot against my life.' In those words, at least, he plainly reveals his hostility toAristotle in whose house Callisthenes had been brought up, since he was a son of Hero, who wasAristotle's niece.' [p.133][8] Cassander's fear of Alexander 'In general, we are told, this fear was implanted so deeply and tooksuch hold of Cassander's mind that even many years later, when he had becomeking ofMacedonia and master of Greece, and was walking about one day looking at the sculpture atDelphi, the mere sight of a statue of Alexander struck him with horror, so that he sguddered andtrembled in every limb, his head swam, and he could scarcely regain control of himself.' [p.331][9] 'It was Asclepiades, the son of Hipparchus, who first brought the news of Alexander's death to

    Athens. When it was made public, Demades urged the people not to believe it: If Alexander werereally dead, he declared,the stench of the corpse would have filled the whole worldlongbefore.' [p.237] [This is how much the ancient Greeks hated Alexander][10] Lamian War 323-322 is also known as the "Hellenic War" by its protagonists. The Greeks, theHellenes, were fighting the Macedonians led by Antipaterat Lamia.[11] [Modern day Greeks would like to dispatch off Demosthenes castigations of Philip II as politicalrhetoric, and yet Demosthenes was twice appointed to lead the war effort of Athens againstMacedonia. He, Demosthenes, said of Philip that Philip was not Greek, nor related to Greeks butcomes from Macedonia where a person could not even buy a decent slave. 'Soon after his death thepeople of Athenspaid him fitting honours by erecting his statue in bronze,and by decreeingthat the eldest member of his family should bemaintained in the prytaneum at the public

    expense.On the base of his statue was carved his famous inscription:'I

    f only your strengthhad been equal, Demosthenes,to your wisdomNever would Greece have been ruled by aMacedonian Ares'[p.216][12] "While Demosthenes was still in exile, Alexander died in Babylon, and the Greek states combinedyet again to form a league against Macedon. Demosthenes attached himself to the Athenian convoys,and threw all his energies into helping them incite the various states to attack the Macedoniansand drive them out of Greece." [p.212][13] The news of Philip's death reached Athens. Demosthenes appeared in public dressed inmagnificent attire and wearing a garland on his head, although his daughter had died only six daysbefore. Aeshines states: "For my part I cannot say that the Athenians did themselves any credit inputting on garlands and offering sacrifices to celebrate the death of a king who, when he was theconqueror and they the conquered had treated them with such tolerance and humanity. Far apart

    from provoking the anger of the gods, it was a contemptible action to make Philip a citizen of Athensand pay him honours while he was alive, and then, as soon as he has fallen by another's hand, to bebesides themselves with joy, tremple on his body, and sing paeans of victory, as though theythemselves have accomplished some great feat of arms." [p.207][14] "Next when Macedonia was at war with the citizens of Byzantium and Perinthus, Demosthenespersuaded the Athenians to lay aside their grievances and forget the wrongs they had suffered fromthese peoples in the Social War and to dispatch a force which succeeded in relieving both cities. Afterthis he set off on a diplomatic mission, which was designed to kindle the spirit ofresistance to

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    Philip and which took him all over Greece.Finally he succeeded in uniting almost all the states intoa confederation against Philip." [p.202][15] "The maladies and defects in the Greek scene of the fourth century were not hard to find. But itsgreat and overriding merit is summed up in the word 'freedom.' With allowance made for the infinitevariety promoted by so many independent governments, Greece wasstill broadly speaking afreecountry. This freedom was threatened and in the endextinguishedby the coming of the greatMacedonians." [p.8] [In Plutarch The Age of Alexander, noted by J.T.Griffith][16] "What better can we say about jealousies, and that league and conspiracy of the Greeks for theirown mischief, which arrested fortune in full career, and turned back arms that were already upliftedagainst the barbarians to be used against themselves, and recall into Greece the war which had beenbanished out of her? I by no means assent to Demaratus of Corinth, who said that thoseGreekslost a great satisfaction that did not live to see Alexander sit on the throneofDarius. That sight should rather have drawn tears from them, when they consideredthatthey have left the glory to Alexander and the Macedonians, whilst they spentall their owngreat commanders in playing them against each other in thefields of Leuctra, Coronea,Corinth, and Arcadia." [Plutarch "Lives" vol.2 The Dryden Translation. Edited and Revised by ArthurHugh Clough p.50]Livy Roman Historian"Such were the activities of the Romans and of Philip on land during that summer. At the beginning ofthe same summer, the fleet, commanded by the legate Lucius Apustius, left Corcyra, rounded CapeMalea, and joined King Attalus of Scyllaeum, in the region of Hermoine. Hitherto the resentment of theAthenian community against Philip had been kept in check by fear; but now, with the hope ofassistance ready at hand, they gave free rein to their anger. There is never any lack at Athenian

    tongues ready and willing to stir up the passion of the common people; this kind of oratory is nurturedby the applause of the mob in all free communities; but this is especially true of Athens, whereeloquence has the greatest influence. The popular assembly immediately carried a proposal that allstatues of Philip and all portraitsof him, with their inscriptions, and also those of hisancestors of eithersex, should be removed and destroyed; that all feast-days, rites,andpriesthoods instituted in honour of Philip or his ancestors should bedeprived ofsanctity; that even the sites of any memorials or inscriptionsin his honour should be heldaccursed, and that it should not be lawfulthereafter to decide to set up or dedicate onthose sites any of thosethings which might lawfully be set up or dedicated on an undefiledsite;that whenever the priests of the people offered prayeron behalf of the Athenianpeople and their allies, their armiesand navies, they should on every occasion HEAPCURSESand execrations on Philip, his family and his realm, his forceson land and sea, ANDTHE WHOLE RACE AND NAMEOF THE MACEDONIANS."There was appended to this decree a provision that if anyone afterwards should bring forward aproposal tending to bring on Philip disgrace or dishonour then the Athenian people would pass it in itsentirety; whereas if anyone should by word or deed seek to counter his disgrace, or to enhance hishonour, the killing of such a person would be lawful homicide. A final clause provided that all thedecrees formerly passed against the Pisistratidae should be observed in regard to Philip. This was theAthenians' war against Philip, a war of words, written or spoken, for that is where their only strengthlies." [Livy's book XXXI.44]The most pressing point, the one that screams for recognition, is the call for the Athenian people to(a) "heap curses and execrations on Philip, his family and his realm, his forces on land and sea, and

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    the whole race and name of the Macedonians, and (b) whereas if anyone should by word or deed seekto counter his disgrace, or to enhance his honour, the killing of such a person would be lawfulhomicide.In conclusion one must remember the following:(a) The ancient Greeks regarded the ancient Macedonians as foreigners.(b) They regarded the ancient Macedonians as people ofdifferent race.(c) They regarded the ancient Macedonians as barbarians, as people who enslaved the Greeks.(d) This episode describes the situation in Athens around 200 B.C.(e) It should constantly be born in mind the intensity of the hate expressed towards theconqueror from the north - the Macedonians. If anyone in as much as utter a one positive word forPhilip, then this person should be killed, and the killing of that person would be taken as lawfulhomicide. These feelings were mutual by the way.(f) The suggestion by some authors (marginal lot, anyway) that these two dissimilar people "blendedtogether" in some aspects of their culture becomes much harder to accept, and therefore, is rejectedbased such credible evidence.It is apparent that ancient Greeks did not consider the ancient Macedonians as Greeks. ModernGreeks' assertion that ancient Macedonians were Greeks is constantly undermined by the view of theancients.The fact remains that ancient Macedonians were just that - Macedonians.Polybius Greek Statesman and Historian. [c 200-118 B.C.]The Rise of the Roman Empire"The fact is that we can obtain no more than an impression of a whole from a part, but certainlyneither a thorough knowledge nor an accurate understanding. We must conclude then that specializedstudies or monographs contribute very little to our grasp of the whole and our conviction of its truth.On the contrary, it is only by combining and comparing the various parts of the whole with oneanother and noting their resemblances and their differences that we shall arrive at a comprehensiveview, and thus encompass both the practical benefits and the pleasure that the reading of historyaffords." [p 45][How true, indeed. By combining and comparing various statements from the ancient authors can wearrive to the truest picture of the ancients themselves. Let them speak of themselves, and let theirtrue sentiments flood the pages uncorrupted and free of any biased and preconceived prejudices. Onlythen, can we assess the magnitude of their purity of soul, and the passion for their nationalaspirations.][1] Polibius reports on the speech made by Agelaus of Naupactus at the first conference in thepresence of the King and the allies. He spoke as follows:

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    "I therefore beg you all to be on your guard against this danger, and I appeal especially to King Philip.[Macedonian king Philip V] For you the safest policy, instead of wearing down the Greeks andmaking them an easy prey for the invader, is to take care of them as you would of your ownbody, and to protect every province of Greece as you would if it were a part of your owndominions. If you follow this policy, the Greeks will be your friends and your faithful allies in case ofattack, and foreigners will be the less inclined to plot against your throne, because they will bediscouraged by the loyalty of the Greeks towards you." [p .300] book 5.104Points of Interest: Clear distinction between Greece (to protect every province of Greece) andMacedonia (as you would if it were a part of your own dominions). Furthermore, the Macedonianswere still wearing down the Greeks even into the times of Philip V.[2] [Book XVIII, 1] Philip V from Macedon invites Flamininus (Roman commander) to explain what he,Philip, should do to have peace:"The Roman general replied that his duty dictated an answer which was both simple and clear. Hedemanded that Philipshould withdraw from the whole of Greece, restore to each of the statesthe prisoners and deserters he was holding, hand over to the Romans the region of Illyria which hehad seized after the treaty that had been made in Epirus, and so on...."[Point of interest: "Philip should withdraw from the whole of Greece," Flamininus, the Romangeneral, clearly separates Macedonia from Greece, and demands from the Macedonin king to withdrawfrom Greece into his own Macedonia.][3] (Book XVIII. 3) A man named Alexander of Isus, who had the reputation of being both anexperienced statesman and an able orator, rose to speak:'Why,' he asked Philip V, 'had he sold into slavery the people of Cius, which was also a member ofthe Aetolian League, when he himself was on friendly terms with the Aetolians?'[Philip sells the people of Cius into slavery. Cuis' population was not a Macedonian population. Philip'saction underlines one fundamental fact: Greece was a conquered territory, and Greek cities weredispensable.][4] (Book XVIII. 5) Philip V from Macedon responds to the Greek and Roman demands:"But what is most outrageous of all is that they should attempt to put themselves on the same footingas the Romans and demand that the Macedonians should withdraw from the whole ofGreece. To use such language is arrogant enough in the first place, but while we may endure thisfrom the Romans, it is quite intolerable coming from the Aetolians. In any case,' he continued, 'whatis this Greece which you demand that I should evacuate, and how do you define Greece?Certainly most of the Aetolians themselves are not Greeks! The countries of the Agraae, the Apodotea,and the Aphilochians cannot be regarded as Greek. So do you allow me to remain in those territories."From the above encounters we infer: They, the Greeks, would like to see him, King Philip V fromMacedon, leave Greece and go to his own kingdom in Macedonia, and by the strongest implication, we

    concur that:(a) Ancient Greeks did not regard the ancient Macedonians as their kinsmen.(b) Ancient Macedonians did not regard the Greeks as their own people.(c) Ancient Macedonians had conquered the Greek states.(d) Ancient Macedonians had enslaved the Greeks and sold them as slaves.

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    (e) Macedonia was not a Greek land.[5] "For there can be no doubt that by their indefatigable energy and daring they raised Macedoniafrom the status of a petty kingdom to that of the greatest and most glorious monarchy in the world.And apart what was accomplished during Philip's lifetime, the successes that were achieved byAlexander after his father's death won for them a reputation for valour which has been universallyrecognized by posterity.".... [Polybius: The Rise of the Roman Empire, published by Penguin Classics,Book VIII.9 page 371.]As with his predecessors, other ancient authors, Polybius clearly separates the ancient Macedoniansfrom the ancient Greeks. As a matter of fact, the ethnic difference between these two people was nota matter for discussion - it was an accomplished fact.Thrasymachus

    On Behalf of the Lariasaeans"Shell we being Greeks, be slaves to Archelaus,a barbarian?"This line the Greek Thrasymachus attributed to the Macedonian king Archelaus who occupied Greekland with his Macedonian army. Since the ancient Greeks stereotyped and called all non-Greeksbarbarian, it is clear that Thrasymachus does not consider neither the Macedonian king nor his nationto be Greek, but foreigners to the ancient Greek world. The modern Greeks, however, would like toclaim the ancient Macedonians as Greek. Here is what Professor Borza (a Macedonian specialist andexpert on the ethnicity of the Macedonians) had written on that matter:The modern Greek writer Daskalakis (Hellenism, 234) contended that Thrasymachus was not referringto barbarians in a usual sense. The passage, he argued, should be taken "in its rhetorical slant of adifference between advanced and backwards Greeks in an intellectual sense." This is strained andunconvincing. [Eugene Borza. In the Shadow of Olympus. p.165]Borza can not be more right. The Greeks clearly called all non-Greeks barbarians. Based on theDaskalakis's logic, are we now supposed to think that the Persians (which the Greeks also calledbarbarians) are some kind of backward Greeks in an intellectual sense? The Thracians too? However,we do not see the modern Greek authors claim that. The lesson is clear: Daskalakis's argument cannot be true and it only proves to what extend the modern Greek writers would go to make theMacedonians Greek and even rewrite the feelings of the ancient Greeks during that process.HerodotusAncient Greek WriterThe modern Greek position relies on Herodotus' support for their quest to make the ancientMacedonians Greek. Herodotus, being one of the foremost biographer in antiquity who lived in Greeceat the time when the Macedonian king Alexander I was in power, is said to have visited theMacedonian Kingdom and supposedly, profited from this excursion, wrote several short passagesabout the Macedonians. What did he say, and to what extent can these passages be taken as evidencefor the alleged 'greekness' of the ancient Macedonians, will be briefly presented for your adjudication.

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    Herodotus describes the episode with the Persian envoys, who apparently visited Macedon whenAlexander I's father Amyntas was in power, and how Alexander I succeeded in 'taking care of thePersians' by murdering all of them and removing their luggage and carriages. When the Persiansattempted to trace the lost envoys, Alexander I cleverly succeeded in manipulating the Persians bygiving his own sister Gygaea as a wife to the Persian commander Bubares. Here Herodotus writes:"I happen to know, and I will demonstrate in a subsequent chapter of this history, that thesedescendants of Perdiccas are, as they themselves claim, of Greek nationality. This was, moreover,recognized by the managers of the Olympic games, on the occasion when Alexander wished tocompete and his Greek competitors tried to exclude him on the ground that foreigners were notallowed to take part. Alexander, however, proved his Argive descent, and so was accepted as a Greekand allowed to enter for the foot-race. He came in equal first." book 5. 22.First, notice that it is not Herodotus that says that the Macedonian kings were of Greeknationality, but the Macedonian kings as they themselves claim. Now, let us peruse the modernliterature and see if we can shed some light on this particular passage from Herodotus which is so'dear' to all Greek presenters, and one that occupies the central position of their otherwise feebledefense.[1] Eugene BorzaIn The Shadow of Olympus p. 112 writes:"Herodotus' story is fraught with too many difficulties to make sense of it. For example, either (1)Alexander lost the run-off for his dead heat, which is why his name doez not appear in the victor lists;or (2) he won the run-off, although Herodotus does not tell us this; or (3) it remained a dead heat,which is impossible in light Olympic practice; or (4) it was a special race, in which case it is unlikelythat his fellow competitors would have protested Alexander's presence; or (5) Alexander nevercompeted at Olympia. It is best to abandon this story, which belongs in the category of the tale ofAlexander at Plataea. In their commentaries on these passages Macan and How and Wells long agorecognized that the Olympic Games story was based on family legend (Hdt. 5.22: "as the descendantsof Perdiccas themselves say [autoi legousi]"), weak proofs of their Hellenic descent. Moreover, theOlympic Games tale is twice removed: Herodotus heard from the Argeadea (perhaps from Alexanderhimself) that the king had told something to the judges, but we do not know what those proofs were.""The theme of the Olympic and Plataea incidents are the same: "I am Alexander, a Greek" whichseems to be the main point. The more credible accounts of Alexander at Tempe and at Athens do notpursue this theme; they state Alexander's activities without embellishment or appeal toprohellenism. Moreover, the insistence that Alexander is a Greek, and descendant fromGreeks, rubs against the spirit of Herodotus 7.130, who speaks of the Thessalians as thefirst Greeks to come under Persian submission--a perfect opportunity for Herodotus to pointout that the Macedonians were a non Greek race ruled over by Greek kings, something henowhere mentions.""In sum, it would appear that Olympia and Plataea incidents---when taken together with the tale ofthe ill--fated Persian embassy to Amyntas' court in which Alexander proclaims the Greek descent ofthe royal house--are part of Alexander's own attempts to integrate himself into the Greek communityduring the postwar period. They should be discarded both because they are propaganda andbecause they invite suspicion on the general grounds outlined above."In support of his position Borza brings forward many interesting questions. He asks:"Why is it that no Spartan or Athenian or Argive felt constrained to prove to the others thathe and his family were Helenes? But Macedonian kings seem hard put to argue in behalf oftheir Hellenic ancestry in the fifth century B.C., and that circumstance is telling. Even if onewere to accept that all the Herodotian stories about Alexander were true, why did theGreeks, who normally were knowledgeable about matters of ethnic kinship, not alreadyknow that the Macedonian monarchy was Greek? But--following Herodotus--the stade- racecompetitors at Olympia thought the Macedonian was a foreigner (Hdt. 5.22:

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    barbaros) Second, for his effort on behalf of the Greek cause against the Persians Alexander isknown as "Philhellene". Now this is kind of odd to call a Greek a"friend of the Greeks". "Thistitle", writes Borza, "is normally reserved for non-Greeks".Borza concludes: "It is prudent to reject the stories of the ill--fated Persian embassy toAmyntas's court, Alexander's midnight ride at Plataea, and his participation in the OlympicGames as tales derived from Alexander himself (or from some official court version ofthings)."[2] Peter Green - ClassicalBearings p.157"All Herodotus in fact says is that Alexander himself demonstrated his Argive ancestry ( in itself ahighly dubiousgenealogical claim), and was thus adjudged a Greek---against angry opposition, beit noted, from the stewards of the Games Even if, with professor N.G.L. Hammond, we accept thisethnic certification at face value, it tells us, as he makes plain, nothing whatsoever about Macedoniansgenerally. Alexander's dynasty, if Greek, he writes, regarded itself as Macedonian only by right of rule,as a branch of the Hanoverian house has come to 'regard itself as English'. On top of which, Philip II'sson Alexander had an Epirote mother, which compounds the problem from yet another ethnic angle."[3] Ernst Badian - Studies in the History of Art Vol 10: Macedonia and Greece in Late Classical Early

    Hellenistic Times:"We have no way of judging the authenticity of either the claim or the evidence that went with it, butit is clear that at the time the decision was not easy. There were outraged protests from the othercompetitors, who rejected Alexander I as a barbarian--which proves, at least, that the Temeniddescent and the royal genealogy had hitherto been an isoteric item of knowledge. However,the Hellanodikai decided to accept it--whether moved by the evidence or by political considerations,we again cannot tell. In view of the time and circumstances in which the claim first appears and theobjections it encountered, modern scholars have often suspected that it was largely spun outof fortuitous resemblance of the name of the Argead clan to city of Argos; with this given, thedescent (of course) could not be less than royal, i.e., Temenid."Badian, like Borza, believes that Alexander I "invented the story (in its details a common type of

    myth) of how he had fought against his father's Persian connection by having the Persianambassadors murdered, and that it was only in order to hush this up and save the royal family's livesthat the marriage of his sister to a Persian had been arranged."Badian sums it up:"As a matter of fact, there is reason to think that at least some evenamong Alexander I's friends and supporters had regarded the Olympic decision as politicalrather than factual--as a reward for services to the Hellenic cause rather than as promptedby genuine belief in the evidence he had adduced. We find him described in thelexicographers, who go back to fourth-century sources, as "Philhellene",--surely not anappellation that could be given to an actual Greek."I would like to offer another episode, reported by Herodotus, which clearly indicates that ancientGreeks did not regard the ancient Macedonians as brethren. Episodes like this stand in sharp contrastto today's claims propagated by modern Greeks. The Persian armies were ready and poised to strikeGreece. Greek allies were assembled and prepared to defend their nation. Mardonius, the Persiancommander, sends Alexander I to Athens with a message. On his arrival to Athens as Mardonius'ambassador Alexander spoke to the Athenians urging them to accept the terms offered by Mardonius.In Sparta, the news that Alexander brought message from the Great King, caused great consternation.Sparta feared that an alliance between Athens and Persia was in the making. She, then, quicklyrushed an envoy to Athens herself. As it happened, Alexander I and the Spartan envoy had theiraudience at the same time.When Alexander I was done the Spartan envoy s spoke in their turn: "Donot let Alexander's smooth-sounding version of Mardonius' proposals seduce you; he does only whatone might expect of him--a despot himself, of course he collaborates with a despot. But such conductis not for you - at least, not if you are wise; for surely you know thatin foreigners there is neither

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    truth nor trust."(Hdt. 8.142) [Please note the reference to Alexander I as a foreigner who isneither truthful nor trustworthy.]Then, the Athenians gave answer to Alexander I. Among the other things, they toldAlexander that they, the Athenians, will never make peace with Mardonius, and will opposehim 'unremittingly'. As to Alexander I' advice and urgings that they accept the termsoffered by Mardonius they said:"Never come to us again with a proposal like this, and never think you are doing us good service whenyou urge us to a course which is outrageous - for it would be a pity if you were to suffer some hurt atthe hands of the Athenians, when you are our friend and benefector."(Hdt. 8.143)To the Spartan envoys they said the following: "No doubt it was natural that the Lacedaemoniansshould dread the of our making terms with Persia; none the less it shows a poor estimate of the spiritof Athens. There is not so much gold nor land so fair that we would take for pay to join the commonenemy and bring Greece into subjection. There are many compelling reasons against our doing so,even if we wished: the first and greatest is the burning of the temples and images of our gods - nowashes and rubble. It is our bounded duty to avenge this desecration with all our might - not to claspthe hand that wrought it. Again there is the Greek nation - the community of blood andlanguage, temples and rituals, and our common customs; if Athens were to betray all this, it

    would not be well done. We, would have you know, if you did not know it already, that so long as asingle Athenians remains alive we will make no peace with Xerxes." (Hdt. 8.144)ConclusionAmong the Greeks there exist a common bond, a community of blood and language, temples andrituals and common customs. This expressed kinship between the Greek allies is evident and it standsin stark contrast against the references used towards the Macedonians who were addressed asforeigners. We have seen that Herodotus (7.130) speaks of the Thessalians as the first Greeks tocome under Persian submission (although the Persians entered Macedonia first), and here using hisown words, he clearly exclude the Macedonians from the Greeks. We are therefore, left with theconclusion that Herodotus did not consider the Macedonians as Greeks. "Both Herodotus andThucydides describe the Macedonians as foreigners, a distinct people living outside of the frontiers of

    the Greek city-states" Eugene Borza, In the Shadow of Olympus p. 96.

    DemosthenesGreek Orator"... not only no Greek, nor related to the Greeks, but not even a barbarian from any place thatcan be named with honors, but a pestilent knave from Macedonia, whence it was never yetpossible to buy a decent slave"- Demosthenes, Third Philippic, 31. The famous words that thisGreek orator from Athens used to describe the Macedonian king Philip II, the father of Alexander theGreat, prior to Philips conquest of Greece.We know for a fact that the ancient Greeks stereotyped and called all non-Greeks barbarians. These

    included the Persians, the Thracians, Illyrians, Macedonians, etc. The modern Greeks however, claimthat Philip was Greek, and that Demosthenes called him "not only no Greek, nor related to theGreeks" and "barbarian", onlyin "rhetorical context", which was aroused by the political anger thatexisted between Macedonia and the Greeks states on the south,although it is very clear fromDemostheness words that he regards the Macedonians and their king Philip II as non-Greeks. Thismodern Greek position is easily debunked, however, when we consider the following two points:

    a. If the Macedonians were Greeks but still called barbarians and nor related to theGreeks, why is then no other Greek tribe called barbarians and nor related to theGreeks in "rhetorical context"? There were many examples when that could have happened,

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    its enough to point to the long Peloponesian War, or any of the many constant wars betweenthe Greek states. Yet no Spartan, Athenian, Theban, Epirote, was ever called non-Greek orbarbarian during any ofthese political and war conflicts! Not ONCE!

    b. We know for a fact that the ancient Greeks also called the Persians barbarians. Are wesuppose to say now, based on the modern Greek "logic", that the Persians were too a Greektribe, but they were called non-Greeks only in "rhetorical context"?

    The lesson is clear. The ancient Greeks called all non-Greeks barbarians, and the modern Greekargument can simply not be true, and is quite frankly ridiculous. It does however, prove to whatextend the modern Greek writers would go to make the Macedonians forcefully Greek, steel theMacedonian history, and even rewrite the feelings of the ancient Greeksduring that process.Now lets see some credible evidence:[1] Alexander returns from the campaigns at the Danube, north of Macedon. When the news reachedhim that the Thebans had revolted and were being supported by the Athenians, he immediatelymarched south through the pass of Thermopylae. 'Demosthenes', he said, 'call me a boy while I was inIllyria and among the Triballi, and a youth when I was marching through Thessaly; I will show him Iam a man by the time I reach the walls of Athens.' [p.264] Plutarch The Age ofAlexander[2] [Modern day Greeks would like to dispatch off Demosthenes castigations of Philip II as politicalrhetoric, and yet Demosthenes was twice appointed to lead the war effort of Athens againstMacedonia. He, Demosthenes, said of Philip that Philip was not Greek, nor related to Greeks butcomes from Macedonia where a person could not even buy a decent slave. 'Soon after his death thepeople of Athenspaid him fitting honours by errecting his statue in bronze,and bydecreeing that the eldest member of his family should bemaintained in the prytaneum atthe public expense.On the base of his statue was carved his famous inscription:'If onlyyour strength had been equal, Demosthenes,to your wisdomNever would Greece havebeen ruled by a Macedonian Ares'[p.216] Plutarch[3] "While Demosthenes was still in exile, Alexander died in Babylon, and the Greek states combinedyet again to form a league against Macedon. Demosthenes attached himself to the Athenian convoys,

    and threw all his energies into helping them incite the various states to attack the Macedoniansand drive them out of Greece." [p.212] Plutarch[4] The news of Philip's death reached Athens. Demosthenes appeared in public dressed inmagnificent attire and wearing a garland on his head, although his daughter had died only six daysbefore. Aeshines states:"For my part I cannot say that the Athenians did themselves any credit in puting on garlands andoffering sucrifices to celebrate the death of a king who, when he was the conqueror and they theconquered had treated them with such tolerance and humanity. Far apart from provoking the angerof the gods, it was a contemptible action to make Philip a citizen of Athens and pay him honours whilehe was alive, and then, as soon as he has fallen by another's hand, to be besides themselves with joy,tremple on his body, and sing paeans of victory, as though they themselves have accomplished somegreat feat of arms." [p.207] Plutarch[5] "Next when Macedonia was at war with the citizens of Byzantium and Perinthus, Demosthenespersuaded the Athenians to lay aside their grievances and forget the wrongs they had suffered fromthese peolples in the Social War and to dispatch a force which succeeded in relieving both cities. Afterthis he set off on a diplomatic mission, which was designed to kindle the spirit ofresistance toPhilip and which took him all over Greece.Finally he succeeded in uniting almost all the states intoa confederation against Philip." [p.202] Plutarch

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    [6] On Demosthenes' tirades about Macedonians: "... we are concerned only with sentiment, which isitself historical fact and must be taken seriously as such. In these tirades we find not only theHellenic descent of Macedonian people (which few seriously accepted) totally denied, buteven that of the king." Ernst BadianAll quotes below taken from WERNERJAEGERs DemosthenesHere, in these excerpts from Jeager's book, you will find Demosthenes' hatred for Macedon not onlyreadily displayed and exercised, but its Hellenic descent categorically excluded and implicitly denied.The fact that some modern authors ascribe Hellenic affinity to the ancient Macedonians should cometo no great surprise because of the impact left by Johan Gustav Droysen on early nineteenth-centuryhistorian where Macedon is depicted as a natural "unifier" of the Greek city-states, the same roleplayed by Prussia and Savoy in German and Italian unification in the nineteenth century. "On this falseanalogy the whole of Greek history was now boldly reconstructed as a necessary process ofdevelopment leading quite naturally to a single goal: unification of the Greek nation under Macedonianleadership".Demosthenes and most of his contemporaries did not see it that way; to them the leadership ofMacedon was seen as the 'death of Greek political liberty' Some people dismiss Demosthenes'outbursts as a political rhetoric, others hold his political abuse of Philip from Macedon as historical

    facts, undeniably blunt and truthful. His sentiments are, in this case, fundamental historicaldocuments, which testify to the simmering hate and contempt for the Macedonian conqueror. Thehands of the sculptor are being replaced by his sharply cutting tongue. At the end the features emergeto the surface unpretentiously clear and aggressive. Demosthenes unlike Isocrates does not mask hisnational ideals with "Panhellenistic union" against the Persians, but boldly and aggressively calls hisHellenic nation to an uprising against the barbarian from the north -the Kingdom of Macedon and itsking Philip.Demosthenes' cries and pleas are not intended for his beloved Athens only, but to every liberty lovingHellene, and even the Persians, Greeces centuries-old enemy. He calls on the Persians to join theHellenes in the war against Macedon, and at the same time he warns them that if they leave theGreeks in the lurch, they would be next Philip's victim. As destiny would have it, Demosthenes wasright. Here is the proof:[7] "On the Symmories, namely, that Demosthenes originally stood close to a group of politicians whowere vigorously combating the radical democratic influence; indeed, it is only to this