Saturday, 19 December 2009

Proof in Jewish books that ancient Macedonians were Greek

I found through another blog this very good video showing Jewish (religion) books (mainly old Testament) refering to Alexander, Macedonians, and Macedonian, simply as Greek, Greeks and Kingdom of Greece.

Very interesting, watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FNz-lcMjXw

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

International students stories...

A (Greek) friend of mine was the assistant in a lab this quarter. The students had to hand in the reports at the end of the quarter by e-mail.

In the text that accompanies the report in the e-mail, you can see the difference between a Greek student and a Dutch student.

Dutch student:
"Dear assistant,

in this e-mail we attached the report of the lab ....

Thank you.

Best Regards,
...."


Greek student:
"Τσίμπα πούστη."
translation: pinch that (=take that) faggot.

Thursday, 15 October 2009

Οι γυναίκες του Γιώργου

Μ' αρέσει η νέα κυβέρνηση. Και φαίνεται να αρέσει και στο 75% των επισκεπτών του in.gr

Μ' αρέσει που έχει τόσες γυναίκες η νέα κυβέρνηση.

Μ' αρέσει η alternative υπουργός Περιβάλλοντος.

Μ' αρέσει που έχουμε υπουργό Περιβάλλοντος.

Μ' αρέσει που η νέα υπουργός Γεωργίας με το καλημέρα σας (τελετή παράδοσης) ανακοίνωσε στους υπαλλήλους του υπουργείου ότι όποιος δε δουλεύει θα παίρνει πόδι.

Μ' αρέσει που προτάθηκε θέση στην κυβέρνηση σε μέλος των Οικολόγων Πράσινων (κι ας μην την άφησε το κόμμα της να συμμετέχει).

Μ' αρέσει που το πρώτο υπουργικό συμβούλιο έγινε για πρώτη φορά στην ιστορία με ανοιχτές πόρτες.

Μ' αρέσει που καλέσανε τον συνήγορο του πολίτη να τους πει τι στη δομή των υπουργείων προκαλεί προβλήματα στον πολίτη και καθόντουσαν εκεί επί μισή ώρα και τον άκουγαν να τους τα ψέλνει.

Μ' αρέσει που τα νέα στελέχη των υπουργείων θα βγουν με προκήρυξη και δε θα βάλει ο κάθε υπουργός τα τσιράκια του (και το ίδιο άκουσα ότι θα γίνει και με τους διευθυντές των ΔΕΚΟ).

Μ' αρέσει που κόπηκαν τα έξοδα μετακινήσεων των υπουργών και οι τζιπάρες και οι λιμουζίνες έγιναν toyota.

Μ' αρέσει που οι περισσότεροι υπουργοί επέλεξαν υβριδικά αυτοκίνητα για να πάνε στη δουλειά τους.

Μ' αρέσει που επιτέλους αλλάζει κάτι σε αυτόν τον τόπο!

Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Εκλογές 2009

Ό,τι έλεγα το 2007 ισχύει και σήμερα, αυτούσιο:

http://melenegiorgo.blogspot.com/2007/09/2007.html

Το ερώτημα είναι:

Θα κάνουμε το ίδιο λάθος; Θα επαναλάβουμε το σφάλμα;


Επιτέλους ας δώσουμε μια ευκαιρία στο ΠΑΣΟΚ του Γιώργου Παπανδρέου!

Friday, 26 June 2009

Και μη χειρότερα!!!

Η πρόσβαση των ελληνικών πανεπιστημίων στις ηλεκτρονικές βιβλιοθήκες και περιοδικά διακόπηκε λόγω... οικονομικών.

Φαντάζομαι το επόμενο βήμα της φανταστικής κυβέρνησης της ΝΔ θα είναι να καταργήσει και τους ηλεκτρονικούς υπολογιστές. Τι να μπαίνουμε σε τόσα έξοδα, μωρέ; Αφού μπορούμε να κάνουμε τη δουλειά και με μολύβι και χαρτί.

Κοτζάμ επιστήμονες είμαστε άλλωστε!

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

New MASSIVE reaction from the American and the European academia

The American and European academia reacted massively this time by sending a letter to the president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, for the Macedonian issue, supporting Greece.

Look how many professors sign the letter, it's really impressive. More information or to sign in http://macedonia-evidence.org/


The Honorable Barack Obama
President, United States of America
White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

We, the undersigned scholars of Graeco-Roman antiquity, respectfully request that you intervene to clean up some of the historical debris left in southeast Europe by the previous U.S. administration. On November 4, 2004, two days after the re-election of President George W. Bush, his administration unilaterally recognized the "Republic of Macedonia." This action not only abrogated geographic and historic fact, but it also has unleashed a dangerous epidemic of historical revisionism, of which the most obvious symptom is the misappropriation by the government in Skopje of the most famous of Macedonians, Alexander the Great.

We believe that this silliness has gone too far, and that the U.S.A. has no business in supporting the subversion of history. Let us review facts. (The documentation for these facts can be found attached and at: http://macedonia-evidence.org/documentation.html) land in question, with its modern capital at Skopje, was called Paionia in antiquity. Mts. Barnous and Orbelos (which form today the northern limits of Greece) provide a natural barrier that separated, and separates, Macedonia from its northern neighbor. The only real connection is along the Axios/Vardar River and even this valley "does not form a line of communication because it is divided by gorges."

While it is true that the Paionians were subdued by Philip II, father of Alexander, in 358 B.C. they were not Macedonians and did not live in Macedonia. Likewise, for example, the Egyptians, who were subdued by Alexander, may have been ruled by Macedonians, including the famous Cleopatra, but they were never Macedonians themselves, and Egypt was never called Macedonia. Rather, Macedonia and Macedonian Greeks have been located for at least 2,500 years just where the modern Greek province of Macedonia is. Exactly this same relationship is true for Attica and Athenian Greeks, Argos and Argive Greeks, Corinth and Corinthian Greeks, etc.

We do not understand how the modern inhabitants of ancient Paionia, who speak Slavic - a language introduced into the Balkans about a millennium after the death of Alexander - can claim him as their national hero. Alexander the Great was thoroughly and indisputably Greek. His great-great-great grandfather, Alexander I, competed in the Olympic Games where participation was limited to Greeks. Even before Alexander I, the Macedonians traced their ancestry to Argos, and many of their kings used the head of Herakles - the quintessential Greek hero - on their coins. Euripides - who died and was buried in Macedonia- wrote his play Archelaos in honor of the great-uncle of Alexander, and in Greek. While in Macedonia, Euripides also wrote the Bacchai, again in Greek. Presumably the Macedonian audience could understand what he wrote and what they heard.

Alexander's father, Philip, won several equestrian victories at Olympia and Delphi, the two most Hellenic of all the sanctuaries in ancient Greece where non-Greeks were not allowed to compete. Even more significantly, Philip was appointed to conduct the Pythian Games at Delphi in 346 B.C. In other words, Alexander the Great's father and his ancestors were thoroughly Greek. Greek was the language used by Demosthenes and his delegation from Athens when they paid visits to Philip, also in 346 B.C. Another northern Greek, Aristotle, went off to study for nearly 20 years in the Academy of Plato. Aristotle subsequently returned to Macedonia and became the tutor of Alexander III. They used Greek in their classroom which can still be seen near Naoussa in Macedonia. Alexander carried with him throughout his conquests Aristotle's edition of Homer's Iliad.

Alexander also spread Greek language and culture throughout his empire, founding cities and establishing centers of learning. Hence inscriptions concerning such typical Greek institutions as the gymnasium are found as far away as Afghanistan. They are all written in Greek. The questions follow: Why was Greek the lingua franca all over Alexander's empire if he was a "Macedonian"? Why was the New Testament, for example, written in Greek?

The answers are clear: Alexander the Great was Greek, not Slavic, and Slavs and their language were nowhere near Alexander or his homeland until 1000 years later. This brings us back to the geographic area known in antiquity as Paionia. Why would the people who live there now call themselves Macedonians and their land Macedonia? Why would they abduct a completely Greek figure and make him their national hero? The ancient Paionians may or may not have been Greek, but they certainly became Greekish, and they were never Slavs.

They were also not Macedonians. Ancient Paionia was a part of the Macedonian Empire. So were Ionia and Syria and Palestine and Egypt and Mesopotamia and Babylonia and Bactria and many more. They may thus have become "Macedonian" temporarily, but none was ever "Macedonia". The theft of Philip and Alexander by a land that was never Macedonia cannot be justified. The traditions of ancient Paionia could be adopted by the current residents of that geographical area with considerable justification.

But the extension of the geographic term "Macedonia" to cover southern Yugoslavia cannot. Even in the late 19th century, this misuse implied unhealthy territorial aspirations. The same motivation is to be seen in school maps that show the pseudo-greater Macedonia, stretching from Skopje to Mt. Olympus and labeled in Slavic. The same map and its claims are in calendars, bumper stickers, bank notes, etc., that have been circulating in the new state ever since it declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

Why would a poor land-locked new state attempt such historical nonsense? Why would it brazenly mock and provoke its neighbor? However one might like to characterize such behavior, it is clearly not a force for historical accuracy, nor for stability in the Balkans. It is sad that the United States of America has abetted and encouraged such behavior.

We call upon you, Mr. President, to help - in whatever ways you deem appropriate - the government in Skopje to understand that it cannot build a national identity at the expense of historic truth. Our common international society cannot survive when history is ignored, much less when history is fabricated.

Sincerely,
NAME TITLE INSTITUTION
Harry C. Avery, Professor of Classics, University of Pittsburgh (USA) Dr. Dirk Backendorf. Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz (Germany) Elizabeth C. Banks, Associate Professor of Classics (ret.), University of Kansas (USA) Luigi Beschi, professore emerito di Archeologia Classica, Universitΰ di Firenze (Italy) Josine H. Blok, professor of Ancient History and Classical Civilization, Utrecht University (The Netherlands) Alan Boegehold, Emeritus Professor of Classics, Brown University (USA) Efrosyni Boutsikas, Lecturer of Classical Archaeology, University of Kent (UK) Keith Bradley, Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Professor of Classics, Concurrent Professor of History, University of Notre Dame (USA) Stanley M. Burstein, Professor Emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles (USA) Francis Cairns, Professor of Classical Languages, The Florida State University (USA) John McK. Camp II, Agora Excavations and Professor of Archaeology, ASCSA, Athens (Greece) Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, University of Cambridge (UK) Paavo Castrιn, Professor of Classical Philology Emeritus, University of Helsinki (Finland) William Cavanagh, Professor of Aegean Prehistory, University of Nottingham (UK) Angelos Chaniotis, Professor, Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford (UK) Paul Christesen, Professor of Ancient Greek History, Dartmouth College (USA) Ada Cohen, Associate Professor of Art History, Dartmouth College (USA) Randall M. Colaizzi, Lecturer in Classical Studies, University of Massachusetts-Boston (USA) Kathleen M. Coleman, Professor of Latin, Harvard University (USA) Michael B. Cosmopoulos, Ph.D., Professor and Endowed Chair in Greek Archaeology, University of Missouri-St. Louis (USA) Kevin F. Daly, Assistant Professor of Classics, Bucknell University (USA) Wolfgang Decker, Professor emeritus of sport history, Deutsche Sporthochschule, Kφln (Germany) Luc Deitz, Ausserplanmδssiger Professor of Mediaeval and Renaissance Latin, University of Trier (Germany), and Curator of manuscripts and rare books, National Library of Luxembourg (Luxembourg) Michael Dewar, Professor of Classics, University of Toronto (Canada) John D. Dillery, Associate Professor of Classics, University of Virginia (USA) Sheila Dillon, Associate Professor, Depts. of Art, Art History & Visual Studies and Classical Studies, Duke University (USA) Douglas Domingo-Forastι, Professor of Classics, California State University, Long Beach (USA) Pierre Ducrey, professeur honoraire, Universitι de Lausanne (Switzerland) Roger Dunkle, Professor of Classics Emeritus, Brooklyn College, City University of New York (USA) Michael M. Eisman, Associate Professor Ancient History and Classical Archaeology, Department of History, Temple University (USA) Mostafa El-Abbadi, Professor Emeritus, University of Alexandria (Egypt) R. Malcolm Errington, Professor fόr Alte Geschichte (Emeritus) Philipps-Universitδt, Marburg (Germany) Panagiotis Faklaris, Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece)Denis Feeney, Giger Professor of Latin, Princeton University (USA) Elizabeth A. Fisher, Professor of Classics and Art History, Randolph-Macon College (USA) Nick Fisher, Professor of Ancient History, Cardiff University (UK) R. Leon Fitts, Asbury J Clarke Professor of Classical Studies, Emeritus, FSA, Scot., Dickinson Colllege (USA) John M. Fossey FRSC, FSA, Emeritus Professor of Art History (and Archaeology), McGill Univertsity, Montreal, and Curator of Archaeology, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Canada) Robin Lane Fox, University Reader in Ancient History, New College, Oxford (UK) Rainer Friedrich, Professor of Classics Emeritus, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. (Canada) Heide Froning, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Marburg (Germany) Peter Funke, Professor of Ancient History, University of Muenster (Germany) Traianos Gagos, Professor of Greek and Papyrology, University of Michigan (USA) Robert Garland, Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Professor of the Classics, Colgate University, Hamilton NY (USA) Douglas E. Gerber, Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies, University of Western Ontario (Canada) Hans R. Goette, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Giessen (Germany); German Archaeological Institute, Berlin (Germany) Sander M. Goldberg, Professor of Classics, UCLA (USA) Erich S. Gruen, Gladys Rehard Wood Professor of History and Classics, Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley (USA) Christian Habicht, Professor of Ancient History, Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton (USA) Donald C. Haggis, Nicholas A. Cassas Term Professor of Greek Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) Judith P. Hallett, Professor of Classics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (USA) Prof. Paul B. Harvey, Jr. Head, Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, The Pennsylvania State University (USA) Eleni Hasaki, Associate Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Arizona (USA) Miltiades B. Hatzopoulos, Director, Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity, National Research Foundation, Athens (Greece) Wolf-Dieter Heilmeyer, Prof. Dr., Freie Universitδt Berlin und Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin (Germany) Steven W. Hirsch, Associate Professor of Classics and History, Tufts University (USA) Karl-J. Hφlkeskamp, Professor of Ancient History, University of Cologne (Germany) Frank L. Holt, Professor of Ancient History, University of Houston (USA) Dan Hooley, Professor of Classics, University of Missouri (USA) Meredith C. Hoppin, Gagliardi Professor of Classical Languages, Williams College, Williamstown, MA (USA) Caroline M. Houser, Professor of Art History Emerita, Smith College (USA) and Affiliated Professor, University of Washington (USA) Georgia Kafka, Visiting Professor of Modern Greek Language, Literature and History, University of New Brunswick (Canada) Anthony Kaldellis, Professor of Greek and Latin, The Ohio State University (USA) Andromache Karanika, Assistant Professor of Classics, University of California, Irvine (USA) Robert A. Kaster, Professor of Classics and Kennedy Foundation Professor of Latin, Princeton University (USA) Vassiliki Kekela, Adjunct Professor of Greek Studies, Classics Department, Hunter College, City University of New York (USA) Dietmar Kienast, Professor Emeritus of Ancient History, University of Duesseldorf (Germany) Karl Kilinski II, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Southern Methodist University (USA) Dr. Florian Knauss, associate director, Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek Muenchen (Germany) Denis Knoepfler, Professor of Greek Epigraphy and History, Collθge de France (Paris) Ortwin Knorr, Associate Professor of Classics, Willamette University (USA) Robert B. Koehl, Professor of Archaeology, Department of Classical and Oriental Studies Hunter College, City University of New York (USA) Georgia Kokkorou-Alevras, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Athens (Greece) Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Classical Studies, Brandeis University (USA) Eric J. Kondratieff, Assistant Professor of Classics and Ancient History, Department of Greek & Roman Classics, Temple UniversityHaritini Kotsidu, Apl. Prof. Dr. fόr Klassische Archδologie, Goethe-Universitδt, Frankfurt/M. (Germany) Lambrini Koutoussaki, Dr., Lecturer of Classical Archaeology, University of Zόrich (Switzerland) David Kovacs, Hugh H. Obear Professor of Classics, University of Virginia (USA) Peter Krentz, W. R. Grey Professor of Classics and History, Davidson College (USA) Friedrich Krinzinger, Professor of Classical Archaeology Emeritus, University of Vienna (Austria) Michael Kumpf, Professor of Classics, Valparaiso University (USA) Donald G. Kyle, Professor of History, University of Texas at Arlington (USA) Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Helmut Kyrieleis, former president of the German Archaeological Institute, Berlin (Germany) Gerald V. Lalonde, Benedict Professor of Classics, Grinnell College (USA) Steven Lattimore, Professor Emeritus of Classics, University of California, Los Angeles (USA) Francis M. Lazarus, President, University of Dallas (USA) Mary R. Lefkowitz, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, Emerita, Wellesley College (USA) Iphigeneia Leventi, Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Thessaly (Greece) Daniel B. Levine, Professor of Classical Studies, University of Arkansas (USA) Christina Leypold, Dr. phil., Archaeological Institute, University of Zurich (Switzerland) Vayos Liapis, Associate Professor of Greek, Centre d'Ιtudes Classiques & Dιpartement de Philosophie, Universitι de Montrιal (Canada) Hugh Lloyd-Jones, Professor of Greek Emeritus, University of Oxford (UK) Yannis Lolos, Assistant Professor, History, Archaeology, and Anthropology, University of Thessaly (Greece) Stanley Lombardo, Professor of Classics, University of Kansas, USA Anthony Long, Professor of Classics and Irving G. Stone Professor of Literature, University of California, Berkeley (USA) Julia Lougovaya, Assistant Professor, Department of Classics, Columbia University (USA) A.D. Macro, Hobart Professor of Classical Languages emeritus, Trinity College (USA) John Magee, Professor, Department of Classics, Director, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto (Canada) Dr. Christofilis Maggidis, Associate Professor of Archaeology, Dickinson College (USA) Jeannette Marchand, Assistant Professor of Classics, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio (USA) Richard P. Martin, Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek Professor in Classics, Stanford UniversityMaria Mavroudi, Professor of Byzantine History, University of California, Berkeley (USA) Alexander Mazarakis Ainian, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Thessaly (Greece) James R. McCredie, Sherman Fairchild Professor emeritus; Director, Excavations in Samothrace Institute of Fine Arts, New York University (USA) James C. McKeown, Professor of Classics, University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) Robert A. Mechikoff, Professor and Life Member of the International Society of Olympic Historians, San Diego State University (USA) Andreas Mehl, Professor of Ancient History, Universitaet Halle-Wittenberg (Germany) Harald Mielsch, Professor of Classical Archeology, University of Bonn (Germany) Stephen G. Miller, Professor of Classical Archaeology Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley (USA) Phillip Mitsis, A.S. Onassis Professor of Classics and Philosophy, New York University (USA) Peter Franz Mittag, Professor fόr Alte Geschichte, Universitδt zu Kφln (Germany) David Gordon Mitten, James Loeb Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology, Harvard University (USA) Margaret S. Mook, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Iowa State University (USA) Anatole Mori, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, University of Missouri- Columbia (USA) Jennifer Sheridan Moss, Associate Professor, Wayne State University (USA) Ioannis Mylonopoulos, Assistant Professor of Greek Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, New York (USA). Richard Neudecker, PD of Classical Archaeology, Deutsches Archδologisches Institut Rom (Italy) James M.L. Newhard, Associate Professor of Classics, College of Charleston (USA) Carole E. Newlands, Professor of Classics, University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA) John Maxwell O'Brien, Professor of History, Queens College, City University of New York (USA) James J. O'Hara, Paddison Professor of Latin, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (USA) Martin Ostwald, Professor of Classics (ret.), Swarthmore College and Professor of Classical Studies (ret.), University of Pennsylvania (USA) Olga Palagia, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Athens (Greece) Vassiliki Panoussi, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, The College of William and Mary (USA) Maria C. Pantelia, Professor of Classics, University of California, Irvine (USA) Pantos A.Pantos, Adjunct Faculty, Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology, University of Thessaly (Greece) Anthony J. Papalas, Professor of Ancient History, East Carolina University (USA) Nassos Papalexandrou, Associate Professor, The University of Texas at Austin (USA) Polyvia Parara, Visiting Assistant Professor of Greek Language and Civilization, Department of Classics, Georgetown University (USA) Richard W. Parker, Associate Professor of Classics, Brock University (Canada) Robert Parker, Wykeham Professor of Ancient History, New College, Oxford (UK) Anastasia-Erasmia Peponi, Associate Professor of Classics, Stanford University (USA) Jacques Perreault, Professor of Greek archaeology, Universitι de Montrιal, Quιbec (Canada) Yanis Pikoulas, Associate Professor of Ancient Greek History, University of Thessaly (Greece) John Pollini, Professor of Classical Art & Archaeology, University of Southern California (USA) David Potter, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Greek and Latin. The University of Michigan (USA) Robert L. Pounder, Professor Emeritus of Classics, Vassar College (USA) Nikolaos Poulopoulos, Assistant Professor in History and Chair in Modern Greek Studies, McGill University (Canada) William H. Race, George L. Paddison Professor of Classics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) John T. Ramsey, Professor of Classics, University of Illinois at Chicago (USA) Karl Reber, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Lausanne (Switzerland) Rush Rehm, Professor of Classics and Drama, Stanford University (USA) Werner Riess, Associate Professor of Classics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) Robert H. Rivkin, Ancient Studies Department, University of Maryland Baltimore County (USA) Barbara Saylor Rodgers, Professor of Classics, The University of Vermont (USA) Robert H. Rodgers. Lyman-Roberts Professor of Classical Languages and Literature, University of Vermont (USA) Nathan Rosenstein, Professor of Ancient History, The Ohio State University (USA) John C. Rouman, Professor Emeritus of Classics, University of New Hampshire, (USA) Dr. James Roy, Reader in Greek History (retired), University of Nottingham (UK) Steven H. Rutledge, Associate Professor of Classics, Department of Classics, University of Maryland, College Park (USA) Christina A. Salowey, Associate Professor of Classics, Hollins University (USA) Guy D. R. Sanders, Resident Director of Corinth Excavations, The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (Greece) Theodore Scaltsas, Professor of Ancient Greek Philosophy, University of Edinburgh (UK) Thomas F. Scanlon, Professor of Classics, University of California, Riverside (USA) Bernhard Schmaltz, Prof. Dr. Archδologisches Institut der CAU, Kiel (Germany) Rolf M. Schneider, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Ludwig-Maximilians- Universitδt Mόnchen (Germany) Peter Scholz, Professor of Ancient History and Culture, University of Stuttgart (Germany) Christof Schuler, director, Commission for Ancient History and Epigraphy of the German Archaeological Institute, Munich (Germany) Paul D. Scotton, Assoociate Professor Classical Archaeology and Classics, California State University Long Beach (USA) Danuta Shanzer, Professor of Classics and Medieval Studies, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America (USA) James P. Sickinger, Associate Professor of Classics, Florida State University (USA) Marilyn B. Skinner (Professor of Classics, (University of Arizona (USA) Niall W. Slater, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Latin and Greek, Emory University (USA) Peter M. Smith, Associate Professor of Classics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) Dr. Philip J. Smith, Research Associate in Classical Studies, McGill University (Canada) Susan Kirkpatrick Smith Assistant Professor of Anthropology Kennesaw State University (USA) Antony Snodgrass, Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge (UK) Theodosia Stefanidou-Tiveriou, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). Andrew Stewart, Nicholas C. Petris Professor of Greek Studies, University of California, Berkeley (USA) Oliver Stoll, Univ.-Prof. Dr., Alte Geschichte/ Ancient History,Universitδt Passau (Germany) Richard Stoneman, Honorary Fellow, University of Exeter (England) Ronald Stroud, Klio Distinguished Professor of Classical Languages and Literature Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley (USA) Sarah Culpepper Stroup, Associate Professor of Classics, University of Washington (USA) Nancy Sultan, Professor and Director, Greek & Roman Studies, Illinois Wesleyan University (USA) David W. Tandy, Professor of Classics, University of Tennessee (USA) James Tatum, Aaron Lawrence Professor of Classics, Dartmouth College Martha C. Taylor, Associate Professor of Classics, Loyola College in Maryland Petros Themelis, Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology, Athens (Greece) Eberhard Thomas, Priv.-Doz. Dr.,Archδologisches Institut der Universitδt zu Kφln (Germany) Michalis Tiverios, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) Michael K. Toumazou, Professor of Classics, Davidson College (USA) Stephen V. Tracy, Professor of Greek and Latin Emeritus, Ohio State University (USA) Prof. Dr. Erich Trapp, Austrian Academy of Sciences/Vienna resp. University of Bonn (Germany) Stephen M. Trzaskoma, Associate Professor of Classics, University of New Hampshire (USA) Vasiliki Tsamakda, Professor of Christian Archaeology and Byzantine History of Art, University of Mainz (Germany) Christopher Tuplin, Professor of Ancient History, University of Liverpool (UK) Gretchen Umholtz, Lecturer, Classics and Art History, University of Massachusetts, Boston (USA)Panos Valavanis, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Athens (Greece) Athanassios Vergados, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PAChristina Vester, Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Waterloo (Canada) Emmanuel Voutiras, Professor of Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) Speros Vryonis, Jr., Alexander S. Onassis Professor (Emeritus) of Hellenic Civilization and Culture, New York University (USA) Michael B. Walbank, Professor Emeritus of Greek, Latin & Ancient History, The University of Calgary (Canada) Bonna D. Wescoat, Associate Professor, Art History and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Emory University (USA) E. Hector Williams, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of British Columbia (Canada) Roger J. A. Wilson, Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire, and Director, Centre for the Study of Ancient Sicily, University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada) Engelbert Winter, Professor for Ancient History, University of Mόnster (Germany) Timothy F. Winters, Ph.D. Alumni Assn. Distinguished Professor of Classics, Austin Peay State University (USA) Ian Worthington, Frederick A. Middlebush Professor of History, University of Missouri-Columbia (USA) Michael Zahrnt, Professor fόr Alte Geschichte, Universitδt zu Kφln (Germany) Paul Zanker, Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies, University of Munich (Germany) 201 signatures as of May 18th 2009. For the growing list of scholars, please go to the Addenda. - cc: J. Biden, Vice President, USA H. Clinton, Secretary of State USA P. Gordon, Asst. Secretary-designate, European and Eurasian Affairs H.L Berman, Chair, House Committee on Foreign Affairs I. Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member, House Committee on Foreign Affairs J. Kerry, Chair, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations R.G. Lugar, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations R. Menendez, United States Senator from New Jersey.- Addenda 12 Scholars added on May 19th 2009: Mariana Anagnostopoulos, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, California State University, Fresno (USA) John P. Anton, Distinguished Professor of Greek Philosophy and Culture University of South Florida (USA) Effie F. Athanassopoulos, Associate Professor (Anthropology and Classics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA) Leonidas Bargeliotes, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Athens, President of the Olympic Center for Philosophy and Culture (Greece) Joseph W. Day, Professor of Classics, Wabash College (USA) Christos C. Evangeliou, Professor of Ancient Hellenic Philosophy, Towson University, Maryland, Honorary President of International Association for Greek Philosophy (USA) Eleni Kalokairinou, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Secretary of the Olympic Center of Philosophy and Culture (Cyprus) Lilian Karali, Professor of Prehistoric and Environmental Archaeology, University of Athens (Greece) Anna Marmodoro, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford (UK) Marion Meyer, Professor of Classical Archaeology, University of Vienna(Austria) Jessica L. Nitschke, Assistant Professor of Classics, Georgetown University (USA) David C.Young, Professor of Classics Emeritus, University of Florida (USA)3 Scholars added on May 20th 2009:Maria Ypsilanti, Assistant Professor of Ancient Greek Literature, University of Cyprus Christos Panayides, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Nicosia, (Cyprus) Anagnostis P. Agelarakis, Professor of Anthropology, Adelphi University (USA)

Monday, 9 March 2009

Finally the American accademia speak up!

Finally the American academia woke up and decided to protest against the distortion of the Greek history and the desperate tries of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to steal the Greek heritage; the name "Macedonia" and all it's history as well as Alexander the Great. (for more information on that issue see my older post http://melenegiorgo.blogspot.com/2008/02/nationalists-attack-greek-embassy-in.html )

The magazine "Archaeology" published in its January-February 2009 edition a provocative article with the title "A Letter from Macedonia". That letter was refering to FYROM of course(the region called Paionia in the ancient times), not the real Macedonia (the Greek province). This article made Professor Stephen Miller, of the University of California, Berkley (doing research on Greek history since 1970) furious, so he wrote a magnificent letter to the editor, and he forwarded it to the Minsters of Foreign Affairs of both Greece and USA.

The letter, especially from the 2nd paragraph and on, is actually a list of arguements-proof that Macedonia is Greek and FYROM should not even dare to use the name, not to mention claiming its history.

It's worth reading it till the end, where in the last paragraph he finishes with a great piece of irony :)



January 22, 2009
Editor, Archaeology Magazine
36-36 33rd Street
Long Island City, NY 11106
U.S.A.

Dear Sir,

I opened the January/February issue of Archaeology today and eagerly turned to “A Letter from Macedonia” only to discover that it was actually a letter from ancient Paionia – the land north of Mount Barmous and Mount Orbelos. Livy’s account of the creation of the Roman province of Macedonia (45.29.7 and 12) makes clear that the Paionians lived north of those mountains (which form today the geographically natural northern limits of Greece) and south of the Dardanians who were in today’s Kosovo. Strabo (7. frag 4) is even more succinct in saying that Paionia was north of Macedonia and the only connection from one to the other was (and is today) through the narrow gorge of the Axios (or Vardar) River. In other words, the land which is described by Matthew Brunwasser in his “Owning Alexander” was Paionia in antiquity.

While it is true that those people were subdued by Philip II, father of Alexander, in 359 B.C. (Diodorus Siculus 16.4.2), they were never Macedonians and never lived in Macedonia. Indeed, Demosthenes (Olynthian 1.23) tells us that they were “enslaved” by the Macedonian Philip and clearly, therefore, not Macedonians. Isokrates (5.23) makes the same point. Likewise, for example, the Egyptians who were subdued by Alexander may have been ruled by Macedonians, including the famous Cleopatra, but they were never Macedonians themselves, and Egypt was never called Macedonia (and so far as I can tell does not seek that name today).

Certainly, as Thucydides (2.99) tells us, the Macedonians had taken over “a narrow strip of Paionia extending along the Axios river from the interior to Pella and the sea”. Someone might therefore understand it, if the people in the modern republic centered at Skopje called themselves Paionians and claimed as theirs the land described by Thucydides.

But why, instead, would the modern people of ancient Paionia try to call themselves Macedonians and their land Macedonia? Mr. Brunwasser (p. 55) touches on the Greek claims “that it implies ambitions over Greek territory” and he notes that “the northern province of Greece is also called Macedonia.” Leaving aside the fact that the area of that northern province of modern Greece has been called Macedonia for more than 2,500 years (see, inter alios, Herodotus 5.17; 7.128, et alibi), more recent history shows that the Greek concerns are legitimate. For example, a map produced in Skopje in 1992 (Figure 1) shows clearly the claim that Macedonia extends from there to Mt. Olympus in the south; that is, combining the ancient regions of Paionia and Macedonia into a single entity. The same claim is explicit on a pseudo-bank note of the Republic of Macedonia which shows, as one of its monuments, the White Tower of Thessalonike, in Greece (Figure 2). There are many more examples of calendars, Christmas cards, bumper-stickers, etc., that all make the same claim.

Further, Mr. Brunwasser has reported with approval (International Herald Tribune 10/1/08) the work of the “Macedonian Institute for Strategic Research 16:9”, the name of which refers “to Acts 16:9, a verse in the New Testament in which a Macedonian man appears to the Apostle Paul begging him: ‘Come over into Macedonia, and help us.’" But where did Paul go in Macedonia? Neapolis (Kavala), Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia, Thessaloniki, and Veroia (Acts 16:11-17:10) all of which are in the historic Macedonia, none in Paionia. What claim is being made by an Institute based in Skopje that names itself for a trip through what was Macedonia in antiquity and what is the northern province of Greece today?

I wonder what we would conclude if a certain large island off the southeast coast of the United States started to call itself Florida, and emblazoned its currency with images of Disney World and distributed maps showing the Greater Florida.

Certainly there was no doubt of the underlying point of “Macedonia” in the mind of U.S. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius on December 26, 1944, when he wrote:
“The Department [of State] has noted with considerable apprehension increasing propaganda rumors and semi-official statements in favor of an autonomous Macedonia, emanating principally from Bulgaria, but also from Yugoslav Partisan and other sources, with the implication that Greek territory would be included in the projected state. This government considers talk of Macedonian ”nation”, Macedonian “Fatherland”, or Macedonian “national consciousness” to be unjustified demagoguery representing no ethnic nor political reality, and sees in its present revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece.”
[Source: U.S. State Department, Foreign Relations vol viii, Washington, D.C., Circular Airgram (868.014/26Dec1944)]

Mr. Brunwasser (a resident of Bulgaria), however, goes on to state, with apparent distain, that Greece claims “Alexander III of Macedon (Alexander the Great) . . . as Greek.”

This attitude mystifies me. What is there to “claim”? Alexander’s great-great-great grandfather, Alexander I, was certified as Greek at Olympia and, in the words of the father of history “I happen to know that [the forefathers of Alexander] are Greek” (Herodotus 5.22). Alexander’s father, Philip, won several equestrian victories at Olympia and Delphi (Plutarch, Alexander 4.9; Moralia 105A), the two most Hellenic of all the sanctuaries in ancient Greece where non-Greeks were not allowed to compete. If Philip was Greek, wasn’t his son also Greek?

When Euripides – who died and was buried in Macedonia (Thucydides apud Pal. Anth. 7.45; Pausanias 1.2.2; Diodorus Siculus 13.103) – wrote his play Archelaos in honor of the great-uncle of Alexander, did he write it in Slavic? When he wrote the Bacchai while at the court of Archelaos did he not write it in Greek even as it has survived to us? Or should we imagine that Euripides was a “Macedonian” who wrote in Slavic (at a date when that language is not attested) which was translated into Greek?

What was the language of instruction when Aristotle taught Alexander? What language was carried by Alexander with him on his expedition to the East? Why do we have ancient inscriptions in Greek in settlements established by Alexander as far away as Afghanistan, and none in Slavic? Why did Greek become the lingua franca in Alexander’s empire if he was actually a “Macedonian”? Why was the New Testament written in Greek rather than Slavic?

On page 57 of the so-called “Letter from Macedonia” there is a photograph of the author standing “before a bronze statue of Alexander the Great in the city of Prilep.” The statue is patently modern, but the question is whether the real historic Alexander could have read the Slavic inscription beneath his feet. Given the known historic posterity of Slavic to Greek, the answer is obvious.

While Mr. Brunwasser’s reporting of the archaeological work in Paionia is welcome, his adoption and promotion of the modern political stance of its people about the use of the name Macedonia is not only unwelcome, it is a disservice to the readers of Archaeology who are, I imagine, interested in historic fact. But then, the decision to propagate this historical nonsense by Archaeology – a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America - is a disservice to its own reputation.

Let it be said once more: the region of ancient Paionia was a part of the Macedonian empire. So were Ephesos and Tyre and Palestine and Memphis and Babylon and Taxila and dozens more. They may thus have become “Macedonian” temporarily, but none was ever “Macedonia”.
Allow me to end this exegesis by making a suggestion to resolve the question of the modern use of the name “Macedonia.” Greece should annex Paionia – that is what Philip II did in 359 B.C. And that would appear to be acceptable to the modern residents of that area since they claim to be Greek by appropriating the name Macedonia and its most famous man. Then the modern people of this new Greek province could work on learning to speak and read and write Greek, hopefully even as well as Alexander did.

Sincerely,
Stephen G. Miller
Professor Emeritus, University of California,
Berkeley

PS: For a more complete examination of the ancient evidence regarding Paionia, see I. L. Merker, “The Ancient Kingdom of Paionia,” Balkan Studies 6 (1965) 35-54


cc: C. Brian Rose, President, Archaeological Institute of America
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State of the United States of America
Dora Bakoyiannis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece
Antonis Samaras, Minister of Culture of Greece
Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement
Erik Meijer, Member, European Parliament

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

Palestine

They asked me why I didn't write anything about Palestine.

What am I supposed to write? Only one question keeps coming in my mind again and again:

"How can a people like Israel, who keeps reminding us about the holocaust by every chance, commit such a crucial crime as genocide?"

Monday, 2 February 2009

Αγρότες, τρακτέρ και το κακό συναπάντημα.

Δεν το καταλαβαίνω αυτό με τους αγρότες ρε παιδιά. Το να ζητάνε επιστροφή του ΦΠΑ το καταλαβαίνω. Και ας μην πληρώνουν και καθόλου ΦΠΑ, δεν με πειράζει. Από αλλού θα έπρεπε να τα παίρνει το κράτος, όχι από αυτούς.

Αλλά αυτό με τις επιδοτήσεις στο λαιμό μου κάθεται. Να ζητάει κάποιος επιδότηση για να εκσυγχρονίσει τον εξοπλισμό του το καταλαβαίνω. Χαλάλι του. Αλλά αυτοί την έχουν δει τελείως "μισθό" την επιδότηση. Κάτσε ρε φίλε, τι είσαι; Δημόσιος Υπάλληλος και στη χρωστάει την επιδότηση το κράτος;

Ειδικά αυτοί οι γελοίοι που ζητούν επιδότηση για το βαμβάκι και τον καπνό μου σπάνε τα νεύρα. "Το υπουργείο μας λέει ξεχάστε το βαμβάκι. Αυτό σημαίνει πόλεμος!" φωνάζει ο μοσχαροθρεμένος Θεσσαλός αγρότης. Τι λε ρε φίλε; Θα σε επιδοτώ να καλλιεργείς κάτι που δεν μπορείς να πουλήσεις; Βαμβάκι στην Ελλάδα; Είναι γελοίο! Επειδή έμαθες μια καλλιέργεια και δε θέλεις να μπεις στον κόπο να μάθεις κάποια άλλη θα κάθομαι να σε επιδοτώ εγώ, ο Έλλην ή Ευρωπαίος φορολογούμενος; Τον κακό σου τον καιρό! Να αλλάξεις καλλιέργεια. Να σε επιδοτήσω (για μερικά χρόνια, για να πάρεις μπρος, αυτή την έννοια έχει η επιδότηση) για να βάλεις ένα ανταγωνιστικό προϊόν, κάτι που καλλιεργείται μόνο ή καλύτερα στην Ελλάδα και πουθενά αλλού, να ξέρω κι εγώ κι εσύ ότι θα το πουλήσεις και ότι θα έχει μέλλον η καλλιέργειά σου.

Οι εποχές που ο αγροτικός κόσμος ήταν ο αμόρφωτος λαουτζίκος που δεν ήξερε τι άλλο να κάνει παρά μόνο ότι έμαθε από τον πατέρα του, έχει περάσει ανεπιστρεπτί. Τώρα οι αγρότες πρέπει να είναι μορφωμένοι και τα χωράφια τους να είναι οργανωμένες επιχειρήσεις.

Και κομμένα τα τρακτέρ στις εθνικές. Στην Ολλανδία όταν οι σκουπιδιάρηδες απεργούν, δεν παρατάνε τα σκουπίδια μπροστά στα σπίτια να υποφέρει και να κινδυνεύει ο κόσμος. Τα μαζεύουν από τα σπίτια και πάνε και τα αδειάζουν μπροστά στο Δημαρχείο για να τα χαίρεται ο δήμαρχος.

Αλλά τι κάθομαι και λέω. Έχουν οι Ολλανδοί να ζηλέψουν το IQ του νεο-έλληνα;

Monday, 19 January 2009

Η ευρωπαϊκή έκθεση ξεσκεπάζει τα ψέματα της Κυβέρνησης Καραμανλή.

-> Η κυβέρνηση είπε ότι για την κατάσταση της ελληνικής οικονομίας φταίει η διεθνής κρίση.

Η ευρωπαϊκή έκθεση όμως λέει ότι στην Ελλάδα το δημόσιο έλλειμμα ξεπέρασε το 3% το 2007, πριν δηλαδή ξεσπάσει η κρίση!


-> Η κυβέρνηση είπε ότι σε σύγκριση με άλλες χώρες αντέχουμε καλύτερα.

Όταν αυτή η κυβέρνηση παρέλαβε από το ΠΑΣΟΚ, η ανάπτυχξη ήταν 5.5% (ενώ στην Ευρωζώνη 0.8%) και η ευρωπαϊκή έκθεση προβλέπει ότι το 2010 η Ελλάδα θα έχει ανάπτυξη 0.9% (με την Ευρωζώνη στο 0.4%).

Σε 5 χρόνια, δηλαδή, κατέστρεψαν ό,τι αναπτυξιακό απόθεμα είχε δημιουργήσει το ΠΑΣΟΚ με τις θυσίες του ελληνικού λαού!

Φτάνει πια!

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