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4th BC Century Defensive Wall Unearthed
An anonymous reader writes "Yahoo News is reporting that Greek archaeologists have discovered a 2,600 meter defensive wall whose design was 'inspired by Alexander the Great.' In addition to the wall itself 4th-century BC bronze coins were also found inside the structure. From the article: 'The discovery was made in the archaeological site of Dion, an ancient fortified city and key religious sanctuary of the Macedonian civilization, which ruled much of Greece until Roman times.'"
I couldnt think of anything funny to say about this new wall, so I figured I'd post something serious.
Wrong. The region that was identified by the ancients as Macedonia is currently split between Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, and Bulgaria. Yes, a large part is in Greece, but not all.
Wrong as well. When the Slavs invaded, they were a minority who seized power and slowly imposed their language on the majority. The people living in the Balkans today are the descendents of the inhabitants who lived there thousands of years ago.
Alexander's conquests cut both ways - he spread Greek civilization, yes, but Greek civilization was also influenced by those of the peoples he conquered. As an example, you mention that he wanted to be treated like a God -- this concept of treating a human like a god was foreign to the Greeks, but was common to the Persians. Alexander demanded, for example proskynesis (a sign of obeisance) from Greek subjects, who were not too happy about it (I believe he had one of his advisors killed for refusing). Alexander demanded that such traditions be incorporated into Greek culture and they were. Of course there were more subtle examples - the point is the Greeks intermingled with other cultures around the globe and as a result were influenced by them as well as influencing them. Alexander's goal was not to spread Hellenistic culture - his goal was to spread the cult of Alexander.
I stated he was worshipped as a God by many ancient peoples, this for the most part followed upon his death. You are correct though, he did wish to be treated as a God. Although he showed considerable diplomacy, or, perhaps more accurately pragmatism, in treating with the kingdoms he conquered. He kept the ruling parties in power, married into the ruling elite and coerced his generals into taking wives from the conquered elite. Certainly what little that is known about him suggests he was meglomaniacal. There are sources that suggest he murdered his father.
Interestingly Alexander's deification was in some lands blended with the Greek God Dionysus. Dionysus is remarkable as the ancient western archetypal Christ. The Greek God Dionysus was a God of rebirth in some areas and as such was an ancient version of the Christ figure who is reborn. The King reborn was known throughout lands from India to ancient Greece. In part of what is now India the King would rule for eight years then feed his flesh to his people, thus dying but being ritually reborn in the next King. A similar act lies behind the Catholic act of taking Communion. The idea incorporated in the idea of a Christ figure ties in with the idea of transcendent reason, or Logos. Logos was an idea borrowed by the fathers of the Catholic Church. "In the beginning was the word" (I forget which book of the Bible the quote comes from) but in adopting the idea of Logos, or transcedent reason as God like the Catholic Church fostered the critical, accurate reasoning that would give birth to science.
While Alexander spread cultural plasmids throughout the ancient Greek world and the East, his teacher Aristotle, was adopted by the Catholic Church as the epitome of reasoned insight and so influenced the West perhaps more than any other one man.
"Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
Cohen
The inhabitants of the Balkans maintain the same general set of genes that other Europeans share, even definitely autochthonous peoples like the Basques. That is how we know that invaders e.g. the Indo-Europeans were minorities compared to the peoples who eventually adopted their language. One of the big sea changes in archaeology over the past few decades is a recognition that there were no truly large population shifts in recent antiquity. So, we can honestly claim that the inhabitants of Macedonia today are, excepting the Roma, Jews, and occasional Turks who trickled in, the same people as a couple of thousand years ago.
The first Macedonian who could compete in the Olympic games was Alexander's grandfather.
Basically only Greeks could compete in the Olympic Games, so by that token they must've been sufficiently Hellinised so as to warrant participation in the Games.
Later on the Romans were allowed to participate but that's much later.
As to the Macedonians' 'Greekness' personally I imagine they were Hellinised but did maintain some difference.
Plutarch and Arrian (biographers after Alexander's death) both mention instances of when Alexander spoke to his troops or staff officers in Macedonian which couldn't be understood by the Greeks of his court.
One funny thing about Macedonians is that they unlike the Greeks drank their wine straight up without the use of additives (honey, herbs, and water).
Macedonians were to my knowledge not mentioned as participants in the Trojan War whereas Homer mentions all manner of other Greek people from all over the modern day Greek Peninsula and its surrounding islands.
That Alexander spread Greek ideas and culture throughout the Middle East is in fact testament to at least an appreciation of what he learnt under his teacher Aristotle.
Were they Greeks? Probably not
Were they Hellinised? the elite certainly was
Today's Macedonians have little if anything to do at all culturally, or 'ethnically' with the Macedonians of old so there's no reason to discuss that. Far too many of the residents of Greek Macedonia are recent transplants from Asia Minor (1920's) and Hellinised Slavs.
Problem with /. is that the young geeks nowadays aren't nearly geeky enough.
Pining for the fjords