Alexander

[laurentius]

Well, my thoughts are mainly aloong the lines that I couldnt care less.

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Ljube
Mark, I have a question for you: Are there any people living in the Greek part of Macedonia and in Solun in particular that speak Macedonian and claim they are Macedonian nationals of Slav origin. If the answer to this question is yes, then tell me what percentage of people in this region they make.

there are no "Macedonian nationals of Slav origin" in thessaloniki. there are probably 3-4000 of people of slavic origin living much northern than thessaloniki, in florina. i'm not sure what percentage of them call themselves "macedonians"

[Ljube]

Then if only about 3-4000 people in the Greek part of Macedonia consider themselves Slavs, any territorial claim made by Macedonia toward Greece is pointless and should not worry the Greek state at all. I think that Greece should establish full friendly relations with Macedonia and the first step forward would be the recognition of the real name of the country (instead of calling it Skopjan Republic). The academic debate about Alexander and other remarkable persons from the history of ancient Macedonia matter only to the scientific community and should not have any influence whatsoever on politics. War in Former Yugoslavia is a good example of what can happen when history and politics mix together.

[Ljube]

Oh, and while we are at it, Alexander did spread Hellenic culture and language throughout the Middle East and Egypt, so it's a fair assumption that he too spoke Greek.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Originally posted by Ljube
Then if only about 3-4000 people in the Greek part of Macedonia consider themselves Slavs, any territorial claim made by Macedonia toward Greece is pointless and should not worry the Greek state at all. I think that Greece should establish full friendly relations with Macedonia and the first step forward would be the recognition of the real name of the country (instead of calling it Skopjan Republic). The academic debate about Alexander and other remarkable persons from the history of ancient Macedonia matter only to the scientific community and should not have any influence whatsoever on politics. War in Former Yugoslavia is a good example of what can happen when history and politics mix together.

well said

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Ljube
I think that Greece should establish full friendly relations with Macedonia

greece is the biggest investor in fyrom. that i believe is more important to fyrom

The academic debate about Alexander and other remarkable persons from the history of ancient Macedonia matter only to the scientific community and should not have any influence whatsoever on politics.

please also tell that to goverment of fyrom which does nothing (when it doesnt promote) to stop nationalistic use of the history of ancient macedonia...

[Alexander's Horse]

I don't think there is any evidence Alexander was a slav. He clearly considered himself Greek. The modern Macedonians in the FYROM might have more in common with the ancient Thracians, but the Thracians were Celts not slavs.