Customer Reviews

Macedonia: 4000 Years of Greek History and Civilization (Greek Lands in History)

5 star:		(12)
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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(7)

 

 

The book is a historical document well worth its price.

"Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause." - Victor Hugo.

What I saw in these "reviews" is a list of absurd statements, which cannot be considered even arguments, at least by anyone with a certain knowledge of History. Most of them were certainly written by people who have never touched the book in question.

The book is extensively documented with many photos and maps and clearly shows something obvious to anyone who knows at least a little of the History of that region; Macedonia was a part of Greece, just like Athens or Sparta, for example.

That undeniable fact should not be a reason for any political activity. Unfortunately, a whole people has been mislead during its former Socialist dictatorships into believing the most absurd ideas.

What anyone can VERIFY by actually reading that book, or perhaps by visiting museums in Greece and other countries is the following:

- The ancient Macedonians were Greeks, just like the Athenians or Spartans. They had the same language, the same architecture, celebrated the same religious and cultural events (including the Olympiad, which was reserved for Greeks) and fought together their non-Greek enemies. Those are not merely opinions but historical facts PROVED by many THOUSANDS of archeological finds.

- A "Macedonian nation", a "Macedonian language" and a "Macedonian ethnos" don't exist and never existed. FYROM* has NO historical, linguistic or cultural relation with Macedonia.

- The language spoken in FYROM* is a Bulgarian dialect, as the population of that country has been mainly Bulgarian. NOT by chance, Bulgarians understand the supposed "Macedonian language".

- As with the supposed "Macedonian language", the supposed "Macedonian nation" and the supposed "Macedonian ethnos" are equally GROSS falsifications of History, which have been imposed on a whole people by dictators such as Tito and Stalin.

Maybe someday, someone will try to steal other periods of the Greek History and other parts of the Greek territory. In that case, we may see similar books showing the obvious and many angry "arguments" trying to do the impossible; prove what never happened.

* FYROM: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Roberto Lopes. São Paulo, Brazil.

Over the past fifteen, I have heard a lot of claims by nationalists and anthropologists that the Ancient Macedonians and, in general the Macedonians weren't Hellenes. I guess they focus their teachings on misinformed people that haven't opened a book on Ancient Greece.

Unfortunately, social anthropologists have replaced historians however, they can't distort archeological findings found in Macedonia that prove them wrong. This book, gives the reader not only an analytic description of the history of Macedonians from Ancient times till present (Ottoman,Balkan wars,EU) but it also includes plenty of pictures of items from different macedonian museums and the Royal Tombs in Vergina that disapprove current overlooked scholars of anthropology that the Macedonians weren't Hellenes or were Hellenized.

Furthermore, the quotes from different sources are translated properly and in whole without paste and deleting. An example is: "Macedonians and the other Hellenes" and not what we have been taught today "Macedonians and Hellenes". Another example is the emphasis of Demosthenes calling Phillipo 'barbaric' but modern scholars have omitted the words 'hegemony of our lands'.

Before you call this book biased, the book has been written by different international and hellene authors that cover different historic periods.

Anyway, I recommend this book to anyone, especially the Hellenic diaspora, whose interested in Ancient Hellenic History. This is one out of six books of (Greek lands in History).

This book is excellent. If you really want to know the truth about the history of Macedonia, go out and read this book. To the people of F.Y.R.O.M..... It's harder to steal when everyone knows your a thief.

Please stop bad mouthing this book. It's very well written and the material is up to date. If a person is intrested in Macedonian history, based on actual documentation and material left by the ancient Macedonians, he or she will be impressed. Concerning the person who used Ireland, in-relation to the situation in Macedonia, he's dead wrong. The reason why Ireland is not England is because Ireland has it's own culture and customs. Macedonia, in ancient times, had greek culture and greek customs. No evidence exsists that can disprove this. Ancient greek historians back me up when I say that Macedonia was an extention of the Greek world. Anyone who argues this point, knows nothing of history.

This book has it all. It is an information rich resource of the history of Macedonia. The pictures are amazing as you get to see the actual tomb, shields, body armor etc. that was worn by Philip, Alexander and the army during those years.

This is a valuable resource for anyone that is interested in the history of Macedonia and I recommend it highly.

Being interested in the ancient European civilizations I bought this book to learn about ancient Macedonia. This book is an excellent source of information. I would definitely recommend to everyone interested to learn more about the ancient Macedonian civilization.

This book brings foward the trueth behind the issue of Macedonia. The writer uses the archeaological record of Macedonia to justify his claim. This is the first author on the subject of Macedonia to do so. He also includes ideas that go against what he claims in-order to give the reader a full understanding of different point of views. That can't be said with most of the other authors on this subject. Sakellariou makes the assumption that the Macedonians were greek and stayed greek throughout the many years. He prooves it with the remains left behind by the Macedonians. The reader will also come to the same conclusion based on the evidence provided. The individual who considered this book full of lies is afriad of the trueth and should stop stripping me of my history.

Being interested in the ancient European civilizations I bought this book to learn about ancient Macedonia. This book is an excellent source of information. I would definitely recommend to everyone interested to learn more about the ancient Macedonian civilization.

One of the most complete compilations of Macedonia and specifically ancient Macedon the academic world has yet seen. Possessing hundreds upon hundreds of photos from archaeological discoveries spanning three continents, a plethora of ancient testimonies which serve in re-assuring what the majority of the field hold to be true to today, the Hellenism of the ancient Macedones.

From Persian inscriptions dating to 510 BCE (!) referring to the Macedones as "Yauna takabaras" [Greeks that wear sunhats] to the independent testimonies of ancient Roman writers such as Quintus Curtius Rufus claiming: "As for Alexander, it is generally agreed that, when sleep had brought him back to his senses after his drunken bout, he regretted his actions and said that the Persians would have suffered a more grievous punishment at the hands of the Greeks had they been forced to see him on Xerxes' throne and in his palace."
(Quintus Curtius Rufus 5.7.11) and clearly labeling Alexander's conquest as a Greek crusade. To Titius Livius veryfing the language of the Macedones: the ten Commissioners took his official seat surrounded by the whole crowds of Macedonians...Paulus announced in Latin the decisions of the Senate, as well as his own, made by the advice of his council. This announcement was translated into Greek and repeated by Gnaeus Octavius the Praetor-for he too was present." (T. Livius,XLV) AND YET AGAIN, "Aetolians, Acarnanians, Macedonians, men of the same language" (T. Livius XXXI,29, 15) placing the Macedones amongst other Greek speaking tribes. Justin ANOTHER Roman writer clearly giving us a backround detail into the foundation of the Macedonian throne: "Caranus also came to Emathia with a large band of Greeks, being instructed by an oracle to seek a home in Macedonia." - Justinus epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Universal History 7.1 And again Plutarch with the obvious: "..he read the inscriptions and then ordered to write under it a translation in Greek..." - Plutarchos Alexandros,69,4

The astonishing amount of literary sources that have survived continually point one way in how to regard the ancient Macedones, is truly amazing. It isnt just the Persians or Romans who clearly regarded the Macedones as Greeks, the list continues with the ancient Hebrew historians such as Josephus, Philo Judaeus and of course the holy scriptures of the Macabees and the Talmud (including the prophet Daniel, chap.8, 1-22 chap.2 para.39 4-13, 26-28, 31, 38 chap. 7, 2-7) Right down to the Bible and the New Testament reaffirming what we already knew: "Paul the Apostle, was summoned to Macedonia by a Macedonian in the form of a vision speaking to him in Greek" (Act Apost. XVI 9,10) and speaking of Greeks in Macedon as natives again: "The Apostles Paul and Silas met Greek men and women in Thessaloniki and Beroea" (Act Apost. XVII 4, 12).

Clearly the Hellenistic nature of the Macedones was not disputed thousands of years ago, not by foreign writers, nor the rest of the Greeks. MOST IMPORTANTLY not by the Macedones THEMSELVES who CLEARLY thought of THEMSELVES as Hellenes and held a common blood-line with the rest of the Greeks. Who then are we to tell the Macedones who they were ?

"...Your ancestors came to Macedonia and the rest of Greece and did us great harm, though we had done them no prior injury. I have been appointed leader of the Greeks, and wanting to punish the Persians I have come to Asia, which I took from you..." - Arrian II (Anabasis) 14, 4

"Now that the men of this family are Hellenes, sprung from Perdiccas, as they themselves affirm, is a thing which I can declare on my own knowledge, and which I will hereafter make plainly evident. That they are so has been already adjudged by those who manage the Pan-Hellenic contest at Olympia"
(Herodotus, The Histories 8.43)

"Now that these descendants of Perdiccas are Hellenes, as they themselves say, I myself chance to know"
(Herodotus V, 22, 1)

"The country by the sea which is now called Macedonia... Alexander, the father of Perdiccas, and his forefathers, who were originally Temenidae from Argos"
(Thuc. II, 99, 3 [Loeb, C. F. Smith])

"Argos is the land of your fathers". Isocrates, To Philip, XII, 32 (Loeb, G. Norlin),

As a famous Greek once said, "time is the father of truth" And if time has given us an indication into the ethnic nature of the Macedones it has remained clear throughout the ages, and that is: MACEDONIA: 4000 YEARS OF GREEK HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION !

Being interested in the ancient European civilizations I bought this book to learn about ancient Macedonia. This book is an excellent source of information. I would definitely recommend to everyone interested to learn more about the ancient Macedonian civilization.