In the Shadow of Olympus [Paperback]

Eugene N. Borza (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691008809 | ISBN-13: 978-0691008806 | Publication Date: September 8, 1992

In tracing the emergence of the Macedonian kingdom from its origins as a Balkan backwater to a major European and Asian power, Eugene Borza offers to specialists and lay readers alike a revealing account of a relatively unexplored segment of ancient history. He draws from recent archaeological discoveries and an enhanced understanding of historical geography to form a narrative that provides a material-culture setting for political events. Examining the dynamics of Macedonian relations with the Greek city-states, he suggests that the Macedonians, although they gradually incorporated aspects of Greek culture into their own society, maintained a distinct ethnicity as a Balkan people. "Borza has taken the trouble to know Macedonia: the land, its prehistory, its position in the Balkans, and its turbulent modern history. All contribute...to our understanding of the emergence of Macedon.... Borza has employed two of the historian's most valuable tools, autopsy and common sense, to produce a well-balanced introduction to the state that altered the course of Greek and Near Eastern history."--Waldemar Heckel, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is an extremely useful account of the history of Macedonia from its shadowy beginnings down through the reign of Philip II. Well written and coherent. -- Classical World



Borza has employed two of the historian's most valuable tools, autopsy and common sense, to produce a well-balanced introduction to the state that altered the course of Greek and Near Eastern history. -- Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (September 8, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691008809
• ISBN-13: 978-0691008806
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,144,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > History > Europe > Macedonia

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent but misrepresented work of scholarship, December 7, 2004

By 

Darkuser (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Shadow of Olympus (Paperback)

I bought this book expecting a major critique on the so-called "Greek position" and found nothing of the sort. Grossly misrepresented on both the internet and in other publications, Borza has often been presented as a staunch advocate for a position in the "Macedonian Question". The truth is virtually the opposite! Borza, as with all objective historians, takes no position on this topic other than providing an overview of recent historiography of the region, a topic to which some mention of the practice of nationalist history is usually indispensable.

The Focus of this book, not unlike the works of Hammond and Errington, is strictly on Macedonian history as historians, both modern and ancient, know it. This book however focuses on a much less-known period of Macedonian history, so those looking for an account on Alexander should look elsewhere. It is perhaps unusual how the book focuses on this history with much greater detail than other books, and the author has been overly commended for this effort. I will not dwell on the author here, but anyone who is vaguely aware of this subject should not need further convincing of his reputation and the respect he receives from other scholars within his field.

Since I choose to respect Amazon's reviewing system, I do not see the need to espouse my own opinions on the question of Macedonian ethnicity or further the agendas of those who do. It is clear that among most historians there is little disagreement on the subject other than on trivial matters of interpretation, and in any case the places where there seems to be conflicting opinions are of little relevance to the question of ethnicity. It is also here where evidence drastically diminishes to the extent that any objectivity dissolves into a polemic which needn't concern those interested in what the Macedonians themselves cared about. That said, the concurrence between Borza and the authors constantly cited against his work is incisive; so much so, that there seems to be some inconsistency among those maintaining the "Greek position" as to who is indeed their authoritative source!

It is a shame how a work of scholarship, cited by numerous scholars as a "must read" in their bibliographic notes, has lent itself to a continuing controversy, which exists in little form outside cyberspace and political spheres of interest. The author explicitly stated that it was not his intention to discuss it, and at any rate maintained an objective outlook: devoting only a few pages to the problem, yet uncompromising to opinions which he sees as evidentially fragile.

This is indeed a must read if you are interested in Macedonian history, but if your concerns lie elsewhere, this is not the book for you.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Professor Borza knows his job, April 16, 2004

By 

"rhristovski" (Edessa, Macedonia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Shadow of Olympus (Paperback)

Dr.Eugene Borza, professor emeritus at the Penn State University - USA, have done a wonderfull job by publishing this fascinating book. As a revisionist, he does not concur on many important points with the few living traditionalists such as Hammond, but his views can be compared to those of Green, Badian, Danforth and the majority of modern scholars who find it rather difficult if not impossible to settle Macedonians among the Hellenic ethnos. He expresses serious doubts that the ancient Macedonians were Hellenes and corroborates his conclusions with a wealth of archaeological and linguistical arguments.
However his aim in the book is not to confirm or deny the alleged Hellenism of Macedonians which view dates from the middle 19-th century. His job is to trace the emergence of the Macedonian state,power and culture through detailed analysis of the events and processes spaning several centuries. There lies the real value of the book. His deep knowledge of the subject is undeniable and that fact just increases the verisimilitudiness of the book. I strongly recomend this nice scholarly text.

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice piece of unbiassed scholar work, December 20, 2003

By 

Yannis Stefanopoulos (Athens, Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Shadow of Olympus (Paperback)

Eugene Borza is one of the leading revisionists of the history of ancient Macedonia. That is why Greek ultra - nationalists and Greek nazi - fashists are attacking this wonderfull, unbiassed and consequently objective piece of scholar work. Actually, there are very few important historians left that backing up the thesis of the putative Hellenic origins of the ancient Macedonians.
This out of date thesis has its roots in the 19-th century german historical school. This school of thought was politically motivated to create an artificial justification for the ambitions of Otto I of Bavaria, (the German king of Greece:1830 -1860) and his German-Danish successors to enlarge Greece to the north. Of course, Greece (with a little help of its friends) managed to realize that during the Balkan wars (1912 -1913) and did a classical ethnical cleansing to the majority of Macedonian inhabitants, afterwards. The empty houses of Macedonians were inhabited by the newcomers from Asia Minor. Today, those people represent themselfs as real Macedonians, although their ancestors settled there only 80 years ago.
Mostly during the second half of the 20-th century the thesis of the Hellenic roots of the ancient Macedonians has been completelly discarted many times by a number of important scholars. So, from that point of view, Borza's work is not new.
However, Borza has a unique ability to take the evidence as a whole, cut it to the tiniest details and synthetise them again in a convincing and thrilling argumentation. That is why I strongly recommend this book to everyone interested in the ancient Balkan history.