1. The famous ancient Greek play writer Euripidis wrote and originally presented most of his plays in
Pella, the capital of Macedonia. How was that possible if the audiance spoke a different language?
2. After the battle of the Grannikos Alexander the Great sent to Athens some pieces of armor
captured from the Persians with the following inscription :
"Alexander, son of Philip and the Hellenes, except the Lakedaimonians, offer these spoils taken from the barbarians of Asia".
3. Macedonia was a member of the Delphic Amfictiony , an institution which was open only to Greeks
4. When Alexander arrived in Asia he visited the ancient Greek town of Troy (Troia), where he sacrifised to the Greek Gods to help him in his quest.
A part from the "Treaty of Alliance" between king Philip V of Macedonia and Hannibal.
"This is a sworn treaty made between us, Hannibal the general, Mago, Myrkan, Barmokar and all
other Carthaginian senators present with him, and all Carthaginians serving under him, on the
one side, and Xenophanes the Athenian, son of Kleomachos, the envoy whom King Philip, son of
Demetrios, sent to us on behalf of himself, and the Macedonians and allies, on the other side.
`In the presence of Zeus, Hera and Apollon; in the presence of the Genius of Carthage; ...and
in the presence of all the gods who possess Carthage; and in the presence of all the Gods
who possess Macedonia and the rest of Hellas; and in the presence of all the gods of the army
who preside over this oath. Thus said Hannibal the general and all the Carthaginian senators
along with him and the Carthaginian soldiers: ...That King Philip and the Macedonians and the
rest of the Hellenes. . .
(Polybios 7.9.1-7)
Alexander's speech to his solders one year before his death
I wish all of you, now that the wars are coming to an end, to live happily in peace. All mortals from
now on shall live like one people, united, and peacefully working towards a common prosperity. You
should regard the whole world as your country, a country where the best govern, with common laws,
and no racial distinctions. I do not separate people, as many narrow-minded others do, into Hellenes
and barbarians. I am not interested in the origin or race of citizens, I only distinguish them on the
basis of their virtue. For me, each foreigner is a Hellene, and each bad Hellene is a barbarian.
If ever there appear differences among you, you must not resolve them by taking to arms; you should resolve them in peace. If need be, I shall act as your negotiator.
The speech of Alexander I when he was admitted to the Olympic games
"Men of Athens... Had I not greatly at heart the common welfare of Hellas I should not have come to
tell you; but I am myself Hellene by descent, and I would not willingly see Hellas exchange freedom for
slavery.... If you prosper in this war, forget not to do something for my freedom; consider the risk I
have run, out of zeal for the Hellenic cause, to acquaint you with what Mardonius intends, and to save
you from being surprised by the barbarians. I am Alexander of Macedon."
(Herodotus, The Histories, 9.45)
What was the origin of ancient Macedonians?
"The name of the ancient Macedonians is derived from Macedon,
who was the grandchild of Deukalion, the father of all Greeks.
This we may infer from Hesiod's genealogy. It may be proven that
Macedonians spoke Greek since Macedon, the ancestor of
Macedonians, was a brother of Magnes, the ancestor of
Thessalians, who spoke Greek."
(Professor N G L Hammond, University of Cambridge, UK, 1993)
" This was Macedonia in the strict sense, the land where settled immigrands of Greek stock later to be called Macedonians"
(Professor W J Woodhouse, University of Sydney, Australia, 1917)