Is Alexander the Great an appropriate name for the airport in Skopje, Macedonia?

Answer 1

It won’t be a problem as long as the Slavic/Albanian-Macedonia is not using it for propaganda and as a claim against the history of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia.
The problem is not the name but the USE of it!!!
You see Slav-Macedonians (and not the Albanian-Macedonians) although they have a name (their country is called "Makedonija" and they are calling themselves "Makedonski") they instead use the Greek name "Macedonia" and "Macedonians".
Of course they doing this in order to link themself with the glory past of the Greek region (ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia was the homeland of Alexander the Grate).
That effort of course is not a problem! Everyone is entitled to link himself with any past he likes! It is totally acceptable! And it evens sometimes provide stability between ethnic groups!
The problem is with the fact that the state of Slavic/Albanian-Macedonia (or Makedonija) is deliberately trying to prove that ancient Greek Macedonia was not Greek and that real Macedonia in Greece should be returned to them since they use the same name! Remarkable isn't it! (I’ve even seen a commercial in Internet were they advertise their country as a tourist destination using the history of Greek-Macedonia!!! Isn’t that misleading and fraud?)
The paranoia of that state is so incredible that although their language (Makedonski or modern Slavic-Macedonian) is a Bulgarian dialect they refer to it as “Macedonian” and they even claim that it is a descendant of the ancient Greek Macedonian!!!!
Although the last 50 years they were called Slav- Macedonians in recent years they refer to themselves only as Macedonians conveniently forgetting to say that they are Slavs.
And of course if you simply monitor the questions in Yahoo answers you will realize that there are fanatics among them that claim that the authentic Macedonia of Greece should be given to them simple because they use the same name!!!! (We are lucky that they didn’t choose to name their country as Sparta or Athens!!)
Further more please read the following statements of the Government of Slavic/Albanian-Macedonia to realize that (Officially) they don’t have any claim overt Alexander the Great! (Then why they rename their airport as “Alexander the Great”?)
Here is what the first President of FYROM (Slavic/Albanian- Macedonia), Kiro Gligorov said: “We are Slavs who came to this area in the sixth century ... we are not descendants of the ancient Macedonians" (Foreign Information Service Daily Report, Eastern Europe, February 26, 1992, p. 35). Also, Mr Gligorov declared: "We are Macedonians but we are Slav Macedonians. That's who we are! We have no connection to Alexander the Greek and his Macedonia… Our ancestors came here in the 5th and 6th century" (Toronto Star, March 15, 1992).
On 22 January 1999, Ambassador of the FYROM to USA, Ljubica Achevska gave a speech on the present situation in the Balkans. In answering questions at the end of her speech Mrs. Acevshka said: "We do not claim to be descendants of Alexander the Great … Greece is Macedonia’s second largest trading partner, and its number one investor. Instead of opting for war, we have chosen the mediation of the United Nations, with talks on the ambassadorial level under Mr. Vance and Mr. Nemitz." In reply to another question about the ethnic origin of the people of FYROM, Ambassador Achevska stated that "we are Slavs and we speak a Slav language”.
On 24 February 1999, in an interview at the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, Gyordan Veselinov, Slav/Albanian-Macedonia’s Ambassador to Canada, admitted, "We are not related to the northern Greeks who produced leaders like Philip and Alexander the Great. We are a Slav people and our language is closely related to Bulgarian." He also commented, “There is some confusion about the identity of the people of my country".
Moreover, the Foreign Minister of the FYROM, Slobodan Casule, in an interview to Utrinski Vesnik of Skopje on December 29, 2001, said that he mentioned to the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, Solomon Pasi, that they "belong to the same Slav people.”
I hope I’ve helped you to understand a little more about the subject!
As for the name if they use it for propaganda then it is not appropriate! ( and this is unfortunately why they rename it! For propaganda only!!)
(very, very positive answer from capricius!!!)
{this is about mickK below and this is what in reality Borza has said, It is not nice not to read all of his books!! :
“Eugene N. Borza, ‘Makedonika’
Regina Books, Claremont CA
"Our understanding of the Macedonians' emergence into history is confounded by two events: the establishment of the Macedonians as an identifiable ethnic group, and the foundation of their ruling house. The "HIGHLANDERS" or "MAKEDONES" of the mountainous regions of western Macedonia ARE DERIVED FROM NORTHWEST GREEK STOCK; THEY WERE AKIN BOTH TO THOSE WHO AT AN EARLIER TIME MAY HAVE MIGRATED SOUTH TO BECOME THE HISTORICAL "DORIANS", and to other Pindus tribes who were the ancestors of the Epirotes or Molossians. That is, we may suggest that NORTHWEST GREECE PROVIDED A POOL OF INDO-EUROPEAN SPEAKERS OF PROTO-GREEK from which were drawn the tribes who later were known by different names as they established their regional identities in separate parts of the country."
"First, the matter of the Hellenic origins of the Macedonians: Nicholas Hammond's general conclusion (though not the details of his arguments)that the origin of the Macedonians lies in the pool of proto-Greek speakers who migrated out of the Pindus mountains during the Iron Age, is acceptable."
( I really like this part!!! and it is simple! Mr Borza clearly states that the ancient macedonians were Greeks (Dorian Greeks to be more exact)}

Answer 2

Well, it's certainly appropriate by Macedonian standards, since they claim both Alexander and his father Philip as their own.

Unfortunately for Macedonia, Greece ALSO claims both men as their own (and refuses to acknowledge Macedonia's independence from the former Yugoslavia). According to them, there is no such thing as a "Macedonian" people or language, it's merely a kind of "Greek Slav". Macedonia, of course, insists that it is a separate ethnic group.

All this goes back to the issue of dividing up the former Ottoman territories in Europe in the 19th century, and it's unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.

As for picking Alexander instead of someone else...he's one of only a few people in history to be instantly recognizeable, and the Macedonians are simply building on that. His legacy is the Hellenization of the Near East and laying the groundwork for the Roman Empire...not anything to sneer at.

Answer 3

Honestly, I have posted absolutely different answer to this question before. Only after reading of TOMM T's answer I have checked it on the net and know I have to apologize for my previous answer, where I have supported idea to name the main airport in Skopje after ALEXANDER THE GREAT. I have learned that Alexander was particularly from the Greek side of Macedonia. I have learned that he was Macedonians, not a Greek. So, where is the TRUTH? Nevertheless, what do you think, is it prohibited for Indians, for example, to name Airport in Calcutta after Mother Teresa. I think it should be allowed. Why not? But if Macedonians (Slavs) are looking for improvement of the bilateral relations with Hellenic republic, they have to avoid any difficulties, before basic problems are not solved yet.

Answer 4

It will add to the confusion about the two "Macedonias" and few people know the truth.
I bett that a lot really mixe up the 2 "Macedonias".
There are two Macedonias in the world today. The Greek Macedonia and there is the modern "republic of Macedonia" which is a Slavic state.(A lot of Albanians also leave there)
Alexander was from Greek Macedonia and has no connection with the modern Slav Macedonians who are very recent.
At first the small ex-Yugoslavian state claim that it uses the name "Macedonia" only geographically. I copy from ragzeus above "Also, Mr Gligorov (the president of Slavic-Macedonia) declared: "We are Macedonians but we are Slav Macedonians. That's who we are! We have no connection to Alexander the Greek and his Macedonia… Our ancestors came here in the 5th and 6th century" (Toronto Star, March 15, 1992). "
Why they name their airport Alexander if they have no claims and they are Slavs?

Answer 5

1. Skopje's government seeking recognition as the 'Republic of Macedonia' perpetuates a fraud."Macedonia has been Greek for 3,000 years. In ancient times Macedonians spoke Greek, worshipped Greek gods, expressed their creativity through Greek art and maintained a refined Greek culture ... all archaeological discoveries continue to unearth more information attesting to the indisputable Greekness of Macedonia."

2. "Out of the blue, in 1944, the Yugoslav communist leader, Tito, wishing to weaken Serbia on the one hand, and set the footing for future territorial claims against Greece on the other, schemingly gave South Serbia the Greek name 'Macedonia' and re-wrote the 'history' books to declare that ancient Macedonia was Slavic and that these people were descendants of Alexander the Great."

3. "The existence of a 'Slav' Macedonia could never be, and indeed, has never been supported either by historical data, or by ethnographic maps, or by statistics, or by some census, or by archaeological finds, or by even an obscure mention of such a nation from antiquity till today."

4. "Macedonia has been the name of Northern Greece for more than 3000 years. The Greek region ... has one of the most homogeneous populations in the world (98.5% Greek). Its population speaks Greek, feels Greek, is Greek."

5. "An independent 'Macedonia' would monopolize the name at the expense of the real Macedonians who are twice the number of the Slavs. The use and abuse of the name would cause widespread confusion as is already apparent."

6. "Macedonia is an indispensable part of Greece's historical heritage it cannot identify, in an ethnic sense another nation."

7. "The Skopje 'language' is undeniably Slavic."

8. "The Slavs did not set foot in the Balkans until 1000 years after Alexander the Great."

9. "The name 'Macedonia (which is etymologically Greek) was in use at least 1500 years before the arrival of the first Slavs."

10. "Every known Macedonian town, river and person had a Greek name – Philip (lover of horse), Alexander (protector of men), Archelaus (leader of people), Amyntas (defender), Ptolemy (warlike), Bucephalus (ox-head)."

11. "The Old Testament (Daniel Ch. 8) and the New Testament (Acts Ch. 17) confirm the Greekness of Alexander and the Macedonians."

12. "It was the Greek language that was taken to Asia (Bible written in Greek) and cities with Greek names and institutions that were founded."

13. "There are 60,000 archaeological finds that confirm that the Macedonians were Greek in language, culture and religion."

14. "The home of the Greek gods was in Macedonia. Is it feasible that a people would worship its national gods in a foreign country?"

15. " Yugoslav Macedonia is not even geographically in the territory occupied by ancient Macedonia."

16. "Independent sources in this century (Turkish Census of 1904 when the region was part of the Ottoman Empire, League of Nations Census of 1926 and declassified British Archives 1934) make no mention of any ethnic Macedonians whatsoever until the Communists came along with their preposterous concoction to dominate the Balkans."

17. "By appropriating and maintaining the name 'Macedonia' the Slavs are laying the foundations for future territorial claims against the region of the same name in Greece. They have clearly expressed this intention by:- (a) plagiarizing and blatantly falsifying history (b)... continuously using maps and emblems that include northern Greece as part of 'Macedonia~ and (c) refusing to comply with the directive of the European Community in its declaration of 16th December 1991 to (i) cease hostile propaganda; (ii) commit itself to guarantees that it has no territorial claims and (iii) not use a denomination (Macedonia) which implies expansionist intentions."

Answer 6

This would be a false representation of who Alexander was and where he came from.

He descended from the Greek city states of Macedonia (father Philip) and Ipiros (mother Olympia), and the people of FYROM did not travel to this part of the world until the 6th Century AD.

The question is - what does Alexandros mean in so called "macedonian"? I would be embarassed to be a part of this nonsense.

Answer 7

If F.Y.R.O.M. (since they have no heroes of their own) only wanted to honor the famous Greek king Alexander the Great of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia that would be ok. As the F.Y.R.OM. government ''cleverly'' stated ''Alexander is a worldwide personality and this why we honor him''. Of course nobody believes their claim since its pretty obvious that this move is another propagandistic one in order to to strengthen their position as there will be discussions about their country's name again in 2007 .Not to mention that there is already an airport in Greece called ''Megas Alexandros'' (Alexander the Great) and not to mention that during Alexander's time Scopje was not even in the Macedonian kingdom!!(It was capital of the Dardanians and it was added later in the Macedonia province by the Romans) !!!Pretty remarkable!

Alexander the Great has absolutely no connection with this modern Slavic state and this move can only bring one more obstacle to F.Y.R.O.M.s discussions with Greece and E.U. and for sure its not an act of fair neighbor relations.

Mick K below
Eygene Borza !! My god,you call this guy historian???!Can you please read any other decent historian,that would make everything clearer to you! Or maybe all the others are forbidden in in F.Y.R.O.M.?

Answer 8

this is a very good question...
but the real one is that is it worth for all of this commotion.
This just opens up new woones, something that neither macedonia nor greece need right now.
And while we are at it, why should it be called(aleksandar veliki, and not aleksandar makedonski the way we macedonians call the same canqueror)
for me it's soo not worth it, why isn't it called after an authentic macedonion revolutionist, like Goce Delcev.
I don't think that foringers will bother what the airport is gonna be called.

Answer 9

Of course it is appropriate - Alexander the Great was Macedonian, and Skopje lies within the historical borders of the ancient Macedonian kingdom.
Modern Greeks are the ones that are attempting to appropriate the legacy of the ancient Macedonians.
ancient Greeks such as Herodotus plainly stated that the Macedonians were not Greek, thus they were not allowed to compete in Olympic events. That Alexander the Great was the tool for the spread of Hellenic cultural ideas is not the issue. This did not make him a Greek, thus he was not viewd upon by ancient Greeks as being Greek and the Macedonians spoke their own language which was more or less closely related to Illyrian and Thracian. That Alexander's royal court adopted certain aspects of 'Greek' culture means nothing.

Slav is not a racial term but merely a linguistic descriptor. Various DNA testing has been done to showe many modern Macedonian's have DNA which pre-dates the so called Slavic invasions whilst modern Greeks have DNA which can be traced back to sub-saharran africa.

Modern Greece is trying to appropriate the name Macedonia for itself when as little as 20 years ago they denied the name outright and said Macedonia does not exist, Alexander the Great was Greek!! Interestingly enough the province of Macedonia in modern Northern Greece was named just that- Northern Greece only until the late 1980's, and they only acquired any Macedonian territory as a result of the Balkan Wars in 1912-13

If Macedonia was so precious to them why did they not claim it during their war of independence with the Turks in 1827?

Once they gained their portion of Macedonia they shipped in Christian refugees from Asia Minor (Anatolia, modern Turkey) to dilute the Macedonian population in a people exchange with Turkey.

Alexander the Great and his empire made its mark as the Macedonian Empire and the Macedonian, not as the Greek, not as the Greek Macedonian and not as the King of northern Greek Kingdom...
He made his mark as the King of Macedonia who conquered the pesky greek city-states to his south while they all hated him and his father Phillip. More Greeks fought against Alexander than with him, his army was composed of majority Macedonians who as the sources state had to be spoken to in Macedonian, not Greek as they did not understand common Greek vernacular.

Modern Greece was created by British hellenophiles with romantic delusions of rebuilding the founding place of democracy.

Macedonia was and always will be Macedonian, even the Holy Bible separates Macedonia from Greece, the Romans also separated Macedonia from Greece, and it was the Greeks who cried for help to the Romans to help them defeat their Macedonian oppressors.

Answer 10

I don't think that it is appropriate because it is a stealing of another country's history,of greek history.
It is very sad that this is happening.All that happens because the greek governments do nothing about this matter for decades.
But it is not going to last.The truth can not be forgotten or can not change

Answer 11

No, but it's human nature to idolize murderous megalomaniacs. And it would hardly be the first airport named after one.