Vergina Sun

The Vergina Sun, Star of Vergina or Argead Star is the name given to a symbol of a stylised star or sun with sixteen rays. It was unearthed in 1977 during archaeological excavations in Vergina, in the northern Greek province of Macedonia, by Professor Manolis Andronikos. He discovered it on a golden larnax in the tombs of the kings of the ancient kingdom of Macedon.

Andronikos described the symbol variously as a "star", a "starburst" or as a "sunburst". [Danforth, L. M. "The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World", p. 163. Princeton University Press, 1997] He proposed that the larnax on which it appears belonged to King Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, though some have attributed it to Alexander the Great's half-brother, Philip III Arrhidaeus. [ [http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/macedon/ Not Philip II of Macedon] ] . The larnax is on display at the archaeological museum in Vergina, where it was found. Another version of the Vergina Sun, with 12 rays, was found on the larnax of Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great.

Interpretations of the symbol

The significance of the Vergina Sun is unclear. Archaeologists do not agree whether the sun was a symbol of Macedon, an emblem of Philip's Argead dynasty, a religious symbol representing the Twelve Gods of Olympus, or simply a decorative design. Andronikos repeatedly interprets it as the "emblem of the Macedonian dynasty", though Eugene Borza has pointed out that it is widely used in ancient Macedonian art. [W. Lindsay Adams and Eugene N. Borza, eds. "Philip II, Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Heritage", p. 82. University Press of America, 1982] [ [http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr/HellenicMacedonia/en/img_A1a.html Macedonian miniature shield] ] John Paul Adams cites its long-established use as a decorative element in Greek art, as well as in the Middle East , Ancient Thrace [Въведение в Тракийската археология, Георги Китов, Даниела Агре, стр. 33-34, ИК Авалон, (in Bulgarian), ISBN 954-9704-07-6. [http://knigoteka.com/book/124348] ] and elsewhere, and concludes that it cannot definitively be said that it was either a "royal" or "national" Macedonian symbol. [Adams, J.P. The "Larnakes" from Tomb II at Vergina. "Archaeological News". 12:1-7] Sixteen and eight-pointed suns often appear in Macedonian and Hellenistic coins and shields of that period. [cite news |url=http://tovima.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=B&f=12515&m=B06&aa=1 |publisher=Το ΒΗΜΑ |title=Γιατί ο τάφος της Βεργίνας ανήκει στον βασιλέα της Μακεδονίας Φίλιππο Β' |author=Νικόλαος Μάρτης |date=January 10, 1999 |page= |language=Greek] However, there are also a number of depictions of Athenian hoplites [ [http://www.macedoniaontheweb.com/w/images/thumb/1/1f/Vase.jpg/300px-Vase.jpg Ancient Greek vase depicting a hoplite with Vergina Sun as panoply decorative design, 5th century BC] ] [ [http://www.matia.gr/7/71/7106/7106_1_8.html Argeads and the Vergina Sun] ] bearing an identical sixteen-pointed symbol on their armor as early as the 6th century BC [ [http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/se/~luv20009/Greek_Shields540-500.html] ] , as well as coin designs from island and mainland Greece bearing eight or sixteen-pointed sun symbols (Corfu, 5th century BC [ [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=1990.26.0214] ] , Locris, 4th century BC [ [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=1989.00.0174] ] [ [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=1990.26.0218] ] ). Before 1977 the symbol had been regarded as a simple ornament. After Andronikos' discovery the symbol began to be viewed as predominantly associated with Ancient Macedonians, despite its earlier ornamental use in Greek art.

Modern usage

Following the discovery of the larnax, the Vergina Sun was widely adopted by Greek Macedonians as a symbol of continuity between ancient Macedonian culture and modern Greek Macedonia. The Vergina Sun on a blue background is commonly used as an official emblem of the three peripheries, the prefectures and the municipalities of the region of Macedonia. On Greek passports, it forms the watermark image across pages 22 and 23, symbolising Greece's Macedonian legacy. It is also used by organisations of the Greek Macedonian diaspora, such as the Pan-Macedonian Association, [ [http://www.macedonia.com/english/ Pan-Macedonian Association website] ] as well as numerous commercial enterprises.

The symbol was also adopted by another group, the ethnic Macedonians, for the same symbolic value. When Yugoslavia broke up in 1991-1992, the Republic of Macedonia designated the Vergina Sun as its national symbol and displayed it on its new flag.

The decision caused controversy both within the republic and outside it in its relations with Greece. The republic's large Albanian minority complained that it was an ethnic symbol of the Ethnic Macedonian majority and was not suitable for a multi-ethnic state.Danforth, L. M. "The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World", p. 166] Greek opposition was even more vehement. The Greek government and many Greek people, especially Greek Macedonians, saw it as the misappropriation of a Hellenic symbol and a direct claim on the legacy of Philip II. [The dispute was exacerbated by clauses in the Republic of Macedonia's constitution that Greeks saw as a territorial claim on the Greek province of Macedonia] A Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman said in January 1995 that "the symbol is Greek and has been stolen." Nationalists on both sides subsequently associated the symbol with the (much later) Star of Bethlehem and have argued that their respective communities have used the symbol for sacred purposes before the Vergina discovery. The Greek position on the symbol has been supported by some abroad, such as the former United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, who reportedly told a questioner:

Others have argued that the symbol has been appropriated by the Greeks as a means of asserting continuity between modern Greece and the ancient Greek states. Peter Hill, a professor of Slavic studies at the University of Hamburg who has published extensively on the ethnic Macedonians and their language, states that

Speaking on the BBC World Service's "The World Today" programme, archaeologist Bajana Mojsov from the Republic of Macedonia said that "the symbolic weight attached to the Vergina Star was archaeologically absurd - but politically inevitable," arguing:

At the same time, Demetrius Floudas, Senior Associate at Hughes Hall, Cambridge, and one of the leading analysts of the Macedonia naming dispute, claimed that:

Although the authorities in Skopje denied any ulterior motives, the flag became a major issue in the wider political dispute between the two countries of the early 1990s (see Foreign relations of the Republic of Macedonia). Greek objections led to the flag being banned from use in a variety of places, including the United Nations, the Olympic Games and offices of the Republic of Macedonia in the United States and Australia.

The symbol was introduced in popular Greek imagery from the mid 1980s and, after 1991, increasingly so in many new contexts in Greece. It was added to the Greek 100 drachma coin [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

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] ] in early 1992 and appeared on the arm patches of police in Athens. The Thessaloniki based "Makedonia" television station used it to replace the letter omicron in its logo and the Bank of Macedonia-Thrace adopted it as its symbol, as did some Greek military units. [Borza, Eugene N. "Macedonia Redux", in "The Eye Expanded: life and the arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity", ed. Frances B Tichener & Richard F. Moorton, p. 260. University of California Press, 1999. See also: [http://www.army.gr/n/g/archive/signs/html/1h_stratia.html Greek military: 1st STRATIA] and [http://www.army.gr/n/g/archive/signs/html/34_mk_ta3.html -34 Μ/Κ ΤAX.] ] In February 1993 the Greek parliament passed a bill designating the Vergina Sun as an official Greek national symbol. In July 1995, Greece lodged a request with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for exclusive intellectual property rights to the Vergina Sun. [http://www.b-info.com/places/Macedonia/republic/news/95-07/jul31.mak "Greece petitions for int'l rights to Vergina Star"] , ANA, 31 July 1995. See also WIPO registrations: [http://www.wipo.int/cgi-6te/guest/ifetch5?ENG+6TER+15+1151315-REVERSE+0+0+-1+F+308+431+101+25+SEP-0/HITNUM,B+KIND/Emblem+] [http://www.wipo.int/cgi-6te/guest/ifetch5?ENG+6TER+15+1151315-REVERSE+0+0+-1+F+307+431+101+25+SEP-0/HITNUM,B+KIND/Emblem+] , [http://www.wipo.int/cgi-6te/guest/ifetch5?ENG+6TER+15+1151315-REVERSE+0+0+-1+F+306+431+101+25+SEP-0/HITNUM,B+KIND/Emblem+] .] The dispute was partially resolved in October 1995 under a compromise brokered by the United Nations. The symbol was removed from the flag of the Republic of Macedonia as part of an agreement to establish diplomatic and economic relations between the two sides. It was replaced by an eight-pointed sun, which was discovered by archaeologist engraved in stones in the city of Trnovec, Republic of Macedonia. [ [http://www.culture.in.mk/story.asp?id=1901 Flag still not made up] ] . The Aromanians in the Republic of Macedonia use an eight-pointed Vergina sun as their symbol. [Cowan, Jane K. "Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference", p. 124. Pluto Press, 2000] Despite the 1995 accord between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, the municipality of Makedonska Kamenica in the Republic of Macedonia still displays the vergina sun on their municipal flag. [ [http://www.makedonskakamenica.gov.mk/ "Makedonska Kamenica" municipality] mk icon]

Outside of the Republic of Macedonia, some nationalist groups continue to use the Vergina Sun as a symbol of Macedonia's Slavs, despite the change in the Republic of Macedonia's flag. In Canada, for instance, the United Macedonians Organization uses the sun as part of its logo. [ [http://www.unitedmacedonians.org/ United Macedonians Organization website] ]

In 2005, ethnic Macedonian press reported that the municipality of Liqenas in Albania, located in what is referred to as the Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo region which has a significant ethnic Macedonian population, [ [http://www.southeasteurope.org/documents/0009albminorities.pdf “ON THE STATUS OF THE MINORITIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA”] , Albanian Helsinki Committee with support of the Finnish Foundation ‘KIOS’ and “Finnish NGOFoundation for Human Rights”.] ["Finally, Albania recognizes a Greek and a Macedonian minority" - [http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/bhr/english/organizations/ghm/ghm_14_05_01.doc Partly or Fully Unrecognized National Minorities: Statement to the UN Working Group on Minorities, 7th session, Geneva, 14-18 May 2001] , Greek Helsinki Committee] had adopted the Vergina Sun as its seal. [cite web |title=Makedonskosonce.com |work=MAKEDONCITE NA BALKANOT |accessdate= 2007-07-21 |format= pdf |url= http://www.makedonskosonce.com/broevis/2005/sonce586.pdf/30_31_pustec.pdf] Other ethnic Macedonian minority groups in neighboring countries have also chosen the Vergina Sun as their symbol, such the case as the minority in Serbia .

References

ources

* "Philip II, Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Heritage", ed. W. Lindsay Adams and Eugene N. Borza. University Press of America, 1982. ISBN 0-8191-2448-6
* The "Larnakes" from Tomb II at Vergina. "Archaeological News". John Paul Adams
* "In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence of Macedon", Eugene N. Borza. Princeton University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-691-05549-1
* "Macedonia Redux", Eugene N. Borza, in "The Eye Expanded: life and the arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity", ed. Frances B Tichener & Richard F. Moorton. University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 0-520-21029-8
* "Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference", Jane K. Cowan. Pluto Press, 2000. ISBN 0-7453-1589-5
* "The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World", Loring M. Danforth. Princeton University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-691-04357-4
* "Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation", McFarland & Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7864-0228-8
*

External links

* [http://www.kzu.ch/fach/as/aktuell/2000/04_vergina/verg_04.htm Image of gold box with Vergina Sun in Thessaloniki Museum]
* [http://www.fotw.net/flags/gr-maced.html Flags of Greek Macedonia] - Flags of the World
* [http://www.fotw.net/flags/mk_verg.html Republic of Macedonia National Flag 1992-1995] - Flags of the World

ee also

*Macedonia naming dispute