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Thursday, April 24, 2025

MACEDONIAN ELEMENTS IN KOINE AND MODERN GREEK

1. INTRODUCTION

In the 4th century BC, Philip II of Macedon (or Archelaus in the 5th century) introduced the Attic Greek dialect as an official administrative language of the Macedonian court ¹. The rise of Macedonia as the dominant power of the Greek world also led to the dominance of this Attic-derived Geeek dialect, which became the common dialect of the Greeks. This is the so-called Koine Greek, meaning "Common Greek" (κοινή="common"), the lingua franca of the Southern Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean during the Hellenistic times and Roman rule. This language evolved into Medieval Greek, from which the Modern Greek language descends.

2. LITERARY ATTESTATION

Despite Attic being the nucleus of Koine Greek, influences from other Greek dialects, especially Macedonian, were unavoidable. Αncient authors described the Macedonian influence on Attic and Koine Greek. Athenaeus in "Deipnosophistae", reported that many Attic writers used Macedonian dialectal features due to the bilateral influence Attica and Macedonia had on eachother:
«I know, too, that many of the Attic writers affect to imitate Macedonian expressions, on account of the great intercourse that there was between Attica and Macedonia» ². 
A lot earlier, during the 4th century BCE , Philippides the Athenian comedian mentions the noun "κοράσιον" (korásion, "little girl"), describing it as "foreign" ("ξενικόν", i.e. non-Athenian) ³. A scholiast (Ven. B Hom. Il. 20.404), while discussing the Doric long alpha (ᾱ), suggests that the word is Macedonian:
«εἰ δὲ τρέποιτο τὸ η τοῦ πρωτοτύπου εἰς α παρὰ Δωριεῦσι διὰ τοῦ α πρυμνάσιον, κορυφάσιον. οὕτως ἔχει καὶ τὸ κοράσιον, ὅ μαλλον ἐστὶ μακεδονικόν» ⁴. 
The scholiast's suggestion is proven to be true, judging by the frequent occurrences of κοράσιον in Macedonian epigraphy ⁵. From a linguistic view, he is also correct, since κοράσιον is the diminutive form of Doric κόρᾱ ("girl") with long ᾱ instead of Attic κόρη with η. The word κοράσιον involved into Medieval Greek as κοράσιν and ended up in Modern Greek as κοράσι ⁶. 
Another attestation comes from a fragment of a comic dialogue of Philemon (fr. 130), quoted by Phyrinchus:
«— βουνόν ἐπὶ ταύτῃ καταλαβών ἄνω τινά
— τί ἐσθ’ ὁ βουνός? ἵνα σαφῶς σου μανθάνω»

[— Having occupied a βουνός (hill) up on top of this
— What is a βουνός? So that I understand you clearly]
Phyrinchus also criticised the word βουνός (hill) as foreign and non-Attic ⁷. The word was most likely been familiar in Doric dialects ⁸ and, therefore, its sudden penetration and frequency into the Koine Greek everyday vocabulary could be attributed to Macedonian influence. Pausanias mentions the cult of Hera Βουναία at Corinth, which likely derived its name from Βοῦνος, the son of Hermes (Paus. 2.4.7). An entry in Hesychius informs us of the existence of a Toξίου βουνός in Sikyon – that is, a hill consecrated to Apollo (Hsch. τ 1134). The adjective βοῦνις, an early derivative of βουνός, is a Doricism in the lyric parts of Aeschylus’ Suppliant Women (117; 129; 776)       ⁷.  Claudius Salmasius in the 17th century had commented on the topic:
«The word βουνός, unintelligible to the Attics as a foreign term, appears in the Septuagint translation. And this fact makes that version less Hellenistic, if we take Hellenistic in the sense it was then understood—that is, as pure, authentic, and truly Greek. For when compared to Attic, which was considered the purest and most correct of all dialects, that Common Greek language of the Macedonians, which the general populace of Greece then used indiscriminately, seems provincial and crude, especially when set beside the more refined and elegant language of the Attics» ⁹.
The word βουνό is today the most popular and frequent term used in Modern Greek to describe a hill or a mountain.

Despite the few fragmentary accounts testifying the shift to Koine Greek and its differences from Attic, it seems that the role of Macedonian in the formation of the new dialect was so important that the verb "μακεδονίζειν" (="to 'macedonize', to speak the macedonian way") was commonly used as a synonym of "to speak Koine" ¹⁰. In other instances, as it can be seen from Salmasius' quote, Koine Greek was simply described as the Macedonian Language. The term Koine is preferred by modern scholarship to avoid confusion with the original Macedonian Northwestern Greek dialect. 

3. OTHER DATA

Ancient literature only provides us with information about dialectal influences in vocabulary. On the other hand, we can extract more essential linguistic data from other sources, such as epigraphy, Koine Greek texts and from the living descendant of it - the Modern Greek language and its dialects. The earliest change in Attic Greek is attested in an Attic oath related to the participation of the Athenians in the Hellenic League under the leadership of Philip II the Macedonian (337/8 BCE) ¹¹. In this inscription we find the forms θάλασσα instead of regular Attic θάλαττα and Θεσσαλῶν instead of regular Attic Θετταλῶν. This has been interpreted as an early attempt of "Koineization", given the fact that Attic -tt- appears as -ss- in the rest of the Greek dialects. The trope -tt- → -ss- was most likely a feature also shared by Northwestern dialects (including Macedonian), as seen by the Northwestern Greek ethnonym Μολοσσοί which is rendered as Μολοττοί in the Attic dialect ¹². Thus, we cannot exclude the possibility of a Macedonian influence. The same could apply in the case of -ρρ- (Attic) → -ρσ- (Koine/Mod. Greek): Attic ἀρρενικός became ἀρσενικός in Koine and Modern Greek. Accordingly, the root of the term is ἄρρην in Attic and ἄρσην in Koine and Modern Greek. The latter form shows striking resemblance to the Doric forms ἄρσης (Laconian, Theran) and ἔρσην (Cretan, Coan) ¹³.
Non-Attic features, which could be attributed a lot more confidently to Macedonian, are to be found in the living Modern Greek language. A dialectal feature of ancient Macedonian is the diminutive ending -(l)as in personal names ending in -laos, as attested in the Macedonian form Iolas for Iolaos ¹⁴. The same feature has been inherited by Modern Greek, where Nikolaos becomes Nikolas in every day speech. Modern Greeks have also inherited the the Macedonian form of first declension masculine genitive. The genitive of the noun νεανίας, while in Attic it would be (τοῦ) νεανίου, is (τοῦ) νεανία in Modern Greek. This exact version is frequently found in Macedonian coinage, where we read ΣΙΡΡΑ ΠΑΥΣΑΝΙΑ, ΑΜΥΝΤΑ, ΠΕΡΔΙΚΚΑ instead of *ΣΙΡΡΟΥ, ΠΑΥΣΑΝΙΟΥ, ΑΜΥΝΤΟΥ, ΠΕΡΔΙΚΚΟΥ (="of Sirrhas", "of Pausanias", "of Amyntas", "of Perdikkas") ¹⁵. Another Macedonian feature, which is also characteristic in Northwestern Greek Dialects, is the spirantization of aspirates (σθ → στ), as in Macedonian γενέσθαι → γενέσται (in the Pella tablet) and Modern Greek εἶσθε → εἶστε ¹⁶.
But were these enough for Hellenistic authors to classify a Koine speaker as a "Macedonian speaker" (μακεδονίζων τῇ φωνῇ)? The truth is that the aforementioned innovations were noticeable and "foreign", especially to the Attic ear, but even more foreign were the changes in phonology. During the Hellenistic period, Greek experienced a spirantisation of consonants, having the following evolution:
[pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] → [pᶠ, tᶿ, kᵡ] → [f, θ, χ] 
Linguist Babiniotis (1992) proposed that Macedonian followed an analogous spirantisation of voiced consonants:
[pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] → [pᵛ, tᵟ, kˠ] → [v, δ, γ]
The prominent linguist concluded that Macedonian was a precursor to later Greek spirantization in Hellenistic Koine and finally Modern Greek ¹⁷. Macedonian also presents an early stage of fricativization of úpsilon (υ), as it was used to render digamma (ϝ), equivalent of the letter w:
Macedonian  Αυραντον < Αϝραντον (Att. αρραντον)
Macedonian Αυδουναιος < Αϝδωναιος < Αϝιδωναιος ¹⁸
The Macedonian terms reflect the middle stage of fricativization of υ in Greek:
[u] → [w] → [v]/[f] ¹⁹. In today's Greek, εύρος is pronounced as évros, αυλή as avlí and αυτός as aftós.

4. ANCIENT MACEDONIAN AND MODERN MACEDONIAN

The Macedonians of Velventos have preserved several Macedonian archaisms in their dialect. They occasionally use Doric/Macedonian ᾱ instead of ῆ in words such as μακους ~ μηκων, αμαρουκουτους ~ αμηρυκητος, μαρκειουμι ~ μηρυκωμαι, ξιαλ’ ~ ξυηλη etc ²⁰. In mountainous Pieria, Macedonians use the diphthong ΟΥ in the place of Y: κουνταλου ~ κυνδαλος , σουχροι ~ συν χροι, τρουπωμα ~ τρυπωμα ²¹. Similarly, Ancient Macedonians called Heracles Κουναγιδας instead of Κυναγιδας and represented the inherited */u(:)/ as ΟΥ ²². It is worth mentioning the characteristic change of ω → ου (χωριό→χουριό), which is epigraphically attested in Macedonian (Άρτεμις Βλουρεῖτις → *Φιλωρεῖτις) ²³.

5. SYNOPSIS 
In short, ancient Macedonian elements in Koine and Modern Greek can be listed as follows:

• Macedonian Vocabulary (βουνό, κοράσιον)

• Non-Attic features possible in Macedonian:

1. -tt- → -ss- (θάλαττα → θάλασσα)
2. -rr- → -rs- (χερρόνησος → χερσόνησος)

• Clear Macedonian features

1. Diminutive forms such as Nikolas for Nikolaos 
2. Macedonian first declension masculine genitive ( του Αμύντου → του Αμύντα)
3. -sth- → -st- (εἶσθε → εἶστε)
4. spirantisation of consonants:
    [pʰ, tʰ, kʰ] → [pᶠ, tᶿ, kᵡ] → [f, θ, χ]
5. fricativization of /u/
    [u] → [w] → [v]/[f]

• Macedonian features in Modern Macedonian:

1. Doric ā (μακους ~ μηκων)
2. ου instead of Υ (τρουπωμα ~ τρυπωμα)
3. Ω → ΟΥ (χωριό → χουριό)

____________________
Sources/References:
¹ Miltiades Hatzopoulos, Ancient Macedonia, p. 102
⁷ Olga Tribulato, Federico Favi, Lucia Prauscello, Ancient Greek Purism 1: The roots of Atticism, pp.194-195
For the form Molottoi see IG II² 1594 from Attica
¹⁷ George Babiniotis in: "Historical Philology:
Greek, Latin, and Romance, Papers in Honor of Oswald Szemerényi II", pp. 29-39
¹⁸ Miltiades Hatzopoulos, Macedonian Institutions Under the Kings, 
¹⁹ Philemon Zachariou, Reading and Pronouncing Biblical Greek: Historical Pronunciation Versus Erasmian, p.25
²⁰ Θαβώρης Α. Ι. (1998). Ιδιωματικοί αρχαϊσμοί και βόρεια νεοελληνικά ιδιώματα: οι αρχαϊσμοί του ιδιώματος Βελβεντού δυτικής Μακεδονίας. Μακεδονικά, 31(1), 31–91.  https://doi.org/10.12681/makedonika.114
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Tuesday, April 15, 2025

ETHNOLINGUISTIC OBSERVATIONS IN UPPER MACEDONIA

1. THE TERM "UPPER MACEDONIA"

Strabo in his "Geography" defines as "Upper Macedonia" (ἄνω Μακεδονία) the area which consisted of the regions Lyncus, Pelagonia, Orestias and Elimeia («καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ περὶ Λύγκον καὶ Πελαγονίαν καὶ Ὀρεστιάδα καὶ Ἐλίμειαν τὴν ἄνω Μακεδονίαν ἐκάλουν») ¹. According modern historical research, Upper Macedonia consisted of Elimeia, Tymphaea, Lycenstis, Orestias, Pelagonia, Derriopus, Eordaea, with Antintania and Dassaretis being incorporated later into the region ² The following map ³ might be helpful:


 

2. ETHNIC AFFILIATIONS

2.1 Archaeological Data

Upper Macedonia, being part of the Mycenaean world, was inhabited by Greek tribes already since the Bronze Age. This was confirmed by archaeological discoveries of the last decades, namely pottery associated with North-Western/ Doric Greek tribes, which also point to Mycenaean Greek settlements in the region. According to L. Wynn - Antikas: 
«This can be seen in the numerous matt painted vases in the tradition of late Bronze Age pottery which developed from the Middle Helladic pottery in southern Greece ( 1900-1800 BC ). Matt painted ware has been found as far away as Albania, Central Macedonia and Thessaly, and was typically used by the north-western Greek tribes of the Dorians and the Macedonians. Among the Mycenaean finds found is a unique figurine ( Fig 6 ) which dates to the late Helladic - IIIb period ( 1300 to 1200 BC). Such artefacts have led archaeologists to believe that it is likely there were Mycenaean settlements in Upper Macedonia » ⁴.

2.2 Part of the Epirotic Ethne

The archaeological conclusions coincide with historical records, since the tribes of Upper Macedonia are associated with North-Western Greek tribes in ancient literature. Hecataeus of Miletus (6th c. BCE) , in a fragment preserved by Stephanus of Byzantium, describes the tribe of the Orestae as an Epirotic tribe and, more specifically, Molossian:
«Ὀρέσται, Μολοσσικόν ἔθνος. Ἑκαταῖος Εὐρώπῃ» ⁵.
Hecataeus' information can be confirmed by a 4th century BCE inscription found in Dodona, where an Orestian named Φρύνος appears as co-leader of the Molossian tribal state (κοινόν):

ἐπὶ προστά[τα] Δροάτου Κελαίθ̣[ου, γραμ]-
ματέος δὲ Παυσ[ανία Τριπ]-
ολίτα, συναρχόν[των Θεαρί(?)]-
5δα Κελαίθου, Ἄλκ[ωνος Πεί]-
αλος, Μενεφύλου [— — — — —],
Ἀντίκ̣κα Ἐθνεστοῦ, Μ̣[․․․․․ Τ]-
ριφύλα, Γεννάδα Ὀ[νοπέρνο]-
υ, Ἕκτορος Ὄνφαλος, Δ[αμοίτα]
10Ἀμύμνου, Αἰρόπου Γε[νοαίου, Ἀ]-
νεροίτα Ἀρκτᾶνος, Ν[ίκωνο]-
ς Φύλατος, Ἀνερεία Τρ̣[ιπολίτ]-
α, Φρύνου Ὀρεστοῦ, Ἀρ[χιδάμο(?)]-
υ Παρωροῦ, Ὀμοστακ[ίου Κυεσ]-
15τοῦ ἔδωκε τὸ κοινὸν τ[ῶν Μο]-
λοσσῶν πολιτείαν [Ἀριστ]-
οκλεῖ, Μονδαι[ῶι — — — Ἀντ]-
ιγένεος Ν[αυ]πα[κτίοις, εὐε]-
ργέτας εἶμεν τῶν [Μολοσ]-
20σῶν καὶ αὐτο̣[ῖ]ν̣ καὶ γ[ενεᾶι ὡς]
παντὶ Μολο[σσ]ῶ̣ι̣ κ̣[αὶ ἀτέλεια]-
ν καὶ ἐντέλειαν [καὶ γᾶς ἔγ]-
κτασιν καὶ ὅσα [τίμια πάντα]
τοῖς ἄλλοις ε[ὐεργέταις π]-
25ολιτευομέν[οις ὑπάρχειν]. ⁶.

In a 2nd c. BCE inscription we find the phrase "Orestian Molossians" ⁷:

< Ὀρεστοὶ Μολοσοί > 

The Epirote origin of the Orestae is also attested in Strabo's Geography, where other Upper Macedonian tribes, such as the Tymphaei and the Atintanes, are listed as Ἠπειρῶται:
«The Amphilochians are Epeirotes; and so are the peoples who are situated above them and border on the Illyrian mountains, inhabiting a rugged country—I mean the Molossi, the Athamanes, the Aethices, the Tymphaei, the Orestae, and also the Paroraei and the Atintanes, some of them being nearer to the Macedonians and others to the Ionian Gulf» ¹.
While in another passage, Strabo mentions the Orestae, the Pelagonians and the Elimiotae as Epirotes who were annexed to Macedonia:
 «For both on account of the fame and of the predominance of the Thessalians and the Macedonians, the countries of those Epeirotes who were their nearest neighbors were made, some willingly and the others unwillingly, parts of Thessaly or Macedonia; for instance, the Athamanes, the Aethices, and the Talares were made parts of Thessaly, and the Orestae, the Pelagonians, and the Elimiotae of Macedonia» ⁸.

Epirotic origin is also assigned to the Lyncestae (Λυγκῆσται) by Stephanus of Byzantium who mentions Lyncus (Λύγκος) as a "city of Epirus":
«Λύγκος, πόλις Ἠπείρου. Στράβων ἑβδόμῃ. ἐκλήθη ἀπὸ Λυγκέως. τὸ ἐθνικὸν Λυγκησταί. τὸ θηλυκόν Λυγκηστίς. λέγεται καὶ Λύγκιος ὡς Λύττιος. λέγεται καὶ Λυγκεύς» ⁹.

Based on the above, it is reasonable to conclude that the tribes of Upper Macedonia belonged to the branch of North-Western Greeks, or Epirotes, as archaeological data have indicated. N. G. L. Hammond is convinced that this is the case:
«On crossing the Balkan chain, we find that Hecataeus called the Orestae 'a Molossian tribe' (F 107), and Strabo (434; cf. 326) probably derived from Hecataeus his belief that the Elimeotae, Lyncestae, and Pelagones, as well as the Orestae, were Epirotic or rather Molossian tribes before their incorporation by the Macedones into the Macedonian kingdom» ¹⁰.

2.3 Connections to Macedonia

Marsyas of Pella, Macedonian writer, informs us that Orestis was also called Maketa (or Maketia) ¹¹ , while we also know that Maketai (or Macetae in Latin) was another name for the Macedonians ¹². It is possible that Orestis was home to a North-Western/Epirotic tribe, the Maketai, who migrated southwards and formed the new tribe of the Makedones. Moreover, given the fact that Orestai ("mountain-men") and Maketai/Makedones ("highlanders") are tribal names with almost identical meaning (see here), it can be assumed that Macedonians and Orestae were derived from the same North-Western Greek stock. This view is reinforced by Herodotus, who wrote that the ancestors of the Dorians, when they lived around Epirus, were called Macedonians ¹³ :
«For in the days of king Deucalion it inhabited the land of Phthia, then the country called Histiaean, under Ossa and Olympus, in the time of Dorus son of Hellen; driven from this Histiaean country by the Cadmeans, it settled about Pindus in the territory called Macedonian; from there again it migrated to Dryopia, and at last came from Dryopia into the Peloponnese, where it took the name of Dorian»
Eugene Borza summarizes:
«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» ¹⁴.


3. LINGUISTIC AFFILIATIONS 

Having said these, we can now come to the conclusion that it was Epirote tribes from Orestis who brought the Northwestern - Doric dialect to Macedonia. Thus, the Orestae, the rest of Upper Macedonians and the Macedonians should have spoken similar dialects. 

3.1 Ancient Testimonies

Indeed, the similarity in language between Upper Macedonians and Macedonians had been pointed out by the time of Strabo. Strabo reports that people classified as "Macedonia" the region from Upper Macedonia as far as Corcyra (Corfu) due to similarity in culture and speech:
«And in fact the regions about Lyncus, Pelagonia, Orestias, and Elimeia, used to be called Upper Macedonia, though later on they were by some also called Free Macedonia. But some go so far as to call the whole of the country Macedonia, as far as Corcyra, at the same time stating as their reason that in tonsure, language, short cloak, and other things of the kind, the usages of the inhabitants are similar, although, they add, some speak both languages» ¹. 
From Strabo's description we can distinguish the following regions: 
(a) Macedonia Proper
(b) Upper Macedonia & Epirus 
(c) Corcyra Island. 
In region (a) , the Macedonian idiom of North-Western Greek Doric was spoken ¹⁵. Region (c) was a Corinthian colony and, obviously, Corinthian Doric was the language of the Island. Corinthians, along with other Dorian colonists had founded several colonies along Western Greece and the Adriatic, such as Epidamnos. Thucydides clearly mentions the Corinthian Doric ancestry of the Corcyraeans:
«The city of Epidamnus stands on the right of the entrance of the Ionic gulf. Its vicinity is inhabited by the Taulantians, an Illyrian people. The place is a colony from Corcyra, founded by Phalius, son of Eratocleides, of the family of the Heraclids, who had according to ancient usage been summoned for the purpose from Corinth, the mother country. The colonists were joined by some Corinthians, and others of the Dorian race» ¹⁶.
The dialects of Corcyra and Macedonia were so similar that they were considered equally Macedonian. Consequently, the Doric character of the language of region (b) is also confirmed once again. To make it more simple, Strabo basically implies an equation Corinthian ≈ Macedonian ≈ Epirotic (= Doric).

3.2. The ethnonymic suffix -stai

The ethnonymic suffix -stai is a characteristic of Upper Macedonian tribal names such as the Ὀρέσται (Orestai), the Ἀργέσται (Argestai/Argestaioi, tribe attested in Pelagonia ¹⁷) and the Ἐθνέσται (Ethnestai , tribe located at Orestis or near Orestis ¹⁸). The suffix is very regular in Greek derivatives of s-stem neuter nouns ¹⁹:

•   ὄρος > Ὀρέσ-ται
•   Ἄργος > Ἀργέσ-ται > ἀργεσταῖοι
•   ἔθνος >  Ἐθνέσ-ται 

However, the use of the suffix is also used in ethnonyms that are not derived from neuter s-stems. This generalization must have been applied by North-Western Greeks, as it is present in neighbouring Macedonian and Epirote tribal names:

•    Ἐορδαία > Ἐορδέσται, but Ἐορδίζω > Ἐορδισταί ²⁰, regular derivation in Greek from verbs in -ίζω (e.g. κτίζω , "to build" > κτίσται , "builders"). 
•    Δῖον > Διέσται ²¹ or Διάσται ²², the Macedonian inhabitants of Dion .
•    αἴξ (?) > Αἰγεσταῖοι , another name for the Thesprotians ²³

Finally, the form -ησται (ē/ before -stai) as in Λυγκῆσται/Λυγκησταί is only attested in Ἐγχηστοί, an Epirotic tribe ²⁴:

• Λύγκος > Λυγκησταί
• Ἐγχος > Ἐγχηστοί

According to Stephanus of Byzantium, these derivations are a Macedonian dialectal feature: 
«Μακεδόνων γὰρ ὁ τύπος, Ὀρέσται, Λυγκησταί» ²².

N. G. L. Hammond confirms that the suffix -estae is a West-Greek feature: 
«...The aetiologizing motive is patently obvious, the more so as the word Orestae has an obvious derivation from ὄρος and the west-Greek ethnic termination -estae» ²⁵.

The occurrence of -st- suffixal elements in Illyrian ethnonyms could be attributed to neighbourιng Greek influence. Greek suffixes such as -ānes or -atai are also found in Illyrian tribes:

•   Ἐγγελᾶνες , Illyrian tribe  — Δυμᾶνες , Doric tribe
•   Αὐταριάται , Illyrian tribe — Ποτειδαιάται , Greek inhabitants of Poteidaea ²⁶.

____________________
Sources/References:
¹⁵ The Ancient Macedonian Language:
    Part #1
    Part #2
²⁰ According to Stephanus of Byzantium ; for Eordestai see here
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Sunday, March 30, 2025

THE ANCIENT MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE #2

In part #1 we examined the etymology of the ethnonym of the Macedonians and its different versions, the toponyms of the Macedonian Homeland and the personal names used by the Macedonians. Based on these, it can be assumed that the Macedonians were bearers of Greek speech. In this part we will deal with additional evidence.

1. EPIGRAPHY
What had troubled historians and linguists for years is the absence of continuous texts written in Macedonian. However, in 1986 I.M. Akamantis discovered at Pella a tablet dated to the 4th century BC. This inscription, along with other inscriptions found in Macedonia, have a common important characteristic: they are all written in a non-Attic dialect. This is important, because the Macedonian court used the Attic dialect as an official language since the 4th century. The text excavated at Pella, commonly known as "Pella curse tablet" can be found here. We will comment on the inscription with the help of J. O'Neil's presentation entitled "Doric Forms in Macedonian Inscriptions" ¹:

• The first dialectal feature is found on line 1 inside the name Θετιμα: the name corresponds to Attic-Ionic Θεοτίμη, consists of the words Θεός (=God) and τιμή (=honor). The loss of o from θεο- is a Doric feature and the long ᾱ in Θετιμᾱ instead of Attic ῆ is an Aeolo-Doric feature. This feature was also very common in the Macedonian personal names presented in part #1.
• In the same line we find the form τᾱν αλλᾱν πασᾱν. This is the regular first declension plural form in Doric instead of Attic τῶν αλλῶν πασῶν (usage of ᾱν instead of ῶν). This feature is also observed in the Epirote Dialect. In an inscription from Dodona ² we find the form Ἀπειρωτᾶν instead of Attic  Ἠπειρωτῶν.
• In line 2 we observe the Aeolo-Doric feature of apocope of prepositions. παρκαττιθεμαι is used instead of Attic παρακατατιθεμαι (παρ- instead of παρα- and κατ- instead of κατα-). This phenomenon is present on the Macedonian name Περδικκας which probably corresponds to Attic *Περιδικαιος. In Spartan Doric too, the Attic name Περικλής is found as Περκλης ³.
• The usage of ε instead of  Attic ι in διελεξαιμι (Attic διελιξαιμι) is paralled with other Macedonian inscriptions. In a 4th century BC epitaph from Pella ⁴, we find εσστε instead of εστι. 
• Northwest Greek features are found on line 7 and 8: the pronoun εμιν instead of εμοι and the form γενεσται instead of Attic γενεσθαι
• The phrase ΔΑΓΙΝΑΓΑΡΙΜΕ troubles the researchers. Laurent Dubois suggested that Γ in ΔΑΓΙΝΑ is actually a "damaged" Π and thus the phrase should be read as δαπινα γαρ ιμε corresponding to Attic ταπεινη γαρ ειμι ⁵. The form *δαπινα → ταπεινη aligns with Macedonian phonological rules and could be paralleled with the case of Δρεβελαος → Τρεφελεως ⁶. O'Neil considers Dubois' interpretation very plausible.

Therefore, the text that appears is written in a West Greek Dialect with forms found in neighbouring to Macedonia Greek dialects (Aeolic and Doric). O'Neil writes: 
«The curse tablet can definitely be seen to be in some form of West Greek, with forms corresponding to Doric and Aeolic dialects, but quite clearly differing from Attic-Ionic. It does seem in its use of the form δαίμοισι to be distinct from either of the known West Greek dialects spoken in the areas to the south of Macedon, Thessalian and Northwest Greek. So it seems unlikely that its use at Pella is due to the migration of an individual from the areas immediately to the south of Macedon, or to the adoption of one of the dialects spoken in those areas by a Macedonian native. On the other hand, the form ἀνορόξασα, with its omicron in place of the regular upsilon, does have parallels with attested Macedonian glosses and there is reason to think Macedonian may have had more open pronunciation of short upsilon and iota. The simplest explanation for the dialect forms in the curse tablet is that it has been written in the original Macedonian dialect, and that that dialect is a West Greek one, related to, but distinct from its more southern neighbors, Thessalian and Northwest Greek»

Other dialectal inscriptions have been found in important Macedonian cities, which bear non-Attic characteristics and support the Doric-like character of the native Macedonian speech. Two statue bases from Aegae honouring Euridike, the mother of Philip II, have been found. The first one reads ⁷:
Εὐρυδίκα Σίρρα Εὐκλείαι 
and the second one ⁸: 
Ε̣ὐ̣ρ̣υ̣δίκα Σίρ[ρ]α̣.
Both inscriptions show the Aeolo-Doric form Ευρυδικᾱ instead of Attic Ευριδικη, but also the Macedonian masculine genitive case Σιρρα instead of Attic *Σιρρου. In Macedonian coinage we find the forms ΠΑΥΣΑΝΙΑ, ΠΕΡΔΙΚΚΑ, ΑΜΥΝΤΑ instead of ΠΑΥΣΑΝΙΟΥ, ΠΕΡΔΙΚΚΟΥ, ΑΜΥΝΤΟΥ. This is also a characteristic of the Modern Greek language.

Finally, a more recent epigraphic discovery from Dodona took the interest of linguists, as it shows Doric-like and typical Macedonian peculiarities:
Ζεῦ καί Διώνα ᾖ ἔσσονται παῖδες ἐκ τᾶς γυναικός Κεβαλίωι τᾶς νῦν ἔχει κ[α]ι ζώσοντι; ⁹
We encounter again the non-Attic long -ᾱ: Διωνᾱ instead of Διωνη and τᾶς γυναικός instead of τῆς γυναικός. But we also encounter the name Κεβαλιος which shows the typical Macedonian trope φ →β as in κεφαλη → κεβαλη ⁶.

2. PHONOLOGY & THE MACEDONIAN LINGUISTIC "PROBLEM"
While examining these Macedonian inscriptions, we occasionally encountered forms such as *δαπινα → ταπεινη and Κεβαλιος → *Κεφαλιος and mentioned other examples like κεφαλη → κεβαλη and Δρεβελαος → Τρεφελεως. This Macedonian phonological feature was observed by Plutarch who wrote that the Macedonians pronounce β instead of φ and say Βιλιππος instead of Φιλιππος, Βαλακρος instead of Φαλακρος and Βερονικη instead of Φερονικη ¹⁰. This tendency of Macedonians to say <β,γ,δ> instead of <φ,χ,θ> or <β,γ,δ> instead of <π, κ, τ> was once considered to be proof of a language separate from Greek, since what differentiates Greek from other Indo-European languages is the change of the IE voiced aspirates <bh, gh, dh> to <φ,χ,θ> and thus Macedonian did not take part this Greek development ¹¹. However, several Macedonian words took part in Greek phonological developments. The Macedonian toponym Αμαθος shows the development *sámh₂dʰos > αμαθος. The Macedonian name for Muses θουριδες shows the development *dʰerh₃- > θουριδες as Proto-Greek *tʰorwos. The Macedonian name Κεβαλιος (from κεβαλη) shows the development of *gʰebʰ-l̥ > κεβαλη as Proto-Greek *kʰepʰəlā́. If Macedonian had a Thraco-Phrygian-like development, one would expect *Γεβαλιος ⁶. According to van Beeek:
«Κεβαλιος presupposes that Macedonian took part in Grassmann’s Law. If this is correct, Macedonian started off as a NWGr. dialect which subsequently underwent its proper Lautverschiebung in the stops» ⁶.
It should be noted at this point that Macedonian is not the only ancient Greek dialect to show "anomalous" phonological developments. According to equally outdated theories, Doric dialects were classified as "Illyrian" because they showed the development of PIE *bʰ into β instead of φ (cf. Laconian βερνωμεθα ¹² from PIE root *bʰer- and Elean βρα ¹³ from PIE root *bʰréh₂tēr), or the development of PIE *dʰ into d instead of θ (cf. αιδωσσα instead of αιθουσα ¹⁴). Should we consider Laconian as a separate language inside the Graeco-Phrygian linguistic branch? The irony is that Macedonian in some instances is less "anomalous" than other Greek dialects. The Perrhaebian (*) name Βουλομαγα (Att. Φυλομαχη) renders <φ,χ> as <β,γ> while in Macedonia the name appears as Φυλομαγα, with Φ ¹⁵.
____________________
Sources/References:
⁹ You can find the inscription here or here
¹⁰ Quaestiones Graecae, 292d-f
¹¹ Crossland (CAH 3.1,1983)
¹³ Hesychius
¹⁴ Hesychius
(*) Perrhaebians probably spoke Aeolic
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Friday, March 28, 2025

THE ANCIENT MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE #1

What was the language of the ancient Macedonians? Was it a Greek Dialect, a separate language related to Greek, or something on its own? As will be seen in this article, the first hypothesis is also the most plausible.

1. ETHNONYMY
 Linguistic information can already be collected from the ethnonym (or ethnonyms) of the Macedonians. Makedones (Μακεδόνες) has an obvious Greek etymology from the word mākos (Doric)/ mēkos (Attic-Ionic) meaning "length" (PIE *méh₂ḱos > Proto-Greek *mā́kos). Adjectives derived from this root include makednós and mēkedanós (μακεδνός/μηκεδανός) meaning "high" or "long" ¹. An older version of the ethnonym, "Maketai" ², also comes from the same root. The etymology points to the conclusion that the so-called Makedones were simply the Highlanders. There is also similarity with the meaning of other Greek ethnonyms around Macedonia such as the "Orestai" or "Oreitai" meaning "mountain men". Here is what N. G. L. Hammond writes:
«The name itself is Greek in root and in ethnic termination. It probably means ‘highlanders’, and it is comparable to Greek tribal names such as ‘Orestai’ and 'Oreitai', meaning ‘mountain-men’. A reputedly earlier variant, 'Maketai', has the same root, which means ‘high’, as in the Greek adjective makednos or the noun mékos» ³. 
The transition from "Maketai" to "Makedones" was probably made with the addition of the collective Hoffmann suffix *-h₃onh₂- , also observed in the ethnonym of the Aeolian Greeks (Aioleīs > Aiolíōnes). In Hesychius' glossary we find
<Αἰολίωνες · Αἰολεῖς, ἀπὸ τοῦ Αἰόλου>

Another famous Macedonian tribal name, the Argeadai, is found in ancient literature. According to Strabo ⁴ , Argeadai was the tribe who were able to prevail in early Macedonia/Emathia:
«The country now called Macedonia was formerly called Emathia. It acquired this name from Macedon, one of its ancient princes. There was also a city Emathia near the sea. The country was occupied by some of the Epirotæ and Illyrians, but the greatest part by Bottiæi and Thracians. The Bottiæi were of Cretan origin, and came under the command of Botton; the Pieres, who were Thracians, inhabited Pieria and the parts about Olympus; the Pæonians, the borders of the river Axius, from whence the region was called Amphaxitis; the Edoni and Bisalti, the rest of the country as far as the Strymon. The Bisalti retained their name, but the Edoni went under the various names of Mygdones, Edoni, (Odones?) and Sithones. Of all these people, the Argeadæ and the Chalcidenses of Eubœa became the chief».
The ethnonym shows obvious connection to the Greek toponym Árgos ( Ἄργος). The etymology is uncertain, although it is believed that there is a link to the Greek word argós ( ἀργός) meaning "shining" (PIE *h₂erǵ-, "white") ⁵. Nevertheless, derived Greek ethnonyms are found in ancient Greek literature, with a well-known example being the Argeīoi Danaoí ( Ἀργεῖοι Δαναοί) of Homer, used to describe the Greeks collectively ⁶.

2. TOPONYMY
We will focus on the place names found inside the so-called Macedonian homeland, the geographical region where the ethnogenesis of the Macedonians took place and became the core of their expansion. The geographical term "Macedonia" is absent from Homer's Iliad, which means that even before the Dark Ages, the ancestors of the Macedonians were settled elsewhere. Marsyas of Pella, Macedonian writer, informs us that «Orestia is also called Maketa» (καὶ τὴν Ὀρεστίαν Μάκεταν λέγουσιν) ⁷. It can therefore be assumed that the pre-Orestian population was related to the "Maketai" (who later became the Makedones), hence the name "Maketa". The etymology of the toponym is technically already discussed in the previous section. Thus, the Molossian tribe of the Orestai forces the Maketai to migrate to the land which they will call Macedonia. The ethnogenesis of the Macedonians is described by Marsyas through a traditional myth: 
«Makedon son of Zeus and Thyia, conquered the land then belonging to Thrace and he called it Macedonia after his name. He married a local woman and got two sons, Pierus and Amathus; two cities, Pieria and Amathia in Macedonia were founded or named after them» ⁷.
This myth is not much different from that of Hesiod, quoted by Constantine Porphyrogennetus:
«Macedonia the country was named after Makedon, the son of Zeus and Thyia, daughter of Deucalion, as the poet Hesiod relates; and she became pregnant and bore to thunder-loving Zeus, two sons, Magnes and Macedon, the horse lover, those who dwelt in mansions around Pieria and Olympus» ⁸.
To the above can be added the definition of the "Macedonian Territory" of Herodotus:
«When he had arrived at Therma, Xerxes quartered his army there. Its encampment by the sea covered all the space from Therma and the Mygdonian country to the rivers Lydias and Haliacmon, which unite their waters in one stream and so make the border between the Bottiaean and the Macedonian territory» ⁹.
We can subsequently identify the Macedonian cradle with Pieria. Inside the Macedonian homeland, the vast majority of place names have a Greek etymology:
- Pieria (Πιερία): from Greek πῖαρ (pīar, "fat"), in the metaphorical sense of "πίειραν ἄρουραν" = "fertile land"; PIE root *péyh₂wr̥ ¹⁰
- Amathia/Emathia (Αμαθία/Ημαθία): from Greek ámathos ("sand"), ἠμαθόεις (ēmathóeis, “sandy”); PIE root  *sámh₂dʰos ¹¹ 
- Dion (Δίον): from Greek Διός (Diós, genitive singular of Zeus); PIE root *dyḗws
- Leibethra (Λείβηθρα): from Greek λείβηθρα (leíbēthra, "canals", sing. λείβηθρον)¹² 
- Petra (Πέτρα): from Greek πέτρα (pétrā, "rock")
- Aigai (Αἰγαί): from Greek αἴξ (aíks, "goat"); PIE root *h₂eyǵ-
Hammond confirms:
«The toponyms of the Macedonian homeland are the most significant. Nearly all of them are Greek: Pieria, Lebaea, Heracleum, Dium, Petra, Leibethra, Aegeae, Aegydium, Acesae, Acesamenae; the rivers Helicon, Aeson, Leucus, Baphyras, Sardon, Elpeüs, Mitys; lake Ascuris and the region Lapathus. The mountain names Olympus and Titarium may be pre-Greek; Edessa, the earlier name of the place where Aegeae was founded and its river Ascordus were Phrygian» ³.
It is reasonable to assume that Greek place names indicate a presence of a Greek-speaking community. And these place names came to Pieria with the settlement of the Macedonians, as indicated by the case of Aigai; the Macedonians established their first city in Edessa and renamed it to Aigai. We observe that the Macedonian name is Greek, while the pre-Macedonian one is non-Greek, but Phrygian.
3. ANTHROPONYMY
Particular emphasis should be given to Macedonian anthroponymy, as it is an indicator of whether the Macedonians were linguistically Hellenized. In the Greek colony of Halicarnassus, Greek personal names constitute only a significant number, while onomastics of (Graeco-)Carian origin prevail:
«Two fifth-century inscriptions from Halikarnassos document well over a hundred names together with patronymics. Of these, only about one third of occurrences concern a Greek name and a Greek patronymic» ¹³.
In Halicarnassus, which received the first waves of Greek colonists in the 14th century BC, the personal onomastics are mostly local, despite the Hellenization of the inhabitants. If the Macedonians were Hellenized like the Carians, we would expect the same thing for Macedonian anthroponymy. Let us extract information from the Macedonian homeland again. Jaime Curbera and David Jordan published six curse tablets from the Macedonian city of Pydna, which yield 66 personal names. Of these 66, only 2 (~3.03%) are of non-Greek origin (!): 
• Αμαδωκος (Amadokos)
• Σιτάλκας (Sitalkās)
These two names obviously come from neighboring Thrace. The Greek names can be divided in roughly two categories; epichoric (Macedonian) names and Panhellenic names (names attested in other Greek regions). We will comment on the Macedonian and possible Macedonian (i.e. Aeolo-Doric) names: 
- Τροχας: Doric name, attested in an inscription at Kytenion, Doris ¹⁴. Names with the root Τροχ- are also found in other Greek regions ¹⁵.
- Λυγκωριτας: Ethnicon, implying origin from *Λυγκωρεια (Λύγκος, Lyncus + ὄρος, mountain). Possible identification with 
montes Lyncon, between Epirus, Macedonia, and Thessaly attested by Titus Livius ¹⁶.
- Ορωιδυος: New/unattested name. The name's second element is related to Laconian βειδυ(ι)ος , Attic ιδυιος, ιδυος and Epirote ϝειδυς. The name might be a version of Οροιδος, name of the king of Parauaei ¹⁷ and has similar morphology to the Chaonian name Φωτυος.
- Κτολεμμας: A dialectal version of greek Πτολεμαίος (Ptolemy), common Macedonian name (cf. the famous Ptolemaic Dynasty). The shift kt- → pt- is rare in Greek but not unparalleled; cf. πτοίνα → κτοίνα in Doric inscriptions from Rhodes ¹⁸. 
- Αλκιμος: Common Macedonian name with obvious origin from Greek ἄλκιμος (=powerful).
- Αμύντας: Common Macedonian name with obvious origin from Doric Greek ἀμύντᾱς (= defender)
- Κρατευας: Macedonian/Aeolo-Doric name also attested in Thessaly, Boeotia and Pergamon, also attested as Κρατεϝας ¹⁹. The name comes from Greek κράτος (= force, power) ²⁰
- Αρπαλος: Macedonian name, possibly connected with Greek αρπάζω ("to seize") or αλπνιστος ("loveliest") ²¹.
You can read the related publication here. 
We can easily realise that Macedonian names are dialectal renderings of common Greek names. None of them are etymologically non-Greek, or at least unattested among Greeks. Comparing the case of Pydna with the case of Halicarnassus, it is plausible to conclude that there is no evidence of (linguistic) Hellenization. It is also worth noting that in one of the Pydna inscriptions records the dialectal Greek name  Ἑλλαν, related to Doric/NW Greek  Ἕλλᾱν (Hellene) and also in an inscription from Delphi we find a reference to Φιλαρχος, son of  Ἑλλανίων the Macedonian from Elimeia ²². It would be extreme to deny the Hellenicity of a person literally named … "Hellene" !

In the next part, we will deal with epigraphic evidence and analyze in more detail the morphology and phonology of the Macedonian dialect.
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Sources/References:
¹ Lexicon of Hesychius, "Makednos" (pl. "Makednoi") also appears as an alternative ethnonym of the Macedonians and Dorians (Herodotus, 1.56)
² Strabo, 10.4.10; Aulus Gellius, 9.3.1
⁴ Strabo, 7.11
⁶ Homer. Iliad, 2.155-175, 4.8; Odyssey, 8.578, 4.6
⁸ Constantine Porphyrogennetus, De Thematibus «Μακεδονία ἡ χώρα ὠνομάσθη ἀπὸ Μακεδόνος τοῦ Διὸς καὶ Θυίας τῆς Δευκαλίωνος, ὥς φησιν Ἡσίοδος ὁ ποιητής· Ἣ δ' ὑποκυσαμένη Διὶ γείνατο τερπικεραύνῳ υἷε δύω, Μάγνητα Μακηδόνα θ' ἱππιοχάρμην, οἳ περὶ Πιερίην καὶ Ὄλυμπον δώματ' ἔναιον»
⁹ Herodotus, 7.127
¹⁰ J.P. Mallory, D. Q. Adams,  The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the
Proto-Indo-European World, p.261
¹¹ E. Borza, In the Shadow of Olympus, p. 70
¹³ J. Hall, Hellenicity: Between Ethnicity and Culture, p. 101
¹⁶ 32.13.3
¹⁷ Thucydides, 2.80.6
²⁰ Search "Κρατευας" in LGPN
²¹ Search "Αρπαλος" in LGPN
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Monday, March 24, 2025

PROBLEMS OF ALBANIAN AUTOCHTHONY

Three helpful articles, which complement and further analyze what was said in a relevant older article.



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Thursday, February 27, 2025

THE "HELLENIZATION" OF EPIRUS DEBUNKED


1. INTRODUCTION
In this article, the phrase "Hellenization of Epirus" will be used to refer to the scenario according to which the ancient Epirotic tribes were originally Illyrians, who later became Hellenized. This theory, although not accepted by the majority of modern academia, has been supported by various scholars ¹, who however base their thesis on controversial "evidence" while ignoring less doubtful facts. Today, this specific view of Epirotic history is mostly supported and promoted by Albanians ² whose part of national mythic narrative is claiming linear connection to the ancient Illyrians and dehellenizing anything Greek concerning the ancient history of their current lands.

2. NO EVIDENCE OF EPIRUS AND EPIROTES BEING ILLYRIAN
Taking a look at ancient Greek literature, anyone could easily realise that Epirus was never classified as part of "Illyria" and its inhabitantants were never described as part of the people known as "Illyrians". On the other hand, the region of Epirus and its tribes are clearly separated from the Illyrian world. Strabo (63 BC – c. 24 AD) reports that Via Egnatia was the border between Illyria and Epirus:
«In travelling this road from the neighbourhood of Epidamnus and Apollonia, on the right hand are the Epirotic nations situated on the coast of the Sicilian Sea, and extending as far as the Gulf of Ambracia; on the left are the Illyrian mountains…» ³
Simiralry, Pausanias (c. 110 – c. 180) writes in a more understandably that 
«Illyrians inhabit the coast of the Ionian Sea, north of Epirus» ⁴
Appian, while describing the "Illyrian" territories , records a southern boundary with Chaonia and Thesprotia, where ancient Epirus began south of the river Aous (Vijose) ⁵, as does Pseudo-Scylax in his "Periplous" around 380-360 BC ⁶. The proponents of the "Hellenization" theory have suggested that this distinction between Illyrians and Epirotes is a result of the Hellenization of the latter, which according to Arnold Toynbee, started taking place around 429 BC ⁷. This is however extremely doubtful, especially when earlier ancient authors like Hecataeus of Miletus also highlighted the contiguity of the Chaonians to the Illyrian people living north of the Acroceraunian Mountains ⁸.

3. THE USE OF THE TERM "BARBAROI"
On the other hand, what does not end the discussion at this point is the fact that certain ancient writers seem to describe the ancient Epirotes as "barbarians". A good question to ask here is who are these barbarians, if the Epirotes were distinguished from their Illyrian neighbours? Many like to answer by taking the designation of the "barbarian" as a non-biased ethnolinguistic feature ancient writers attributed. In reality, passages where Epirotes and other Greek peoples (e.g. Macedonians) are presented as "barbarians" are either biased or misinterpreted, as linguist Panagiotis Filos notes:
"Nonetheless, such views, which largely rely on some subjective ancient testimonies, are not supported by the earliest (and not only) epigraphic texts" [In: "Studies in Ancient Greek Dialects: From Central Greece to the Black Sea", n.18]
Anyone who is familiar with ancient Greek literature knows that in many instances writers subjectively used to discriminate other Greek tribes. A great example is the rise of Athenian nationalism and the "racial" conflict between Dorians and Athenians/Ionians during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. During that period, Athenians promoted the myth of "autochthony", proudly claiming that they are born from the land they inhabit. Isocrates boasted that Athenians were pure-blooded, unlike "others" — meaning the Dorians — who were race-mixed migrants (Panygericus, 24). A similar concept is presented in Plato's Menexenus (245d), where Athenians appear as the only real Hellenes in contrast with other Greek tribes whose mythological progenitor was of foreign origin. And while Athenian writers presented themselves as the only real Greeks and Dorians as barbarians, the Dorian authors like Herodotus presented their own group as the real Hellenes and the Athenians/Ionians as "Hellenes" of barbarian Pelasgic origin ⁹. That is why the Athenian Thucydides chooses to describe the Dorians ¹⁰ of Epirus and Northwestern Greece as barbarians: 
«The Hellenic troops with him consisted of the Ambraciots, Leucadians, and Anactorians, and the thousand Peloponnesians with whom he came; the barbarian of a thousand Chaonians, who, belonging to a nation that has no king, were led by Photios and Nicanor, the two members of the royal family to whom the chieftainship for that year had been confided. With the Chaonians came also some Thesprotians, like them without a king, some Molossians and Atintanians led by Sabylinthos, the guardian of king Tharrhyps who was still a minor, and some Parrrhavaeans, under their King Oroedos, accompanied by a thousand Orestians, subjects of King Antiochos and placed by him under the command of Oroedos» ¹¹.
In contrast to the Athenian Thucydides, the Dorian Herodotus classifies Epirus as Greece and Epirotes as Greeks:
«Then all the Greeks who were proud of themselves and their country came as suitors, and to that end Cleisthenes had them compete in running and wrestling contests. From Italy came Smindyrides of Sybaris, son of Hippocrates, the most luxurious liver of his day (and Sybaris was then at the height of its prosperity), and Damasus of Siris, son of that Amyris who was called the Wise. These came from Italy; from the Ionian Gulf, Amphimnestus son of Epistrophus, an Epidamnian; he was from the Ionian Gulf. From Aetolia came Males, the brother of that Titormus who surpassed all the Greeks in strength, and fled from the sight of men to the farthest parts of the Aetolian land. [3] From the Peloponnese came Leocedes, son of Phidon the tyrant of Argos, that Phidon who made weights and measures for the Peloponnesians1 and acted more arrogantly than any other Greek; he drove out the Elean contest-directors and held the contests at Olympia himself. This man's son now came, and Amiantus, an Arcadian from Trapezus, son of Lycurgus; and an Azenian from the town of Paeus, Laphanes, son of that Euphorion who, as the Arcadian tale relates, gave lodging to the Dioscuri, and ever since kept open house for all men; and Onomastus from Elis, son of Agaeus. These came from the Peloponnese itself; from Athens Megacles, son of that Alcmeon who visited Croesus, and also Hippocleides son of Tisandrus, who surpassed the Athenians in wealth and looks. From Eretria, which at that time was prosperous, came Lysanias; he was the only man from Euboea. From Thessaly came a Scopad, Diactorides of Crannon; and from the Molossians, Alcon» ¹² 
[Alcon the Molossian Epirote listed among the Greeks]
 
«If the Phoenicians did in fact carry away the sacred women and sell one in Libya and one in Hellas, then, in my opinion, the place where this woman was sold in what is now Hellas, but was formerly called Pelasgia, was Thesprotia; and then, being a slave there, she established a shrine of Zeus under an oak that was growing there; for it was reasonable that, as she had been a handmaid of the temple of Zeus at Thebes , she would remember that temple in the land to which she had come. After this, as soon as she understood the Greek language, she taught divination; and she said that her sister had been sold in Libya by the same Phoenicians who sold her» ¹³  
[Thesprotia classified as part of Hellas and a woman of foreign origin learning the Greek language among the Thesprotians].

This "racial" conflict we mentioned before is, therefore, perfectly reflected in the historical works and Panagiotis Filos is proven to be correct in calling ancient testimonies like those of Thucydides subjective. It seems that, in the eyes of Thucydides, Northwestern Greeks did not reach the cultural standards of democratic Athens. This could be understood by the fact that, while characterising Chaonians and Thesprotians as barbarians, Thucydides did not forget to mention right after that both of them «belong to a nation that has no king». He does something similar when describing the "barbarian" Aetolians as living «in unfortified villages», or when portraying the Eurytānes as having an «incomprehensible speech» and being «eaters of raw meat». Jonathan Hall correctly calls Thucydides descriptions "pseudo-ethnographic" and concludes that Western Greek tribes were considered as Hellenes manques and not as complete foreigners.
The same thing can be observed in the works of Strabo, who also calls Epirotes "barbarians". The ancient geographer, however, distinguishes them from the neighbouring - also barbaric - Illyrians. If we consider his characterizations for the Epirotes as ethnological evidence, then it should be supposed that Epirotes were not Greeks or Illyrians, but a separate ethnicity. This is of course not supported by any other kind of evidence. In the same way as Thucydides, Strabo prefers calling tribes of a primitive way of life "barbarians". It is more clear when the ancient author calls the inhabitants of Dodona - the spiritual center of the ancient Greek world - "barbarians" because they "do not wash their feet and sleep on the ground": 
"With respect to Dodona, Homer clearly intimates that the people who lived about the temple were barbarians, from their mode of life, describing them as persons who do not wash their feet, and who sleep on the ground. Whether we should read Helli, with Pindar, or Selli, as it is conjectured the word existed in Homer, the ambiguity of the writing does not permit us to affirm confidently. Philochorus says, that the country about Dodona was called, like Eubœa, Hellopia; for these are the words of Hesiod, “‘There is a country Hellopia, rich in corn-fields and pastures; at its extremity is built Dodona.’” ¹⁴

In the case of Strabo too, "barbarian" is not a characterization that could be considered as important ethnological evidence and Panagiotis Filos is proven to be correct once more. 

4. WERE THERE PEOPLE PREDATING GREEKS IN EPIRUS?
The answer to this question is positive. In the aforementioned excerpt of Herodotus' "Histories" about Thesprotia ¹³, it is stated that the region was formerly called "Pelasgia" and then Hellas. However, that was the case for the rest of Greece. According to Strabo 
«Almost every one is agreed that the Pelasgi were an ancient race spread throughout the whole of Greece, but especially in the country of the Æolians near to Thessaly»¹⁵. 
Similarly to Herodotus, the ancient geographer believed that the Epirotic tribes were of Pelasgian origin:
«many have likewise asserted that the nations of the Epirus are Pelasgic, because the dominions of the Pelasgi extended so far» ¹⁵.
While both Herodotus and Strabo know the history of Epirus and also are aware about the existence of the neighbouring Illyrians, none of them ever recorded them as the original inhabitants of Epirus. They both agree that Pelasgians are the only people predating Greeks in Epirus and the rest of Greece. Therefore, it could in no way be supported that the Epirotes were Hellenized Illyrians, when the so-called Pelasgians were the only recorded Pre-Greek population in the history of the region.

5. CONCLUSION
The evidence presented strongly challenges the notion that the Epirotic tribes were merely Hellenized Illyrians. Not only is there no substantial reason to support this hypothesis, but the available historical and linguistic data actively refute it. Ancient sources consistently distinguish the Epirotes from the Illyrians, with no records identifying the former as part of the latter. Although some ancient authors described the Epirotes as barbarians, they were more frequently regarded as one of the oldest Hellenic peoples—an integral part of the Greek world ¹⁶. Aside from the semi-mythical Pelasgians, no other ethnic group apart from the Greeks is recorded as inhabiting Epirus, mirroring the demographic patterns observed throughout ancient Greece. Moreover, recent finds suggest that Epirus was part of the Greek linguistic world, with Epirotes having their own dialect of ancient Greek ¹⁷. Therefore, based on the historical and archaeological evidence, it is reasonable to conclude that Epirus was no less Greek than any other region of Greece.

____________________
References:
¹ cf. eg. Witczak 1995, Toynbee 1969
² John Wilkes, The Illyrians, p. 104
³ Strabo 7.7.5
⁴ Pausanias, 4.35.5
⁵ John Wilkes, The Illyrians, p. 69
⁶ Nicholas Hammond, in: The Cambridge Ancient History: The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries B.C., Vol. III, part 3, p. 284
⁷ Arnold Toynbee, Some Problems of Greek history, p. 110
⁸ Sandro de Maria, Lorenzo Manicini in: Politics, Territory and Identity in Ancient Epirus, p.202
⁹ cf. Hdt. 1.56-1.57 , 8.44.1
¹⁰ "Dorians" in the broader sense of "Northwestern Greeks"
¹¹ 2.80.5-6
¹² 6.126-127
¹³ Herodotus, 2.56
¹⁴ Strabo, 7.7
¹⁵ Strabo, 5.2.4
¹⁶  Sasel Kos, Portolano Adriatico, p.14
¹⁷ cf. Irad Malkin, The Returns of Odysseus, pp. 142-143
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Saturday, November 9, 2024

EXAMINING THE AUTOCHTHONY OF ALBANIANS IN ALBANIA


The tendency among Balkan nations to establish claims of autochthony in their present territories—and to assert ancestral connections to ancient peoples who once inhabited these lands—is a well-known phenomenon. The greatest example today are the modern "Macedonians" who claim linear connection to the ancient Macedonians. West of the "Macedonians", there is the Albanian people, who reasonably attempt to trace their ancestors, but as expected, they stress a supposed direct origin from the indigenous people that inhabited today's Albania, the Illyrians. In the past years, the Albanian nationalist narrative used to "Albanize" other ancient Balkan peoples such as Epirotes, Macedonians, Pelasgians along with the Illyrians (read more here). Now that the aforementioned ancient ethnic groups have been studied more in depth and their ethnological profiles are almost certain, they have nearly been abandoned by Albanian pseudo-history. 

The ancient Illyrians remained the most popular putative Paleo-Balkanic ancestors of the Albanians, who also speak an undoubtedly Paleo-Balkanic language. The insufficient attestation of Illyrian language and the absence of Albanian texts in antiquity, have led experts to examine the linguistic relation between Albanian and Illyrian. What is certainly known, is that Albanians are not native to today's Albania (historically known as Illyria Græca or Epirus Vetus) neither to Old Epirus (which is often claimed to be inhabited by Illyrians/'ancient Albanians' in antiquity). From a linguistic perspective, this is evident because of the weak contact of the Albanian language with Greek during antiquity. Already at the time of Strabo, southern Illyrians, who were in direct contact with the Greek-speaking Macedonians and Epirotes, were bilingual:
«the regions about Lyncus, Pelagonia, Orestias, and Elimeia, used to be called Upper Macedonia, though later on they were by some also called Free Macedonia. But some go so far as to call the whole of the country Macedonia, as far as Corcyra, at the same time stating as their reason that in tonsure, language, short cloak, and other things of the kind, the usages of the inhabitants are similar, although, they add, some speak both languages» ¹. 
The heavy influence of Hellenic culture on the Illyrian people is also concluded through archaeological evidence: 
«A number of grave goods found on the sites in Albania and the neighboring countries strongly suggest contact with Byzantium, possibly even the presence of speakers of Greek: belt buckles common for the Mediterranean area, both East and West, earrings with perforated pendants showing peacocks on either side of a tree; disc- and cross- broches; finger-rings with dedicatory inscriptions in Greek. More over, two hoards of Byzantine drinking and washing silver vessels with Greek inscriptions, gold church candlesticks, and silver belt fitting were found in the vicinity of Dyrrachium, at Vrap and Erseke» ². 
If Albanians were indeed the Illyrian neighbours of the Greeks, someone would expect the Albanian language to be heavily influenced by ancient Greek, something that is not true. This is the one important problem concerning the "autochthony" of the Albanians, as Albanologist linguist Joachim Matzinger highlights.
Translation:
"If the area where the Albanian language developed were identical to the area where Albanian is spoken today—more or less modern Albania, or the so-called third Latinized area along the Via Egnatia—there should be a stronger influence of Ancient Greek on Proto-Albanian, which, however, does not exist" ³. 
Vladimir Orel, one of the leading authorities in Albanian linguistics, also notes the scarce presence of Ancient Greek influences in the Albanian vocabulary:

It is clear that the cradle of the Proto-Albanians should be searched north of the Greek influence zones, i.e. north of the so-called Jireček line which separates Greek and Latin influences in the Balkans. 
Not surprisingly, the linguistic ancestors of Albanians lived for sure north of this line, being heavily influenced by Latin. In fact, the Albanian language contains 636 Latin loanwords which make around 40% of the Albanian language, with some scholars raising the percentage to 60% ⁴.
Joachim Matzinger uses this too as a counter-argument against the autochthony of Albanians, adding that Proto-Albanian religious (Christian) terminology is entirely Latin .
Translation:
«Therefore, the territory of the Proto-Albanian people could not have been located near the compact Greek-speaking area in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. In this context, great importance must also be given to the fact that the Christianization of the Albanians took place under Roman-Western influence, as clearly evidenced by the basic Christian vocabulary of the Albanian language, for example:
kryq 'cross' ← Latin crux, -cis (cf. Greek σταυρός),

ancient Gheg (i) shëjntë 'saint' ← Latin sanctus (cf. Greek ἅγιος), etc. » ².

If anyone compares the minor influence of ancient Greek to the massive Latin influence in Albanian, can easily realise that Ancient Albanians did not inhabit the region of modern Albania, which by the way was known as "Greek Illyria" and "New Epirus" for an obvious reason. In fact, the inhabitantants of Old and New Epirus in the 6th century were known as "Epirotes" and "Hellenes" (Greeks) as Medieval Greek historian Procopius confirms:
«But north of the gulf the first inhabitants are Greeks, called Epirotes, as far as the city of Epidamnus [today's Durrës], which is situated on the sea» ⁵.

Tom Winnifrith adds: 

«There is no reason to disbelieve Justinian's historian Procopius when he says that in the sixth century Epirus as far as Dyrrhachium was Greek» ⁶. 

This is the second big problem of the autochthonist scenario, which points at the cradle of the Ancient Albanians outside of Southern Illyris.
Here is a well-written summary of what was discussed until now:
The linguistic proof of the non-indigenousness of Albanians in today's Albania does not stop here. While examining the surviving Paleo-Balkanic substratum of the Romanian language, linguists have observed links to Proto-Albanian. Matzinger points out the following: 
"An extremely important topic concerns the fact that Albanian and Romanian share two specific lexical layers. One layer consists primarily of terms related to small livestock and transhumance (e.g., Albanian thark and Romanian țarc, meaning ‘enclosed area with a hedge, pen’ for livestock), which Romanian linguistics has traditionally attributed to a Balkan substrate from which both Proto-Albanian and Balkan Latin (that is, Proto-Romanian) would have inherited this terminology. However, there is no need for an almost mythical Balkan substrate to explain these words; rather, an in-depth, unbiased linguistic analysis reveals that these are indeed Proto-Albanian words transferred into Proto-Romanian during an intensive period of coexistence between Proto-Albanians and Proto-Romanians as transhumant shepherds. The other lexical layer connecting Albanian with Romanian involves a group of Latin lexemes common to both Romanian and Albanian but absent from Western Romance languages (for example, Albanian mbret ‘king’ and Romanian împărat ‘emperor, king’ from Latin imperator). These terms were preserved as popular expressions only in Eastern Romance areas, whereas in Western Romance languages, the Italian imperatore, French empereur, and Spanish emperador represent a learned term." ³. 
The same opinion is shared with absolute certainty by another honored Albanologist and linguist, Eric Hamp, who writes:
"I am convinced that Romanian is a descendant of a Latinization of an autochthonous population which earlier spoke an Albanoid Indo-European language -- where as Albanian represents the continuation of kindred dialects which, though accepting many loans and cultural influences, escaped Latinization" ⁷.
In other words, the ancestors of the Albanians and the Romanians both spoke the same common language before the Latinization of the latter and even continued to coexist during late Roman antiquity:
The last, but most important, linguistic counterargument against Albanian autochthony is the fact the non-Albanian etymology of the ancient toponyms of today's Albania and their later (based on phonology) borrowing into Albanian. An example is the phonological history of the toponyms Shkodër, Durrës, Shkumbi and Osum. Here follows an analysis by Joachim Matzinger³:

«The perhaps strongest, if not decisive, argument against the hypothesis of the autochthony of the Albanians is the evidence provided by the toponymy of Albanian territory. It has long been recognized that ancient Albanian place names on Albanian territory reflect linguistic developments that, chronologically, do not belong to the oldest phase of the Albanian language’s history. Instead, they show developments from more recent phases in the history of the Albanian language, specifically from periods after Latin influence. To better illustrate this argument, we will briefly examine the phonological evolution of the ancient toponym Scodra (Italian Scutari), which appears in Albanian in the indefinite form Shkodër (with the definite article postfixed as Shkodra). Its phonological form clearly indicates a late adaptation into Albanian because it reveals the regular substitution of the Latin cluster sc /sk/ with Albanian sh and of ó with Albanian o < Proto-Albanian */ɔ/, a phoneme that developed only after the first contacts with Latin. The Albanian form Shkodër thus suggests that the Proto-Albanians became acquainted with it at a time when they had also acquired the majority of Latin words, and that this Albanian name for the city—perhaps the most important of the ancient Illyrians—does not belong to the inherited Albanian lexicon. The historical phonology of Shkodër thus excludes the hypothesis of the formation of the Albanian ethnos from Illyrian and the development of Illyrian into Albanian, as proposed by the theory of autochthony. According to this theory, the Albanian form of the ancient name Scodra should exhibit older phonological developments, specifically those of inherited words: sk > Albanian h and ó > Albanian . Like the name of this urban center, other ancient toponyms (e.g., Durrës, Italian Durazzo, from ancient Dyrrhachium) also show recent developments in Albanian. This also applies to the hydronyms of Albanian territory, aside from the simple fact that many river names are obviously Slavic borrowings. In this context, it is interesting to consider the Albanian names of two rivers that ran through the territory of the ancient Via Egnatia, namely, the Scampinus River, in Albanian (Gheg) Shkumbî, and Assamus, in Albanian Osum. Without delving into the details of historical phonology, it is evident, as SCHRAMM (1999: 33) reiterated, that both Albanian names are also Slavic borrowings and therefore belong to an even more recent layer of Albanian, meaning they are not part of the inherited layer. This is another strong argument against the presence of Proto-Albanians in the Via Egnatia territory already in antiquity»

Linguist Vladimir Orel, in the beginning of his "Albanian Etymological Dictionary", sums up:

Now that extensive linguistic evidence was presented, let us see a more historical perspective of the issue. As mentioned before, the territory of modern Albania was known as Epirus Nova (New Epirus) or Illyria Græca (Greek Illyria), due to the obvious fact that the region was Hellenized and settled by Greeks.
Until the 6th century, as confirmed by Procopius ⁵ , the region of Epirus Vetus and Epirus Nova (see map) was ethnically, or at least linguistically, Greek. The Greek and Hellenized population of the two provinces continued being dominant until the 11th and 12 centuries. By that time, Albanians constituted only a minority in the extreme north of Epirus Nova. After Constantinople fell to the hands of the Latins in 1204, the first migration of Albanians occured:
It took several years for the newly arrived Albanians to form a majority in what later became Albania and there were no noticeable Albanian communities in the cities of the Albanian coast throughout the Middle Ages. In fact, Durrës in Northern Albania was inhabited by Venetians, Greeks, Jews and Slavs; Shkodra by Venetians and Slavs and Vlora by Greeks ⁸. This is evident by primary records of travellers such as Simon Fitzsimons, whose account indicates that in 1332 Albanians did not yet constitute a majority element in Dyrrhachium (Durrës) in northern Albania, and they are listed last after various ethnicities and are characterized as barbaric:
Indeed, Alain Ducellier, French Historian specialized in Byzantine studies found out that in 1350 the population of Vlore was largely Greek with some Slavs, whereas at Dyrrachium, there was a mixed population of Greeks, Slavs, Latins and Albanians ⁹. Tim Winnifrith concludes that till this time Hellenism prevailed in Southern Albania continuously since the times of Molossian Royalty ⁹.

Two centuries later, an anonymous writer provides a description of Albania in 1570, stating that the Greek language is (still) spoken from Ulcinj down to Vallona (Vlora):

It should be added to the above that, in many later works, Albania was considered a geographical Province of "Greece" ¹⁰ and the term itself was a synonym for Epirus (Nova), due to its strong Byzantine past. An example is the "Latin-Illyrian dictionary" (Dizionario Latino-Ilirico) by Ardelio della Bella in 1728:
If anyone studies the history of the region of Albania from antiquity until today, he/she will realise that the territory of today's Albania had historically very little to do with the Albanian people. Robert Elsie, German Albanologist, whose work about Albanian history and culture is honoured and appreciated in modern Albania, had come to the same conclusion. According to him, Albania became ethnically Albanian only during Ottoman times, while the history of Albania for many centuries had little or nothing to do with the Albanians ¹¹:
Taking into consideration everything that was presented until now, we can safely realise that Albanians are in no way autochthonous in today's Albania. Linguistic evidence points to the cradle of ancient Albanian language outside and north of Southern Illyria. History in turn proves that Albania has always been at the crossroads of various empires and civilizations. The Illyrians that inhabited this territory in Antiquity, were eventually integrated in the Greek linguistic and cultural world, their land was renamed to Illyria Graeca and Epirus Nova and continued being under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was only in the 13th century that Albanian speaking populations penetrated the Byzantine Greek territory of Epirus and started expanding and assimilating the natives. Mid-15th century marks the end of this process ⁸ and Albanians finally form the ethnic majority in their current lands of residence during Ottoman times ¹¹. As Robert Elsie wrote ¹¹, Albanians are just one stone in this great mosaic of the History of Albania.
____________________
References:
¹ Strabo, 7.7.8
² Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages 500-1250 (CAH,2006), p. 104
³ Joachim Matzinger, "L'elemento latino della lingua albanese — un impatto della Via Egnatia?"
⁴ Irena Sawicka, "A Crossroad Between West, East and Orient–The Case of Albanian Culture." Colloquia Humanistica, No. 2, Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 2013, p. 97
⁵ Procopius, Gothic Wars, Book I, 15.24
⁶ Tom Winnifrith, Badlands, Borderlands: A History of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania, p.169
⁷ Eric Hamp in: Bono Homini Donum: Essays in Historical Linguistics in Memory of J. Alexander Kerns, p.103
⁸ Robert Elsie, Historical Dictionary of Albania, p. liv
⁹ Tom Winnifrith, Badlands, Borderlands: A History of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania, p. 95
¹⁰ Greece=usually what Ottomans defined as "Roman Lands"
¹¹ Robert Elsie, The Early History of Albania 
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MACEDONIAN ELEMENTS IN KOINE AND MODERN GREEK

1. INTRODUCTION In the 4th century BC, Philip II of Macedon ( or Archelaus in the 5th century ) introduced the Attic Greek dialect as an off...