VI – PREHISTORIC MACEDONIA - Part 01

VI – PREHISTORIC MACEDONIA

Macedonia and the Macedonian people’s ancient history and culture developed in the regions north of Thessaly and along the Aegean coast. Macedonia’s southwestern border stretched from Mount Olympus along Hasia and the eastern slopes of the mountains Pindus, the Epirian Zagorie, and Mount Timfa. The western part of Macedonia’s border ran along the mountains Smolika and Gramos, over Iablanitsa and Korab, to Mount Skard (Shar Planina) which separated the Macedonians from the Enheleitsi. Macedonia’s northern border began at Mount Skard and stretched down to Mount Iakupitsa and ran along the river Pchinia’s valley to the Osogovo Mountains and Mount Rila, behind whose borders live the Dardanians. Macedonia’s eastern frontier bordered the Thracians and ran along the line of Despat Mountains and the Western Rhodopes, then along the River Mesta (Nestos) down its estuary into the Aegean Sea.

Macedonia’s hydrological system consists of a number of rivers, a few lakes and the Aegean Sea. Macedonia’s main rivers are the Vardar River also known as the “Aksios” meaning capable, hardworking, the Bistritsa River also known as the “Aliakmon” meaning curvy or powerful, the Struma River also known as the “Strymon” meaning to push, to cascade, the Galik River also known as the “Ehedor” meaning keeper of gifts, gifts and the Koludei River also known as the “Ludios”. Macedonia’s main lakes are Lake Ohrid also known as “Lyhnida” meaning lamp, Lake Prespa also known as “Vrigis”, Lake Ostrovsko also known as “Vegoritida”, Lake Kostur also known as “Keletron”, Lake Doiran, Lake Kirskensko and Lake Beshik. In prehistoric times the Gulf of Solun (Thessaloniki) reached deep into the Solunsko-Ematsko valley, stretching all the way to Pella. Thus, Macedonia’s capital Pella had a port in ancient times.

Macedonia’s topography consists of numerous mountain ranges and valleys. Included among its many mountain massifs are Olympus 2917, Gramos 2520, Shar Planina 2748, Osogovo 2252, Nidzhe 2521 and Karakamen 2052. Each of the many mountain ranges has its own ravines and valleys which have contributed to the topographical onomastics, environmental and climatic conditions, as well as tribal organizations. For example, the word “Pelagonia”, a name of a region in Macedonia, means “rich plain”, “Ematia” means “sandy swamp”, “Oresta” means “mountainous”, “Pieria” means “holy mountain”, “Elimeia” means crooked river etc. The climate in Macedonia is mostly continental, except in coastal Macedonia where it is Mediterranean.

The oldest archeological findings of human presence in Macedonia were discovered in the Petralon (Stone Gumno) locality, east of Solun and date to about 160,000 BC. Remnants of the existence of a Neolithic culture (6500-5500) have been found at various archeological sites in the Porodin locality near Bitola, in Anza and Vrshnik near Stip, in Zelenikovo and Tserie near Skopje, in Dupiak and Nestrem near Kostur, in Nea Nikomedia near Solun, in Sitagri near Drama, in several places in Ohrid, Tikvesh, Veles, etc. International archeologists have classified these sites into 4 Neolithic regions: North Macedonia, South Macedonia, Eastern Macedonia and Western Macedonia. Remnants of the “Halkolitska” or copper-stone culture (5500-3100BC) and the Central Balkan or Vincha Culture have also been found in Macedonia along Macedonia’s rivers.

During the “Eneolitska” Age (3100-1900 BC) and later during the Bronze Age, Macedonia was experiencing ethno-cultural change from its north along the Vardar valley and along its tributaries. With the Scythian migration from the Panonnian Basin and Kurgan, in the mid-Bronze Age (1900-1450 BC), came the formation of an early Macedonian ethnic core. This core began to develop in the mountain plains of Olympus and along the Pierian Mountains. Linguistically, this Pannonian tribal community was known by its common name, Aeolians.

At about the same time, the recently discovered “Kokino” megalithic observatory came into use. The megalithic observatory is located in the north part of Macedonia, in the Staro Nagorichane Municipality, about 50 km in a straight line from Skopje, or 35 km from Kumanovo. It is located on the peak of “Tetichev kamen” and was named Kokino, after the nearest neighbouring village. The name “Kokino” is associated with the name “Kikan”, a legendary hero, son of “Ariev” whom Heracles met and killed on the bank of the Ehedora (Galik) River in Macedonia, on his way to Hyperborea. (Apollodiri, Bibliotheca (I-II century BC), II.5.)

The observatory was discovered accidentally in 2001 and was dated to 1800 BC, to the Early Bronze Age. The Kokino megalithic observatory is situated on an elevated non-volcanic mountain but the rocks on that mountain are a result from lava rocks being shot out from a volcano crater. Climatic changes and erosion made cracks in the rocks and some of these cracks were then used as the major markers for tracking the cycles of the sun and moon and for measuring time.

In the past, stone markers were used to identify the various positions of the moon and the sun at different times of the year such as the summer and winter solstice, the equinox etc. In fact, only during the times when the day is equal to the night, such as on March 21 and September 21, the sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west with a deviation of 45 degrees. It is assumed that some members of tribal communities were tasked with daily duties of monitoring the movement of celestial bodies in order to maintain an accurate calendar for ritual observances and to determine when to plant crops and perform other seasonal agricultural functions. (Shkokljev A. Nikolovski, S., Macedonia's contribution to world civilization, p. 107 Macedonian spark, Skopje, 2004)

The Kokino megalithic observatory is situated on two scalable platforms from where one can track celestial bodies. Traces of several objects and pieces of pottery, as well as a place for the tribal leader to sit, were found on the upper platform.

According to NASA, the American Agency for Space Exploration, the Kokino megalithic observatory is older than Abu Simbel in Egypt, Stonehenge in Britain and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

The fact that prehistoric Macedonians had dealt with astronomical questions was also affirmed by the existence of petroglyphs (Rock art) found in Kratovo, inside Macedonia, by Macedonian archeologist Dushko Aleksovski. What came to be known as a “Star Map” has also been discovered on rocks in the mountains which bear the shapes of crosses, swastikas and other artistic engravings resembling the galaxies in our universe.

The anthroponym “Eoli” (Aeolians) is a paleo-Balkan word meaning “diverse”, “different” (Poikilos: Papastavrou, 1972, 39 and Mpampiniotis, 1998, 1452). Historians have discovered the following tribes to have existed in Macedonia: Macedonians, Lapiti, Minitsi, Flegitsi, and the Tiroi. Macedonians settled the northern mountain plains along the mountains Olympus, Pirei, Pindus, and the eastern mountains of Thessaly - Magnesia, while the other Aeolian tribes occupied the Thessaly plain.

Ethnogenesis of the Macedonians

The ethnonym “Macedon” and the horonym “Macedonia” first appeared in the III millennium BC and linguistically belong to the Paleo Balkan Glossology (PBG). According to linguist Mpampiniotis (Mpampiniotis, G.: Synhroni gramatiki tis koinis neas Elinikis, Athinai, 1967), these words are of unknown origin, i.e. they don’t belong to the Sanskrit or Indo-European corpus. In an article entitled “I glossa tis Makedonias” (Athina, 1992, 161) (“The language of Macedonia”) Mpampiniotis stated that the onomastic used for that ethnicity was: “Makednoi”, “Makedones”, “Maketai”. Furthermore, the word consists of two parts: “Mak”, “makos”, “makros”, meaning “tall”, “distant”, “leptosom”, i.e. located far north (Ston Vorra). Or another form of “Mak”, which is of unknown origin, probably comes from the word “Makar” (makarios), which means happy, rich, wealthy person.

The second part of the ethnonym “Maki-kedones”, according to Mpampiniotis, was a Macedonian form of the word “Hthon” (gea) meaning country. So, according to Mpampiniotis, the word “Macedonia” means “Macedonia is far, high up in the north of Borea”. In old Hebrew “eden” or “edon” means “paradise”, “wealth”. In our epistemological research of onomastics in Pannonia we found the word “Machva”, a name of a plain located between the Sava and Drina Rivers. This horonym could be the answer that perhaps the Macedonians have a Pannonian prehistoric origin. Etymologically the word “Mach/k/-va” where “mak” is rich, while “-va” belongs to the PBG – “fa” as in “fago” meaning food. Thus “Machva” can mean “an area rich in food”. There is also a town located in the same vicinity called “Bogatich” which means “rich”.

But from what we know, back in distant prehistoric times, Macedonia was called “Ematia”. This is confirmed by Homer’s (Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, XIV, 225, Novi Sad, 1985 (prev. MN Gjurigj)) writing about the goddess Hera enchanting, charming and captivating Zeus. Here is what Homer wrote: “Hera left the top of Mount Olympus and went on a trip. She arrived in the land of ‘Pierska’ in the region of ‘Ematia milna’…” Macedonia being called “Ematia” was also confirmed by Strabo (63-19 BC), when he said that Macedonia was once called “Ematia”. Zonara (Zonara, Epitome Historiarum, p. 150, 1875), in the “Epitome Historiarum” had also written about Macedonia being called Ematia when he said that even the city Thesalonika and the entire coastal Lower Macedonia was at one time called Ematia.

References to the name “Maketi” or “Maketo” are references made by Hesiod around 700 BC, who originally was an Aeolian from Askra in Boeotia, near the miniski Orhomen, i.e. a Panneonian who by occupation was a poet and a writer of rhapsodies. For that reason he felt that he was the son of Zeus and that he had the same surname as a Macedonian from Macedonia. (Hesiodus, Esteria Istorikon Ekvoseon, Istoria tou Ellinikou Ethnous, Athinae, 1970) This ethnonym horonym refers to the tribes which migrated from Orestida (Kostur) Region to Ematia where they established their authority and their ethnonym and acquired geographical, political and social importance. Later these same tribes, with the expansion of their power base among their allied tribes, became not only geographically and politically, but also ethnically and socially Macedonians and their country became known as Macedonia. The next ethnonym and horonym about Macedonia and the Macedonians was “Borea” meaning “North Country” and “Boreadi” meaning “northerners”. In mythology, the “Boreadi” were children of Borei (Voreas) who was god of the north wind, the strongest of all the winds. He was the son of the goddess Eoia and of Astrei (Hesiodus, Fragmenta & Theogonia, p. 378). Astrei was the son of the titan “Krai” (cold), while Eoia was the goddess of the morning blush and dawn. Borei lived in the Strymon valley north of Thrace and served Poseidon or Zeus and by their orders created awesome storms. He also created the storm in 492 BC which sank the Persian fleet near Athos. In Roman antiquity his cult was observed in Pula.

The famous Borean children twins “Kalei” and “Zeta” and daughters “Cleopatra” and “Hiona” were Argonauts. The twins were extremely fast and thus managed to save Finei from the grasp of the Harpies. Finei was a Thracian king of Salmid and husband of their sister Cleopatra. As the wife of king Finei, Cleopatra gave birth to two sons, Pandion and Pleksip. When Finei married his second wife Ideia, the daughter of the Scythian king Dardan, he threw Cleopatra together with her children into the dungeon. At the calls from the boys for help, the Boreas came to their rescue and saved their sister and her children. Ideia was then returned to her father in Scythia where Dardan alone judged her crimes.

Hiona bore Poseidon a son named Eumolp. Fearing her father Borei would harm her, Hiona threw her newborn child into the depths of the sea, but the baby was saved by Poseidon who then took his son to Ethiopia and gave him to his daughter to look after. When Eumolp grew up, he married one of the daughters belonging to the woman who took care of him and with whom he had a child named Ismar. After Eumolp left Ethiopia with his son Ismar he went to Thrace, where, instead of being grateful for the hospitality offered to him by king Tegri, Eumolp began to conspire against him. When the conspirators were discovered, he fled and went to the city Eleusina where the city’s friendly inhabitants accepted him. After a while, Eumolp returned to Thrace and made peace with the king and after that he inherited his throne.

During the war between Athens and the “Eleusini”, Eumolp came with his army to help his old friends. According to Pausanius (Pauzania, Periigissis tis Elados, I, 38 (прев. Пасини: Водич низ Хелада), Logos, Split, 1989), “the Athenian king Erehtei was killed during the battle between the ‘Eleusini’ and the Athenians.” After peace was achieved Eumolp remained in “Eleusinia”. Then when the goddess Demeter taught him to perform holy rites, he founded the “Eleusinian” mysteries in her honour. Here Heracles was purified from the Centaur killings and taught how to sing and play a string instrument.

There is also a legend that says that Demeter, while looking after Triptolemus, son of the eponymous hero of the city Eleusinia, initiated him into the Eleusinian mysteries. Demeter came to Eleusinia to look for her daughter Kora (Persephone). When Triptolemus became king of the Eleusinians the goddess gave him a gift consisting of grain and a winged cart with winged dragons, and then ordered him to go around the world and teach people how to raise crops. Triptolemus traveled around the world and visited many countries and then arrived in Scythia. The Scythian king named “Link” from the Linkestians in Macedonia, became jealous of Triptolemus and wanted to murder him but he was rescued by Demeter.

The most famous of the Demeter holidays in the ancient world, both small and great, were the Eleusinian celebrations held in the fall and winter. The Eleusinian mysteries were connected with promises of bliss after death. The lasting effect of the initiation was to ensure a free passage of the deceased into the desired status in life after death. The Eleusinian mysteries were famous in the ancient world and were connected, not only to Demeter and her lost daughter Kora, but also to Dionysian-Baucus-ian elements.

Relying on epistemological linguistic research and on the knowledge that the Balkans was the archetypal centre of a complex ethno-linguistic phenomenon, the mythological “Boreia”, we believe, is located in the central part of Macedonia, between Ematia and Pelagonia. Even today we have Greek maps that show the oronim “Borei” (oros Voras) referring to the Macedonian mountain chain Nidzhe with Kaimakchalan as the tallest mountain (2521). There is also the oronim “Borei” referring to Mount Babuna located between Prilep and Veles. From this we can conclude that the “Boreans” were tribes that occupied the Central Macedonia region north of Ematia along the mountain range Nidzhe (Voras) and Kozhuf. These were the mythological and ancient “Boreans” and north of that were the mythological Hyper-Boreans.

Macedonian Royal Dynasties

The social organizations in the Macedonian kingdoms were of the dynastic form. Two of the Macedonian dynasties were of mythological origin, while the third, the ancient dynasty, was historic. The oldest Macedonian mythological dynasty was that of the god Osiris and can be dated back to

around 2340 BC, while the other was of the god Zeus, and can be dated back to around 1315 BC.

According to Diodorus (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, Fr. Vogel, 18, III, 20, Leipzig, 1896) the first Macedonian mythological dynasty belonged to Macedon, son of Egyptian god Osiris. Diodorus was a historian who wrote about the world from mythical times to the time of Caesar. According to one tradition, Macedon was an eponymical Macedonian hero. When Osiris abdicated his rule of Egypt to his wife Isis, he set off to conquer the world and, as mentioned earlier, he took his two sons Macedon and Anubis with him because they were great warriors. When Osisris conquered Thrace he killed king Lycurgus, king of the Thracian Edoni, and replaced him with his son Macedon, after whom Macedonia was named. Anubis, Osiris’s second son went back to Egypt where he became king and an Egyptian god. Osiris, or Busiris as he was also known, belonged to the ancient Egyptian gods of the first generation and to a dynasty that ruled from 2500 to 2340 BC. While the rulers of the IV dynasty were builders of the great pyramids (Keops, Kefren etc…), the rulers of the V dynasty, led by Osiris, were elevated to divine status. Osiris became the god Amon, the god of fertility and of the underworld, because according to contemporary beliefs, the afterlife was an important place. In Macedonia Osiris was identified with Dionysus of Kiseia, a city in the Thermaic Bay located near modern day Solun (Thomson, G.: Arhaia Eilliniki Koinonia-to Proistoriko Algaio, p. 133, Athina, 1954). One of the tributaries of the river Mlava (the mythological river Stiga) was named “Bosur”.

The myth of god Osiris was used by Pseudo-Callisthenes in his book “Life and work of Alexander the Great” to connect Alexander III to the god Amon. Callisthenes (360-327), Aristotle’s nephew who accompanied Alexander the Great during his campaigns as an official historian, also mentioned that when Pharaoh Nektaneb came to Amon he seduced Olympias, Alexander’s mother.

Information about the second Macedonian mythological dynasty came from Hesiod (VII century BC). In his “Fragments” Hesiod wrote that Zeus had two sons with Tia, the Delphian nymph, who were named Macedon and Magnet.

According to Apollodori (Apollodori, Bibliotheca (I-II century BC) 1, 7, 3, 9, 6), Magnet was the eponemical hero and son of Eol and Enareti and the king of Magnesia located near the Thessalean Peninsula and neighbouring islands in the Aegean Sea. The Magnets participated in the Trojan War with 40 black ships under the leadership of Protoi. The patron god of the Magnets was Poseidon from the city Petra located on the southern slopes of Mount Olympus.

Macedon was Zeus’s second son, Macedonian by birth and an eponemical hero of Macedonia. His kingdom, stretching from the Thermaic Bay and Olympus in the east, to Gramos on the west and along the length of the Haliacmon (Bistrica) River, covered an area which came to be known as “Old Macedonia”. Macedon had three sons: Amati, Pier and Pind (Pindus).

“Amati” or “Emati” was king of the Ematian part of Macedonia encompassing the Macedonian coast, the space between the rivers Bistritsa and Vardar, more commonly known as Lower Macedonia including Mount Olympus.

“Pind” (Pindus) was king of the western part of Macedonia which encompassed the Pind Massif. The mountain “Pind” was named after king Pindus. According to legend, the other brothers hated Pind because he was tall and handsome and that was why he withdrew into the wilderness to live in the company of wild animals and a large snake. Pind was king of the upper Haliacmon River basin in Orestidia, Elimeia, Timfaia Regions as well as Paravai and the peaks of Voion and Gramos Mountains.

“Pier” (Pieros meaning saint or a person dedicated to god) was a mythical and eponimenical king of Pieria, the city and the region in Macedonia. He was sometimes also referred to as king of Ematia. Pieria extends from the shores of the Aegean Sea, between the mouth of the Haliacmon (Bistritsa) River and east to the River Peneus. Included in Pieria are also Mount Olympus and the Pierian Mountains to the west. Pieria’s main centre was the town Pieria located near the ancient city Dion, dedicated to Zeus. Pieria was called the country of the muses and was a religious and cultural centre for all Macedonians during the reign of King Archelaus (413-399 BC). Pieria means “Holy Mountain”, a name used during mythological times as well as during ancient times by the ancient Macedonians. When the Macedonians, along with the Aeolians, left Pannonia and came to Macedonia, they brought their Danube hydrological system gods with them and placed them on top of Mount Olympus where they built temples for them. Apollo looked after the “holy cattle” on Mount Olympus and the Pierian muses with their divine voices celebrated the deeds of the twelve immortal gods.

King Pier and the nymph Metona had a son whom they named Eagar and nine daughters known as the Pieridians. To honour his wife, king Pier built a town on the shores of the Aegean Sea in Pieria and named it “Meton”.

Eagar became king of Pieria and the Thracian Bistoni. The muse Kaliopa bore him three sons named Orpheus, Lin and Marsi. Kaliopa was the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosa (Hesiodus, Fragmenta & Theogonia, p. 79 and further). Kaliopa was the most talented of the muses in the arts, especially in epic poetry.

Orpheus was the eldest son of king Eagar. Orpheus spent most of his life as king of Macedonia, Odriz and Thrace. When he died he was buried in Macedonian Pieria, in the city Leibert (near Dion), his place of birth and where he had erected a large bust of himself carved out of cedar wood. Orpheus got his first lessons in singing and playing stringed instruments from Apollo, who gave him a lyre with seven strings. Orpheus was the greatest singer and musician of his time, and the power of his songs and music was miraculous.

Orpheus participated in the Argonaut campaigns and married Eurydice who bore him a son named Leont. One day when Eurydice joined her friends on a walk through the flower fields of Pieria, she was bitten by a poisonous snake and died. Orpheus could not get over her death and because of that he joined the Argonauts. He then went to the underworld of Mlava in the Danube to bring her back to the living, but was unsuccessful.

Orpheus accompanied the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece and experienced the many quest difficulties along with them. But because he was so charming with his music he managed to calm the terrible storms at the Bosphorus and put the dragon that protected the Golden Fleece to sleep. He also humbled the sirens ... More information on Orpheus’s contributions to cosmology and theogony will be introduced in the next chapter. Chronologically, it was estimated that Orpheus lived around 1250 BC.

Orpheus’s brother Lin was a renowned Macedonian poet, singer and writer. His sad songs were known and sung not only in the Balkans but also in Cyprus and Egypt. Lin was founder of the “kitarodii” (guitar melodies). Most of the information we have on Lin comes from Homer (Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, XVIII, 570, Novi Sad, 1985. (Prev. MN Gjurigj)) who has provided us with images of life in the village during the harvest of grapes: “In anger, Lin played his lyre so sweetly and sang his song so dearly…” Lin was also the teacher who taught Heracles how to read, write, and play musical instruments.

Marsi was king Eagar’s youngest son. Marsi lived in Greater Phrygia, in Asia Minor, near the capital city Kelen. He was respected by all the people for his modesty, virtues and poise. He was also a talented musician whose music was admirable. His beliefs were dedicated to the goddess Kibela. His fate was tied with the games he played with Apollo and every time Apollo was declared the winner Marsi was severely punished. Some say that Apollo spared his opponent’s life but for his punishment Marsi was given a pig’s tail.

Eagar’s daughters, the Pieridians, got their nickname from Pieria, the place where they were born. According to Hesiod (Hesiodus, Fragmenta & Theogonia, p. 52 and further) the Pieridians were muses, born not far from the top of Mount Olympus and lived in a beautiful palace where they sang in the glory of his father and of the Olympian gods. Their names were Polihimnia, Klia, Melpomena, Thalia, Urania, Erato, Terpsihora, Evterpa and Kaliopa, named after Zeus’s daughters. Their names were used in nine books as titles of Herodotus’s History during Alexander the Greats’ time.

Orpheus and Eurydice had a son named “Leont” who became an eponimecal hero of the Attic “Phili” and “Leontidi” and a friend of “Tezei”. Leont’s children were “Kilant”, “Prakstiei”, “Teop” and “Eubul”. While Tezei was king of Athens, his relatives the “Palantidi” hoped that after the death of their uncle, they would be able to rule Aegae with help from Athens because Tezei was an illegitimate child. So they left for Athens armed. Orpheus’s son Leont, however, uncovered their plans and crushed them and their supporters. On another occasion, at a time when there was famine in Attica, Leont, on the advice of a Delphian prophecy, sacrificed his daughters to save the Athenians. The grateful Athenians then created a sanctuary called the “Leokorion” in honour of Leont’s sacrificed daughters. According to Apolodori (Apollodori, Bibliotheca (I-II, BC), I, 15.1) Leont’s daughter “Praksiteia” was wife to Athenian king “Erehtei”. When the prophecy of Delphi declared that the Athenians would defeat Eumolp from Borea, who had joined forces with the “Eleusins”, if a royal daughter was offered as a sacrifice, queen Praksiteia agreed to sacrifice her eldest daughter to save her country.

An important part of Macedonian history comes from “Old Macedonia” located on the Haliacmon (Bistritsa) River Basin. In addition to the mythological accounts there are also archeological remains and findings there that tell a story about the synthesis of this prehistoric civilization and its human activities. Prehistoric archeology is a study of the oldest recorded material remains, i.e. cultures, until the appearance of written documents. In our work we will try to show the available archaeological information on the sites where the first king, king Macedon and his sons Amati (Emati), Pier and Pind appeared.

The “Nea Nikomedia” site located near the city Veria (Beroi) is one of the oldest Neolithic settlements in “Old Macedonia” dating between 7000-6200 BC (Srejovikj D.: Archaeological Lexicon, p. 704 Savremena Administration, Belgrade, 1997). In the period from 1961 to 1963, on this site, researchers discovered a cultural junction of layers of remains of houses with square bases measuring 8 x 8 metres and built with wooden beams, weaved thatch and paste. Some had two rooms. Erected in a more prominent place in the neighbourhood was also a larger house measuring 13 metres in length, believed to be a sanctuary, because five female figures of baked earth and several vessels of uncommon form were found in it. Found in and around the houses were diverse stone tools and weapons, and anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures that looked like the pottery belonging to the Proto-“Sesklo” and to the Proto-“Starcheva” cultures.

The “Servia” site located on the northwestern slope of Pieria, near the Bistritsa River, belongs to the Mid-Neolithic “Sesklo” culture of Thessaly, as is the next layer that belongs to the “Dimini” culture of Thessaly i.e. the young Neolithic culture.

The Dupiak (Dispilio) site located near Kostur (Orestidia) was unearthed by archaeologist Hourmouziades (1996) and was dated to about 5260 BC. In addition to megalithic fortifications, there were also lake houses found there along with tools, stone axes and other Neolithic material remains. Among the remains found there was also a plank with proto-linear writing on it which its discoverer could not decipher. This writing was deciphered by Vasil Iliov and documented in a text entitled “The oldest written monuments” in Macedonia (Rev., 2000, 62). According to Iliov’s translation, using the Macedonian language, the message on the board said: “Dupiak VII kolishte”, that would apply to seven “soenitsi”.

Similar lake houses built for living also existed on other lakes in Macedonia about which Herodotus (Herodotus, History, V, 16, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) has written. Included among these sites are Lake Prasiad, Lake Doiran and Lake Prespa where a village by the name Nakolets still exists to this day.

Many Neolithic sites were found in Kostur (Orestidia) Region such as: Nestram (Nestorion), Zhelgozhe (Pendavrison), Preshtani (Avgi), Gorentsi (Korisos), Krpeni (Krapeni) and others.

From all that we have stated above, it can be concluded that mythological prehistoric “Old Macedonia” developed along the Haliacmon (Bistritsa) River Basin, from its source down to the Aegean Sea where it emptied i.e. mountains Gramos to Olympus. These regions belonged to Orestidia, Paravaia, Timfaia, Lynkestida, Elimeia, Eordaia, Pieria and Amatia or Ematia.

According to this myth Macedon, son of Zeus, was the father of all Macedonians and the person after whom Macedonia and the Macedonian ethnicity were named. These Macedonians belonged to the Aeolian culture, a proto-culture of the Danube Region, i.e. Hiperboreans who developed the autochthonous proto-culture of “Old Europe”. (Gimbutas.: The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe 6500-3500 BC Myth and Cult Images, University of California Press, 1982)

According to our epistemological, linguistic, etymological and semantic research, the Balkan onomastic of non-Slavic origin belongs to the Paleo-Balkan Glossology (PBG). It is believed to be autochthonous, proto-Sanskrit, and belongs to the proto-Indo-European language. It has been preserved in the geographical names in the ancient Greek language, since the Aeolians first developed their language. (Thomson, G.: I Arhaia Eilliniki Koinonia-to-Proistoriko Algaio, p. 124, Athina, 1954.)

Writing among the Macedonians was also autochthonous, dating back to 5260 BC, as was discovered at the Dupiak site in Kostur (Orestida). It was also believed that the Macedonian king Orpheus was the inventor of the “alphabet on a tree”. (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, Fr. Vogel, I, 69, Leipzig, 1986)

King Midas of Macedonia and the legend of the Brigians

There was a prehistoric Macedonian tribe known as the “Bromi” which lived on the slopes of Mount Bermion (Karakamen, 2052), and which was related to the mythical Macedonian king Midas. The onomastic “bromos” means oats, and the mountain “Bermion” is located in Ematia Region.

According to Graves (Graves, R. The Greek Myths, Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1972), Midas was the son of the great goddess Ida and the Satyr Pan. Midas was king of Macedonian Bromia. He loved pleasures and ruled the Brigians, or as they are still called, the Moisineans. When Midas was still a baby, people noticed a column of ants carrying oats and depositing the grain in the sleeping child’s open mouth. From that it was prophesized that this person in the future would accumulate immense wealth.

The Macedonian king Orpheus was Midas’s teacher. Another legend talks about Midas and Dionysus’s teacher, Silen. Namely, Midas possessed the most wonderful gardens at the foot of Mount Bermion where the most aromatic roses with 60 petals grew. One day Silen lost his way in the gardens when he went looking for a spring of water to quench his thirst. But because king Midas wanted Silen to part with some of his wisdom, the king spiked the spring with wine. Unbeknownst to Silen, he drank from the spring and fell asleep. Midas then had him delivered to his palace where Silen spent 10 days as his guest. During his long stay, Midas asked Silen what was the greatest joy for a man. Silen told him: “the best thing is for a man not to be born, and for the man who was born, the greatest joy was to spend the least time in this world.” When Midas returned Silen to Dionysus, Dionysus was so happy he granted Midas one wish. At that point Midas asked Dionysus to grant him the ability to turn everything he touched to gold. After receiving his wish, the lucky king began to test his new power and turned everything he touched to gold including the food he was about to consume. Thus, despite the bountiful food on the table, Midas remained thirsty and hungry. The unlucky king soon went to see Dionysus and begged him to take back the wish because it was causing him nothing but misery. Dionysus obliged him and took the curse away. In mythology Midas was mentioned as being king of Macedonia, the Brigians and the Phrygians in Asia Minor.

The Brigians or Moisineans belonged to the Hyperborean people of the Danube. In our toponymic research of “Gierdap” Gorge at “Sredno Paduvanie” near the city “Donii Milanovats”, we discovered a city called “Mosna”. According to PBG “mossyn”, “mossynos” means wooden tower or barracks. From this we gather that the “Moisineans” (Mossyn-Oiko meaning wooden house) were people living in barracks. Due to pressure from the Indo-European populations, the Moisineans left this region in the thirteenth century BC. One part of their tribe followed the Danube River and ended up on the shores of the Black Sea in Asia Minor, west of “Trepezunt”. Another, the larger part of their tribe, followed the Moreva, Vardar, Erigona (Tsrna Reka) valleys and colonized the region around Lake Prespa, which at that time was called Lake Brigian i.e. “Brygeis limne” meaning “boiling land”. On the plains of Ohrid today there is a toponym called “Klokot” where water gushes out of a spring, sounding like water boiling.

This is what Herodotus (Herodotus, History, VII, 73, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) had to say regarding the Brigians: “According to Macedonian accounts, while the Phrygians lived in Europe and were neighbours of the Macedonians, they were called ‘Brigians’. They acquired their name ‘Phrygians’ and named their country ‘Phrygia’ after they moved to Asia.”

According to our historic and archeological research, a large number of authors (Strabo, Geographia, VII, 7, 9, Meineke, Lipsiae, I, II, III, 1913; Папазоглу, Ф.: Македонски градови во римско доба, Скопје, 1957; Грашанин, М., Праисотрија на тлу Србије, с. 467-470, I, 1973, Београд) place the Brigians in the Region between Lake Prespa, Drach, Southern Albania, and Epirus, or more precisely, in the upper part of the Erigon River, a tributary of the Vardar River. Their neighbours were the “Enheleitsi”, the “Partini”, the “Lynkesti”, the “Deuriopi” and the Macedonians. The Brigian capital was “Kidrai” (kydros meaning glorious) located northwest of Mount Varnus (Baba), near the coast of Lake Prespa (limne brigeis).

According to our onomastic research regarding the Brigians, there are about 50 toponyms, 34 ethnonyms and 35 hydronyms and oronyms still in existence which originated from the PBG. Included among the anthroponyms are the names “Bastos” (bass-basileus meaning king), “Basa”, “Basos”, “Bastrarevs” which all have similar roots and onomastics. Followed by “Getas” (gates meaning villager), “Dada” (from the word “da” meaning “yes” many times, also to learn, meaning well-educated), “Delus” meaning cunning, “Dida” meaning twice as much learned, “Dules” meaning slave, “Desius” meaning hairy, “Euadea” meaning appealing, “Mania” meaning madness, “Mama” meaning grandmother, “Manta” meaning prophet, “Mades” meaning ruler, “Tipas” meaning to create, “Pita” meaning resin, “Attas” meaning stop charging, and “Gavros” meaning relaxed. Included among the toponyms are the names “Almana” meaning very salty, “Kidros” meaning glorious, “Asara” meaning coin, “Astaria” meaning star, “Altos” meaning to jump, “Galepsos” meaning like a weasel, “Bolbe” meaning garlic, “Pelion” meaning mud, clay, “Damastion” meaning to train, to win, “Edessa” meaning water, and Naussa meaning river, springs etc.

The Brigians most likely came to Macedonia after the Cadmian migrations to the land of the Enheleitsi in 1313 BC and before the Argonaught expedition in 1225 BC. Petrova E. in her monograph, “Бригите на централниот Балкан во 2. и 1. милениум пред Христа” (The Brigians of the Central Balkans in millennium 2 and 1 BC), (Петрова Е., Бригите на централниот Балкан во 2. и 1. милениум пред н.е., Скопје, 1996) believes that the Brigian and Mezian migrations from the Central Balkan regions took place in several waves and directions. The first and larger wave took place around 1500-1400 BC in the direction of Asia Minor. The second and smaller wave took place in the same direction but after the Trojan War, after 1183 BC. The third wave went in the direction of Epirus, Greece and Italy and took place around 800-700 BC. The Phrygian state disappeared from the Balkans at the beginning of the 7th century BC, (Thomson, G.: I Arhaia Eilliniki Koinonia-to-Proistoriko Algaio, p. 291, Athina, 1954). The Brigian migration from the Balkans is chronologically tied with the fall of the Hittite state around 1200 BC.

The third Ancient Macedonian Dynasty – The Argeads of Orestida

After the Trojan War, migration of the “people from the sea”, movements of the Dorians and after the destruction of the Mikenska (Mycenaean) culture of the Balkans, there was a period of turmoil and uncertainty during which small and large displacements, disintegration and dissolution of the old societies took place. (Грашанин, М., Настанак и порекло Илира, с. 9-76, Научни скуп, САНУ, Илири и Албанци, Београд, 1988, Гавела, 1988; Papastavrou, I., Istoria tis Arhaias Ellados, Hiotelli, Athhinai, 1972). This period in history is called “The Dark Period” and lasted until the 7th century BC.

According to historiography, during “The Dark Period”, before the “Classical Period”, the Argead Dynasty ruled Macedonia which historians believe was established at about 700 BC. This dynasty has its own name which it acquired from the toponym “Argos” in Orestida (Argos Orestikón) (today’s Rupishcha) a town in Kostur Region, western Macedonia, with Perdiccas as its first leader and founder.

During the Persian Wars the Macedonian king Alexander helped the Greeks. Here is what Herodotus (Herodot, Историја, VII, 137, Матица Српска, Београд, 1988) had to say about that: “The seventh king in line of Macedonian kings before Alexander was his ancestor Perdiccas who founded the Macedonian kingdom as follows: three ‘Temenovi’ descendants the brothers Gauan, Aerotop, and Perdiccas left Argos and went to Illyria and from there they went to Upper Macedonia and arrived in the city Libei. There they found employment serving the king. The first brother looked after the horses, the second looked after the cattle and the youngest, Perdiccas, looked after the goats and sheep.

This was a time when everyone was poor, even the king, people had no money. They were so poor that the queen herself had to make and bake the bread. When she baked the bread for Perdiccas, he always asked if he could have double the portion. As this was repeated several times, the queen decided to tell her husband. After the king thought about it he figured it was some sort of ritual which may have important significance. He summoned the three boys and then ordered them to leave his country. They agreed they would leave immediately provided their salaries were paid and they were given what they earned. When the king heard that they wanted to be paid, he became very angry. In his rage he looked at a spot of sunlight shining on the floor through the chimney hole. While pointing to the spot of light, because god drove him to this anger, he said ‘Here is the pay that you deserve; I am giving it to you’. Gauan and Aerop could not believe what they were hearing, but the youngest brother, because he always carried a knife, said: ‘Your majesty, we agree, we will take what you are giving us’. He then pulled out his knife and drew a sun symbol on the floor where the sun was shining, after that he hugged the sun ray shining on his lap three times and the three brothers left.”

Further on Herodotus (Herodot, Историја, VII, 138, Матица Српска, Београд, 1988) continues: “And the young men arrived at the other end of Macedonia and settled near the so-called gardens of Midas, son of Gordias, in which grew wild roses, each of which had 60 petals and had the most aromatic scent of all other roses. According to Macedonian accounts, Selin was kidnapped in those gardens. Located above the gardens is Mount Bermion. When the three brothers arrived in that part of the country, they began a journey of conquests and conquered all of Macedonia.”

In his final part, Herodotus said: “Thus, Alexander is a descendent of Perdiccas whose lineage is as follows: Alexander was the son of Amintas, Amintas was the son of Alket, Alket was the son of Aerop, Aerop was the son of Philip, Philip was the son of Argei, Argei was the son of this Perdiccas who founded the state” (Herodot, Историја, VII, 138, Матица Српска, Београд, 1988).

According to ancient Macedonian ruler chronology, king Amyntas I ruled from 541 to 498 BC, king Alexander I ruled from 498 to 454 BC, king Perdiccas II ruled from 454 to 413 BC, king Archelaus ruled from 413 to 399 BC, king Orestes ruled from 399 to 399 BC, king Aerop II ruled from 399 to 395 BC, king Amintas II ruled from 395 to 393 BC, king Pausanias ruled in 389 BC, king Amyntas III ruled from 393 to 370 BC, king Argei II ruled from 393 to 392 BC, king Alexander II ruled from 370 to 367 BC, king Perdiccas III ruled from 368 to 359 BC, king Philip II ruled from 359 to 336 BC, king Alexander III ruled from 336 to 323 BC, king Philip III ruled from 323 to 317 BC, king Cassander ruled from 316 to 298 BC, king Dimetri I ruled from 293 to 283 BC, king Antigonus II, Gonatus ruled from 276 to 239 BC, king Dimetri II ruled from 239 to 229 BC, king Antigonus III ruled from 229 to 221 BC, king Philip V ruled from 221 to 179 BC and king Perseus ruled from 179 to 168 BC.