Alexander, my forefather: Nationalism and Archaeology in the Greek Macedonia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Classical archaeology in the service of the state and national identity is not a new concept, although it is one that is seen less, or at least less blatantly, in modern Europe. This particular use of the classical past is still very much in use in the region of Macedonia, both the Greek province and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Nationalism uses archaeology and the imagery of the ancient world to claim legitimacy in the modern world. By claiming the ancient past and projecting it into the present, nations can create a strong national identity. By tying the present day inhabitants of an area to a strong cultural past, the nation itself becomes more legitimate. Problems arise when two nations seek to claim the same past as in the case in the Greek province of Macedonia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This competition and issues surrounding the claim of ownership of a particular national past can be seen through the examples of the tumulus at Vergina and the differing traditions of the symposion in Macedonia and Athens. The projection of the past into the present can be seen in the (former) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia flag, in three pamphlets on the “Macedonian Question” from Greece, and in the recent rebuilding of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s capital, Skopje.