VERGINA SUN

Vergina Sun

The orginal 12 ray 'Vergina Sun' from Vergina in Greece

The 'Vergina Sun' or 'Star of Vergina' is a symbol of a stylised star with sixteen rays. It was unearthed in 1977 during archaeological excavations in Vergina, in northern Greece, by Professor Manolis Andronikos. He discovered it on a golden larnax in the tombs of the kings of the ancient kingdom of Macedon.
Andronikos described the symbol variously as a "star", a "starburst" or as a "sunburst". ^[1] He proposed that the larnax on which it appears belonged to King Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great; other historians have suggested that the tomb actually belonged to the later King Philip III Arrhidaeus. ^[2] The larnax is on display at the archaeological museum in Vergina, very close to where it was found. Another version of the Vergina Sun, with 12 rays, was found on the larnax of Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great.

Contents

Interpretations of the symbol

Modern usage

References

Sources

External links

See also

Interpretations of the symbol

The significance of the Vergina Sun is unclear. Archaeologists do not agree whether the sun was a symbol of Macedon, an emblem of Philip's Argead dynasty, a religious symbol representing the Twelve Gods of Olympus, or simply a decorative design. Andronikos repeatedly interprets it as the "emblem of the Macedonian dynasty", though Eugene Borza has pointed out that it is widely used in ancient Macedonian art ^[3].
John Paul Adams cites its long-established use as a decorative element in Greek art (as well as in the Middle East and elsewhere) and concludes that it cannot definitively be said that it was either a "royal" or "national" Macedonian symbol. ^[4]
Sixteen and eight-pointed suns often appear in Macedonian and Hellenistic coins and shields of that period^[5]. There are also a number of depictions of Athenian hoplites^[6] bearing an identical sixteen-pointed symbol on their armor, though before Andronikos' discovery in 1977 the symbol had been regarded as a simple ornament.

Modern usage

Vergina Sun flag as used by the three peripheries of Greek Macedonia.

Vergina Sun flag at the Kozani Prefecture, along with the European flag and the flag of Greece.

The official flag of the Republic of Macedonia between 1992 and 1995.

The revised flag (since 1995), with a stylized sun.

The Vergina Sun is now widely used on Greek commercial products, such as these bags of sugar.

Following the discovery of the larnax, the Vergina Sun was widely adopted by Greeks as a symbol of continuity between ancient Macedonian culture and modern Greece. The Vergina Sun on a blue background is commonly used as an official emblem of the three peripheries, the prefectures and the municipalities of the region of Macedonia. It is also used by organisations of the Greek Macedonian diaspora, such as the Pan-Macedonian Association ^[7], as well as numerous commercial enterprises.
The symbol had also been adopted by organisations in the overseas Slavic Macedonian diaspora, and it was adopted by some nationalists in Yugoslavia's Socialist Republic of Macedonia. When Yugoslavia broke up in 1991-1992, the newly independent and renamed Republic of Macedonia designated the Vergina Sun as its national symbol and displayed it on its new flag.
The decision caused controversy both within the republic and outside it in its relations with Greece. The republic's large Albanian minority complained that it was an ethnic symbol of the Slavic Macedonian majority and was not suitable for a multiethnic state. ^[8] Greek opposition was even more vehement. The Greek government and many Greek people, especially in the Greek province of Macedonia, saw it as the misappropriation of a Hellenic symbol and a direct claim on the legacy of Philip II. ^[9]. A Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman said in January 1995 that "the symbol is Greek and has been stolen." Nationalists on both sides subsequently associated the symbol with the (much later) Star of Bethlehem and have argued that their respective communities have used the symbol for sacred purposes before the Vergina discovery. The Greek position on the symbol has been supported by some abroad, such as the former United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, who reportedly told a questioner:
Others have argued that the symbol has been appropriated by the Greeks as a means of asserting continuity between modern Greece and the ancient Greek states. Peter Hill, a professor of Slavic studies at the University of Hamburg who has published extensively on the Macedonian Slavs and their language and actively promoted their cause, states that
Speaking on the BBC World Service's ''The World Today'' programme, archaeologist Bajana Mojsov from the Republic of Macedonia said that "the symbolic weight attached to the Vergina Star was archaeologically absurd - but politically inevitable," arguing:
Although the authorities in Skopje denied any ulterior motives, the flag became a major issue in the wider political dispute between the two countries of the early 1990s (see Foreign relations of the Republic of Macedonia). Greek objections led to the flag being banned from use in a variety of places, including the United Nations, the Olympic Games and offices of the Republic of Macedonia in the United States and Australia.
In response to the dispute, the symbol was introduced in many new contexts in Greece. It was added to the Greek 100 drachma coin [1] in early 1992 and appeared on the arm patches of police in Athens. The Thessaloniki based ''Makedonia'' television station used it to replace the letter omicron in its logo and the Bank of Macedonia-Thrace adopted it as its symbol, as did some Greek military units. ^[10] In February 1993 the Greek parliament passed a bill designating the Vergina Sun as an official Greek national symbol. In July 1995, Greece lodged a request with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for exclusive intellectual property rights to the Vergina Sun. "Greece petitions for int'l rights to Vergina Star", ANA, 31 July 1995. See also WIPO registrations: [2] [3], [4].

Official seal of Liqenas (Pustec) municipality, Albania.

The dispute was partially resolved in October 1995 under a compromise brokered by the United Nations. The symbol was removed from the flag of the Republic of Macedonia as part of an agreement to establish diplomatic and economic relations between the two sides. It was replaced by a new flag, which is currently in use, displaying a stylized eight-pointed sun which is broadly reminiscent of various Japanese military flags. The discovery of a Bronze Age stone carving of a similar eight-pointed sun, found in an archaeological excavation at Kratovo in the Republic of Macedonia, has led to suggestions that this eight-pointed symbol (rather than the sixteen-pointed version found at Vergina) could be a truer symbol of ancient Macedonian culture,^[11] despite the fact that Kratovo lies in what was the ancient land of Paionia, which was only incorporated into Macedonia many centuries after the end of the Bronze Age. The eight-pointed symbol is also used by Aromanians in the republic. ^[12]
Outside of the Republic of Macedonia, some nationalist groups continue to use the Vergina Sun as a symbol of Macedonia's Slavs, despite the change in the Republic of Macedonia's flag. In Canada, for instance, the United Macedonians Organization uses the sun as part of its logo ^[13].
In Albania, the Vergina Sun was adopted as an official seal of the predominantly ethnic Macedonian municipality of Liqenas (Macedonian language: Pustec) in Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo region.^[14]

References

★ Parts of this article are based on by editors of the Greek Wikipedia.
1. Danforth, L. M. ''The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World'', p. 163. Princeton University Press, 1997
2. Borza, E. N. ''In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence of Macedon'', p. 260. Princeton University Press, 1990
3. W. Lindsay Adams and Eugene N. Borza, eds. ''Philip II, Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Heritage'', p. 82. University Press of America, 1982
4. Adams, J.P. The ''Larnakes'' from Tomb II at Vergina. ''Archaeological News''. 12:1-7
5.
★
6. Argeads and the Vergina Sun
7. Pan-Macedonian Association website
8. Danforth, L. M. ''The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World'', p. 166
9. The dispute was exacerbated by clauses in the Republic of Macedonia's constitution that Greeks saw as a territorial claim on the Greek province of Macedonia
10. Borza, Eugene N. "Macedonia Redux", in ''The Eye Expanded: life and the arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity'', ed. Frances B Tichener & Richard F. Moorton, p. 260. University of California Press, 1999. See also : Greek military :1st STRATIA and -34 Μ/Κ ΤAX.
11. Shea, John. ''Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation'', p. 6. McFarland & Company, 1997
12. Cowan, Jane K. ''Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference'', p. 124. Pluto Press, 2000
13. United Macedonians Organization website
14. The Vergina Sun adopted as the official seal of the Liqenas (Macedonian: Pustec) municipality of the Mala Prespa region in eastern Albania.
Makedonskosonce.com

Sources

★ ''Philip II, Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Heritage'', ed. W. Lindsay Adams and Eugene N. Borza. University Press of America, 1982. ISBN 0-8191-2448-6

★ The ''Larnakes'' from Tomb II at Vergina. ''Archaeological News''. John Paul Adams

★ ''In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence of Macedon'', Eugene N. Borza. Princeton University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-691-05549-1

★ "Macedonia Redux", Eugene N. Borza, in ''The Eye Expanded: life and the arts in Greco-Roman Antiquity'', ed. Frances B Tichener & Richard F. Moorton. University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 0-520-21029-8

★ ''Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference'', Jane K. Cowan. Pluto Press, 2000. ISBN 0-7453-1589-5

★ ''The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World'', Loring M. Danforth. Princeton University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-691-04357-4

★ ''Macedonia and Greece: The Struggle to Define a New Balkan Nation'', McFarland & Company, 1997. ISBN 0-7864-0228-8

External links

★

★ Image of gold box with Vergina Sun in Thessaloniki Museum

★ Flags of Greek Macedonia - Flags of the World

★ The Vergina Sun

★ Republic of Macedonia National Flag 1992-1995 - Flags of the World

See also

★ Macedonia naming dispute