The Maedi (also Maidans, Maedans, or Medi) were a Thracian tribe who, in historic times, occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along the middle course of the Strymon and the upper course of the Nestus (now the Mesta) rivers. Their capital city was Iamphorynna. The Thracians were an Indo-European people, inhabitants of Thrace and adjacent lands (present-day Bulgaria, northeastern Greece, European Turkey, eastern Serbia and Macedonia). ... Paionia (Romanized as Paeonia) was, in ancient geography, the land of the Paionians (or Paiones, Paeonians), the exact boundaries of which, like the early history of its inhabitants, are very obscure. ... Thrace is a historical and geographic area in south-east Europe spread over southern Bulgaria, north-eastern Greece, and European Turkey. ... The Struma (Bulgarian: Струма, Greek: Strimonis, Turkish: Karasu (meaning black water in Turkish)) is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. ... Mesta is also another name for the Egyptian god Imset. ...

They were an independent tribe through much of their history, and the Thracian king Sitalkes recognized their independence, along with several other warlike "border" tribes such as the Dardani, Agrianes, and Paeonians, whose lands formed a buffer zone between the powers of Thrace on the east and Illyria in the west, Macedon being located to the south of Paeonia. The Dardani were an ancient Indo-European tribe that lived in Dardania and was likely of mixed Illyrian-Thracian descent, as indicated by both archaeological evidence and classical references. ... Paionia (Romanized as Paeonia) was, in ancient geography, the land of the Paionians (or Paiones, Paeonians), the exact boundaries of which, like the early history of its inhabitants, are very obscure. ... In classical history, Illyria or Illyricum or Illyrikon was a region of the western Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the tribes and clans of Illyrians, an ancient people who probably spoke an Indo-European language (the Illyrian languages). ... Macedon (or Macedonia from Greek Μακεδονία) in Classical Antiquity was a state bordering with the Greek state of Epirus on the west and with Thrace on the East. ...

In 89--84 bc (during the First Mithradatean war), the Maedi overran Macedon, looted Dodona, and sacked Delphi. It is said that they made a habit of raiding Macedon when a king of Macedon was away on a campaign. At Dodona (ancient Greek: Δοδώνη, modern Dodoni) in Epirus, northwestern Greece, was a prehistoric oracle devoted to the Greek god, Zeus and the Mother Goddess identified at other sites with Rhea or Gaia, but here called Dione. ... The Temple of Apollo, seen from below The amphitheater, seen from above Delphi (Greek Δελφοί Delphoi) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece. ...

Aristotle recorded that bolinthos was the Maedan word for a species of wild bull or bison that lived in the region. Aristotle (sculpture) Aristotle (Greek: Αριστοτέλης Aristotelēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher. ... A bull is a male of various animal species, including: cattle elephant whale In English, bull is usually spoken to refer specifically to male cattle, with terms such as bull elephant disambiguating the term for other species. ... The name bison refers to several large bovine mammals: American bison - Bison bison Wisent or European bison - Bison bonasus Steppe Wisent Bison priscus - extinct Frequently confused with bison: Aurochs - Bos primigenius It also refers to several other things: GNU bison is a compiler compiler similar to Yacc. ...