Vergina Sun

The Vergina Sun, Star of Vergina or Argead Star 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. Image File history File links Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... This article is about the astronomical object. ... Location of Aigéai/Vergina in Greece. ... Manolis Andronikos (23 October 1919 – 30 March 1992) was a Greek archaeologist. ... A larnax (plural larnakes) is a type of closed box often used as a container for human remains in ancient Greece. ... Ancient Macedons regions and towns Macedon or Macedonia (Greek ) was the name of an ancient kingdom in the northern-most part of ancient Greece, bordered by the kingdom of Epirus to the west and the region of Thrace to the east. ...

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. Philip II of Macedon: victory medal (niketerion) struck in Tarsus, 2nd c. ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... Philip III Arrhidaeus (Greek: Φίλιππος Αρριδαίος; ca. ... This article is about the Macedonian princess. ...

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] Argead dynasty were the ruling family of Macedonia, a nation in northern Greece from c. ... Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon (Greek: Δωδεκάθεον < δωδεκα, dodeka, twelve + θεον, theon, of the gods), in Greek religion, were the principal gods of the Greek pantheon, residing atop Mount Olympus. ...

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] The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

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. A view of the Acropolis of Athens during the Ottoman period, showing the buildings which were removed at the time of independence The history of Athens is the longest of any city in Europe: Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 3,000 years. ... Warfare in Hellenic Greece centered mainly around heavy infantrymen called hoplites. ...

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. Image File history File links Flag_of_Greek_Macedonia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greek_Macedonia. ... The region called Macedonia (or Makedonia) in Greece is a large section of the north-northwestern part of the country which collectivally with Thrace, is forming Northern Greece. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 965 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 965 KB) Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kozani (Greek: Κοζάνη) is one of the prefectures of Greece. ... Flag Ratio: 2:3 The European flag consists of a circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background. ... Flag Ratio: 2:3 (Naval Flag 1822-1828, Sea Flag 1828-1969; 1975-1978 (Flag Ratio 7:12), National Flag 1969-1975; 1978 to date) The flag of Greece (Greek: , popularly referred to as the Γαλανόλευκη or the Κυανόλευκη, the blue-white) is based on nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating... Image File history File links Flag_of_Macedonia_1991-95. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Macedonia_1991-95. ... Flag ratio: 1:2 The Flag of the Republic of Macedonia represents a rising yellow sun with eight rays extending to the edges of the red field. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Macedonia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Macedonia. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 190 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Vergina Sun Metadata This file contains... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 190 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Vergina Sun Metadata This file contains... For the full range of meanings of Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... The Vergina Sun, a symbol widely used by Greek Macedonians, both in Greece and in the diaspora. ...

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. Languages Macedonian Religions predominantly Macedonian Orthodox, but also some Muslim, Protestant, Serbian Orthodox,and others The Macedonians[18] (Macedonian: , Тransliteration: ) also referred to as Macedonian Slavs[19] are a South Slavic ethnic group who are primarily associated with the Republic of Macedonia. ... Motto Brotherhood and Unity Anthem Hey, Slavs Capital Belgrade Language(s) Serbo-Croatian (spoken throughout the territory), Slovenian, Macedonian, Albanian, Hungarian (all official), and languages of other nationalities. ... National motto: None Official languages Macedonian2 Capital Skopje President Branko Crvenkovski Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 145th 25,713 km² 1. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ...

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.^[8] 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: Adoration of the Magi by Florentine painter Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337). ... Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, and 1973 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. ...

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 Slavistics or Slavic Studies is the study of Slavic languages, literature and culture. ... The University of Hamburg was founded on the 1 April 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. ... This article is about the Slavic ethnic group. ...

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: The BBC World Service is one of the most widely recognised international broadcasters of radio programming, transmitting in 33 languages to many parts of the world. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

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.^[8] // The Republic of Macedonia became a member state of the United Nations on April 8, 1993, eighteen months after its independence from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ... UN and U.N. redirect here. ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ...

In response to the dispute, the symbol was introduced in many new contexts in Greece. It was added to the Greek 100 drachma coin [5] 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.^[13] In February 1993 the Greek parliament passed a bill designating the Vergina Sun as an official Greek national symbol.^[8] In July 1995, Greece lodged a request with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for exclusive intellectual property rights to the Vergina Sun.^[14] 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,^[15] 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.^[16] Drachma, pl. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... The only national network based in Thessaloniki. ... Look up Ο, ο in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (French: Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle or OMPI) is one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations. ... For the 2006 film, see Intellectual Property (film). ... Flag ratio: 1:2 The Flag of the Republic of Macedonia represents a rising yellow sun with eight rays extending to the edges of the red field. ... This is a list of Japanese flags, past and present. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Kratovo is a small town 40 kilometers south east of Moscow located between Zhukovskiy and Ramenskoe home to the Olympic Champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy    This article is a stub. ... Paionia or Paeonia (in Greek Παιονία) was in ancient geography, the land of the Paeonians (Ancient Greek Παίονες), the exact boundaries of which, like the early history of its inhabitants, are very obscure. ... Aromanians (also called: Macedo-Romanians or Aroumans; in Aromanian they call themselves Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are a people living throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Romania (Dobruja). ...

Seal the of Liqenas municipality, Albania [4].

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.^[17] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Official seal of Liqenas, Albania. ...

In 2005, there were ethnic Macedonian press reports that the municipality of Liqenas in Albania, located in what is referred to as Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo region which has a significant ethnic Macedonian population^[18][19] had adopted the Vergina Sun as its seal.^[20] Official seal of Liqenas, Albania. ... Mala Prespa and Golo Bardo (Bulgarian:Мала Преспа и Голо Бърдо; Macedonian: Мала Преспа и Голо Брдо) is the name by which Bulgarians and ethnic Macedonians refer to an area in the southwest of their perception of the Macedonia region and in southeastern Albania (around the Lake Ohrid) corresponding roughly to the Korçë, Pogradec and Devoll districts (sometimes considered to...

References

This article is about the region spanning several countries in southeastern Europe. ... The BBC World Service is one of the most widely recognised international broadcasters of radio programming, transmitting in 33 languages to many parts of the world. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Helsinki Committees for Human Rights exist in many European countries (the OSCE region) as volunteer, non-profit organizations devoted to human rights and presumably named after the Helsinki Accords. ... Helsinki Committees for Human Rights exist in many European countries (the OSCE region) as volunteer, non-profit organizations devoted to human rights and presumably named after the Helsinki Accords. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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

• [6]
• 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