Macedonian Symbols

[akritas]

The 16-pointed star "Sun of Vergina" as also named discovered in recent excavations as the symbol of the royal Macedonian dynasty of ancient Greece, and which is now being claimed as their own by the Skopjans, was widely used in Attica during the classical period, long before its adoption by the Macedonian royal house.
The star, identical with the one decorating the larnax discovered in the tomb of Philip II of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great, at Vergina in Northern Greece, has been found as one of the elements of decoration on at least four temples of the classical era, including two on the Acropolis of Athens.
The same symbol can also be seen on a 4th Century, B.C. urn on display at the Museum of Naples in Italy. It was found in Carnossa, Italy and depicts a female form inscribed with the word "Hellas" and flanked by the figures of Zeus and Athena.



The 8-ray star, emblem of the ancient kingdom of Makedonia, is a very common symbol for ancient findings. In the photograph there is a small golden decorating disk, found in the antechamber of Philippos' tomb.



The 16-ray star as it was designed on the golden larnaka that contained Philippos' remains. That appearance of the 16-ray star is possibly the only appearance on ancient findings



As already said except in Attica also and the Spartans used the same eblem (8 stars) in shields



akritas

PS: a great thanks to istor for the drawings

[Ptolemy]

- Vase found in an ancient Greek city in Sicily and is displayed in a museum in Naples. On this vase a woman is illustrated who according to the inscription is Hellas. Along with Hellas are Dias and Athena and on both sides of the gods the "sun of Vergina" is drawn.

- Column's capital of Ionic order (5th century BC, Museum of Kavala), from a temple of an Athenian colony, Naples (present day Kavala), carries in the middle an exact duplicate symbol to that of Vergina. This temple (of Diana or Artemis) has been chronologically dated at 5th century BC, before the Macedonians expanded beyond the Paggaion mountain and a century before Philip's death.

- Amphora from Milos (650 BC, National Archaeological Museum of Athens), on which Apollo and Artemis (Diana) are illustrated and on its neck Achilles and Memnon are fighting. Next to Artemis is a 16-ray symbol.

- Cup (485-480 BC, museum of Louvre, Paris), where Agamemnon leads Brisida (for the possession of whom Achilles left the Trojan war) to his tent accompanied by Takthyvios and Diomedes. Agamemnon wears a royal collar with two 16-ray symbols.

- Coin from Syracuse (260 BC, National Archaeological Museum of Athens). One side has the head of tyrant Ieron and on the other side goddess Nike riding a chariot driven by 4 horses. There is an inscription "BASILEOS IERONOS" (King Ieron) and above the word "BASILEOS" is the 16-ray symbol.

- Crater (435 BC, British Museum, London). The Sun, Moon and Stars in humanoid form are riding a chariot. The head of the Sun resembles that of Vergina.

- Crater (480 BC, Kunsthistoisches Museum, Vienna). Poseidon fights Polyvotis, who has a 16-ray symbol on his left breastplate.

- Crater (4th century BC, Staatlishe Antikensammlungen, Munich), Eos (Aurora), the morning star, rides her chariot accompanied by the sun. There are six 16-ray symbols here.

- Pitcher (490 BC, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). Danae carries her baby Perseus. There is also an urn with lionlike legs carrying two 16-ray symbols exactly the same as that of Vergina.

- Part of a kalpis, a pitcher with three handles (460 BC, Ermitaz museum, Petroupolis). Amphiaraos, mythical hero of Argos, bids farewell to his wife Eriphyle. The 16-ray symbol is on his breastplate.

- Crater (4th century BC, Staatlishe Antikensammlungen, Munich), where Orpheus is in Hades. The only 16-ray symbol there is exactly the same as the one from Vergina.

- Water-jug (480 BC, museum of Louvre, Paris) baby Hercules wrestles the snakes. His cradle is adorned with a 16-ray symbol exactly the same as the one from Vergina.

- Amphora (515 BC, Staatlishe Antikensammlungen, Munich). Hercules is on Olympus and there are five 16-ray symbols.

- Sicilian crater (350 BC, Archaeological museum, Lipari, Italy). Adrastos separates the quarreling heroes Polynice and Tideas. The palace is adorned with 16-ray symbols.

About the Attic shields here..
http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/se/~luv200...atterns_1.html

[akritas]

Thanks Perseas for the link

[akritas]

There is nothing in common between The FYROM’s lion and the lion's skin that Alexander the Great wears in some coins. The FYROM’s lion is actually the Bulgarian lion, which is depicted in the Bulgarian Coat of Arms.

Alexander’s lion is the lion's skin that Heracles killed in Nemea, which is one of the 12 deeds executed by the mythological hero. The lion skin that Alexander the Great wears signifies his ancestral relationship to Heracles (Hercules). There is an unpublished inscription from Xanthos dating from the third century BC (cf. Robert, Amyzon, 1,162, n 31) where the Ptolemies refer to their Ancestors as “Herakleidas Argeadas” (Errington, A History of Macedonia, p 265, n 6).

Source:
[Marcus Templar, Fallacies and Facts in the Macedonia issue,2003]

[akritas]

As I have already explain the 16 star or 8star is a symbol that used from the ancient Greeks.
Below is picture from an amfora of 5th cent, that show the Achilles.
Give attention in the shoulder-guards





and



All the stars together in the Achilles picture.


and if anyone has wear glasses

[Ptolemy]

Seems its not the only one who shows clearly 8/16 ray similar with Vergina's sun.

One more here from this Attic vase...



The pic closer..

[akritas]

The picture is from the Spartan Archaelogical museum and show figuirines(soldiers,horses,shields, birds e.t.c.).These figuirines found in the temple of the Artemidas Orthias.

Please give your attention in four thinks

-The Artemis was also a Godness that worship from the Macedonians
-The shields that showed in figuirines and clearly you can see the 8th or 16th star ancient Greek symbols.
-The date of those figuirines estimated at 8th-7th cent, a close date years) that estimated the Greek settlement (Karanos) in Emathia.
-The connections of the Spartan Symbols with the Macedonian Symbols. Actually both were Dorians.

[akritas]

The Macedonian Tomb of Lyson and Kallikles at Leucadia

The tomb is dated to ca. 200 B.C. The tomb was accidentaly discovered in 1942 at Leucadia Emathias and subsequently excavated by Ch. Macaronas. The results of the investigation were published in a book by his collaborator, Stella Miller, in 1993.

Please observe that Star in the wall.
Damn again the Greeks know the Star before 1977!!

The monument today is not open to the public and entrance is allowed only to archaeologists and students of Archaeology.

[Otto]

Amazing post Akritas... The Vergina Stars origins from Greek Hellenic symbolism is quite obvious, although you make it clear to the less versed historically!

[akritas]

Below is a picture from a Lacon Cratere of 6th cent. Of course you can see clearly the 16 star or Vergina Star.Located now in Louvre Museum




From the late 17th century AD, and in particular the 18th century, classical Greek civilization began to attract the ever-growing interest, curiosity and imagination of western Europeans. One manifestation of this was the numerous “journeys of discovery” undertaken by various scholars to the soil of “rediscovered Hellas” itself, which was then still part of the Ottoman Empire. Two such individuals were the young architects James Stuart and Nicholas Revett, who in 1751 arrived in Attica and immediately set about accurately recording the architectural details of surviving buildings of classical Athens and its surroundings.

The four volume “Antiquities of Athens”, published in 1762, is the product of their research.

The diagrams on this and the following page are taken from reproductions by Stuart and Revett, and other antiquaries, of solar emblems found in the coffers (sunken ornamental ceiling panels) of various classical Greek temples of Attica.

Coffers from the Ionian stoa of the Propylaea (entrance to the Acropolis) 437 BC; the Sunburst also appeared in the coffers of the Parthenon itself



From the Theseion449 BC, coffers from the wing of the pronaos of the temple





The ancient Greeks use this symbol a lot.