Macedonian folklore in 1903 and Alexander the Great

[Orphic_Hymn]

Proof that the Hellenic inhabitants of Macedonia in 1903 remembered and cherished the memory of Alexander the Great:


Macedonian folklore (1903)
by Abbott, G. F. (George Frederick)

Publisher Cambridge : University Press
Date 1903

[Tsontos]

I guess we all know about ζει, ζει και βασιλεύει ο Μέγας Αλέξανδρος (he lives, he indeed lives and he rules, Alexander the Great) being a cantation used in all folklore in all regions of Greece. Im sure though that this thread will be hated by our FYROM freinds given that Macedonian folklore is clearly referring to the Greek folklore of Macedonia in 1903.

Brailsford in Macedonia, its races and their future, 1906, talking about a similar incantation in Crete:

Their very fairies are Greeks, and the very winds that toss their barks are the servants of Hellenism and its hero Alexander. When their fishing-boats are buffeted by the wind — so the island folk believe — the Queen of the Nereids, who is Alexander's sister, dances in the foam about their prow, anxious and troubled of mien. But the seamen look her in the face and answer her dumb inquiry with the age-old formula, "Thy brother Alexander lives and reigns." And so it is. Where Hellenism is still married to its barren rocks and the waves that cradled it, it lives triumphant and unspoiled. Its decadence is only in the ghettos and bazaars and the breathless city lanes.

[Orphic_Hymn]

I'd thought it be interesting to see the contrast.. While the Helenes still speak as they always spoke of Alexander being very well alive and still reigning, our Northern neighbors had traditions which actually celebrate their true origins.

The beauty of Macedonia in the conciousness of the Macedonians- Research based on examples from the Folklore tradition

by Tanas Vrazhinovski

1. The Mythical Dimension of the Mountain.

Mountains have always deeply impressed and emotionally moved man. Since ancient times, it has been considered a symbol of divinity, and a token of high rank and respect. According to some present Macedonian beliefs and legends, one can still hear the echo of the Pagan polytheistic religion up in the mountains. A god named Perun lived on the top of the Perun Mountain along with the other two gods - Dabog and Morena. The Tribor peak is in close proximity with the Perun Mountain. Probably the name of the peak is derives from the name of god Tribor. The toponym Perun is to be found in many places all around Macedonia (Vrazhinovski 1998) Another toponym, which is commonly met, is Veles, respectively Volos. Many research workers think that topoonomastics is an important study which helps the mythological structure to be reconstructed. It is believed that in Macedonian mountains there could be still found the so-called holy trees, which in the ancient times functioned as special places for the Slovenians to say their prayers.

The folk religion of the Macedonian people

by Vladimir Karadzoski



It takes an important place in the Macedonian traditional folk culture. The Macedonian folk religion originates from the far past, from the pagan-Slavic religion, but it was opened at the same time towards the modern influences connected to the acceptance of the Christianity. On the basis of the information present, we can consider, that the development of the religion in Macedonia has moved in different directions. The first is the pagan religion, the second is the Christian religion and the third is the double-faith. The pagan-Slavic religion, present in the past at these areas, has been built upon the oldest beliefs of our people, i.g. the pagan beliefs’ remainings, thanks to the folklore remainings until today. They’re mainly the beliefs in some Slavic gods (goddesses) Perun, Dabog, Tribor, Veles, as well as in their presence in the toponomy. Nevetheless, the beliefs in demon creatures such as fairies, dragons, vampires, karakondzoles, navies, witches, devils are mostly kept in the old Slavic pagan religion.

[Orphic_Hymn]

Some more info on who our Northern neighbors sung about since they are the ones that were considered as their heroes.





Serbian Macedonia : an historical survey (1916)
by Popovic, Pavle, 1868-1939 p.14-15

[kostas68]

Alexander the Great was the central figure of many Greek folk tales and traditions,centuries before the creation of the modern Greek state.We have a lot of testimonies for this by foreign authors.
1)Bodies of evidence,by Paul Santa Cassia:







2) Magic in history,the bathhouse at midnight,magic in Russia by W.F.Ryan









3) Feminist sociology by Sara Delamont







4) Contours of culture,complex ethnography and the complexity of ethnography by Paul Atkinson,Sara Delamont and William Housley







5)Modern Greek folklore and ancient Greek religion:a study in survivals by John Cuthbert Lawson