Nicholas Hammond's Interview

[half greek]

Mr. Dennis Grammenos (dgrammen@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu) was kind enough to provide the following interview of the widely known historian and clacissist.

Nicholas Hammond, the well-known historian, said the following in an interview with the magazine "Macedonian Echo" in February, 1993:

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(Q): Who were the Macedonians ?

(A): The name of the ancient Macedonians is derived from Macedon,
who was the grandchild of Deukalion, the father of all Greeks.
This we may infer from Hesiod's genealogy. It may be proven that
Macedonians spoke Greek since Macedon, the ancestor of
Macedonians, was a brother of Magnes, the ancestor of
Thessalians, who spoke Greek.


(Q): Isn't it true that Demosthenes called them "barbarians" ?

(A): The speeches of Demosthenes, that deal with Philip as the enemy,
should not be interpreted as an indication of the barbarian
origins of Macedonians, but as an expression of conflict between
two different political systems: the democratic system of the
city-state (e.g.Athens) versus the monarchy (Kingdom of Macedonia).

Personally, I believe that it is the common language, which gives
one the opportunity to share a common civilization. Thus the
language is the main factor that forms a national identity.


(Q): What was the geographic location of the Macedonian Kingdom ?

(A): It should be emphasized that Macedonia occupied only the area of
Pieria, as is characteristically mentioned by Hesiod and Thucydides.
It had to wait until Philip II ascended to the throne and expanded
his kingdom by occupying, among others, the Thracians and the
PAEONIANS. The Paeonians were allowed to keep their customs,
which was a sign of liberal policy of Philip after each conquest.
From Homer we learn that the Paeonians had their own language and
that they fought on the side of the Trojans. THEY LIVED IN THE
AREA AROUND SKOPJE, and this is the reason I suggested to Patrick
Leigh Fermor to suggest in his article in the Independent the name
of "PAEONIA" AS THE MOST SUITABLE FOR SKOPJE.


(Q): Given your experience as a liaison officer in German occupied
Macedonia, do you believe that there may be a Macedonian nation ?

(A): NO. Macedonia was under Ottoman occupation until the beginning of
the 20th century. With the decline of the Ottoman empire, the Great
Powers began to seek spheres of influence in the Balkans. The result
was the emergence, during the latter part of the 19th century, of the
Macedonian revolutionary movements.The Serbian IMRO, the Bulgarian
VMRO and the Greek "Ethniki Etairia" were formed with the support
of certain Great Powers with the goal of organizing revolutionary
units in the area. After the Balkan wars, the Macedonia (the
geographical region) was divided between Serbia, Greece and
Bulgaria. The movement for the creation of a Slav-controlled
Greated Macedonia continued until 1934, when the Yugoslav
government declared IMRO illegal, as a good will gesture to Greece.
Therefore, given the struggle of the three ethnic groups (Serbs,
Greeks, Bulgarians) for the control of Macedonia AND THE ABSENCE
OF ANY LOCAL NATIONAL MOVEMENT, we can talk of Maedonia only as
a GEOGRAPHICAL ENTITY AND NOT as A NATION.


(Q): Tell us of your experience in Northern Greece during the German
occupation.

(A): I fell with the parachute into Greece in 1943. Our goal was to
cooperate as liaison officers with the Greek resistance against
the Germans. Tito's plan was to found a Greater Macedonia, that
would include Greek Macedonia and South Yugoslavia; in practice
it would be under Russian control. In January 1944, Tito formed
a government and declared a federal Yugoslavia that would be
composed of six different republics, the southernmost of which
would be called Macedonia. It is here that the name Macedonia
appears at the forefront of a plan of a Greater Macedonia against
Greece. The same year,Tito's guerillas invaded Greece three or four
times and attempted to enlist men from slavophone villages in the
area of Florina. Based on my knowledge, they were unsuccessful.

(Q): Could you please explain, who are these slavophones you refer to ?

(A): They are people who have been living in the area for centuries,
perhaps from the time of the Slavic invasions of the 7th century.
Nevertheless, they have been integrated with the population and
consider themselves Greek.

Nicholas Hammond's Interview

[Prokomenos]

Great find half! This should definately put a smile on the skopje's face. This is just more proof. An expert and well known historian/author.