Titus Livius, J.S. Gandeto and the Misrepresentation of Macedonian History
Vasko Gligorijevic
November 15, 2008
Mr. J. S. Gandeto provided an attempt at sociolinguistics literary criticism of a erroneously transmitted passage from Livy's Ab Urbe condita ("From the Founding of Rome"), a treatise of Roman history, from which he tries to present an extrapolation about the character of ancient Macedonian language. This is obviously a non-subtle way at misrepresentation under pretense of genuine scholarship. Several key points are needed to clarify the picture about the the testimony which adds to conclusion that ancient Macedonians were a distinct entity within the ethnically Greek word, based on linguistic evidence brought by thousands of Greek epigraphic monuments from Macedonia.
The exact passage in Latin is:
Aetolos Acarnanas Macedonas, eiusdem linguae homines, leues ad tempus ortae causae diiungunt coniunguntque: cum alienigenis, cum barbaris aeternum omnibus Graecis bellum est eritque
This quote, as such, is found in all authoritative texts in Latin, a number of which are easily found online.
This statement is a part of the speech by the Macedonian ambassador given at the Aetolian assembly, in face of threat of Roman invasion. Far from the subliminal suggestion by Mr. Gandeto that it represent an appeal to emotions designed perhaps to make a case for political unity (among different ethnopolitical units, in Gandeto's view) between Aetolians, Acarnanians and Macedonians, the ambassadors message underlines the essential difference between Romans and Greeks not (only) as linguistic but as a cultural quality. Such key point would not have a substance if the meeting didn't had a Panhellenic character which shouldn't be confused with then-prevalent political attitudes, although a false analogy with nationalism and ethnocentrism in modern world may be tempting.
A fragmented view of the ancient Macedonian history either as a part of attempts at rigorous intellectual pursuit or as illustrative material often used with pragmatic, almost Machiavellian purpose by the identity-seeking counterculture in FYROM and its diaspora should be avoided. Synthetic overviews based on broader erudition and utilizing combined finds of disciplines such as archeology, linguistics, history and literary criticism will not only provide a balanced revelation of the past but will also prevent creation of straw-man fallacies out of non-contextualized historic sources.
The exact passage in Latin is:
Aetolos Acarnanas Macedonas, eiusdem linguae homines, leues ad tempus ortae causae diiungunt coniunguntque: cum alienigenis, cum barbaris aeternum omnibus Graecis bellum est eritque
This quote, as such, is found in all authoritative texts in Latin, a number of which are easily found online.
This statement is a part of the speech by the Macedonian ambassador given at the Aetolian assembly, in face of threat of Roman invasion. Far from the subliminal suggestion by Mr. Gandeto that it represent an appeal to emotions designed perhaps to make a case for political unity (among different ethnopolitical units, in Gandeto's view) between Aetolians, Acarnanians and Macedonians, the ambassadors message underlines the essential difference between Romans and Greeks not (only) as linguistic but as a cultural quality. Such key point would not have a substance if the meeting didn't had a Panhellenic character which shouldn't be confused with then-prevalent political attitudes, although a false analogy with nationalism and ethnocentrism in modern world may be tempting.
A fragmented view of the ancient Macedonian history either as a part of attempts at rigorous intellectual pursuit or as illustrative material often used with pragmatic, almost Machiavellian purpose by the identity-seeking counterculture in FYROM and its diaspora should be avoided. Synthetic overviews based on broader erudition and utilizing combined finds of disciplines such as archeology, linguistics, history and literary criticism will not only provide a balanced revelation of the past but will also prevent creation of straw-man fallacies out of non-contextualized historic sources.
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