History of Macedonia

History of Macedonia

The Land of the Great Mother

According to the earliest written sources, the natives of the land - we now call Macedonia – were the Pelasgians, who according to many Classical Greek authors occupied the land to the north of ancient Greece. According to Homer the Pelasgians were allies to Troy, and their most sacred place had been the Oracle at Dodona. The Oracle was first dedicated to Dione, often referred to as the Great Mother Goddess, before it became the sanctuary of Zeus.

As archeology points in Skopje valley and Polog, in the period predating the 2nd millennium BC Macedonia had been dominated by a culture of people who cherished the Mother Goddess, lived peacefully and enjoyed stargazing ever since time immemorial (the Neolithic period of Macedonia expands in three stages: early, middle and late from 7000-3,500 BC).

The Rock Art findings across Macedonia point at some form of literacy (related to the Vinča scripts), which if we analyze the ancient mysteries and its oral traditions as well as the sacredness of symbols in general, we can assume that they represented some sort of ritualistic code, which embedded a deep symbolic meaning for those who understood its message. The Oracle of Dodona was associated with the Dionysian and Orphic mysteries that originated in ancient Macedonia and Thrace, and were part of the Great Mother Goddess cult that was venerated in the region.

Some artifacts excavated in Govrlevo, such as the figurine of a male torso, popularly referred to as Adam of Macedonia, and the little clay 6,000 year old ocarina excavated near Veles, show a very sophisticated sense for art and music, while the diversity of the Great Mother figurines points at the individualistic expression of those who shaped these remnants of the matriarchal prehistoric culture of Macedonia. Macedonia was at the time a relatively peaceful land shared between the children of the Great Mother.

The Rise of the Tribes

The situation changed drastically...

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