A plausible argument (which most here, no doubt, have heard about) exists for Brygian being the main ethnic component in the ethno-genesis of the Ancient Macedonians. Credible arguments have been put forward by a number of historians, in particular, Macedonian historian, Nade Proeva in her book Studies of The Ancient Macedonians for this being the case. When I find some time I’ll go through some of those arguments, suffice to say for now, that Brygian seems to have been the main ethnic component of many of the Balkan peoples/tribes mentioned in ancient times that lived within the confines of the generally accepted boundaries of the modern Macedonian geographic area. Besides the Macedonians, these included the Paeonians, Orestians, Pelagonians, Lyncestians, Mygdonians, Edonians and Crestonians, to name a few, which the Greeks to the south considered all to be barbarians, that is, non-Greek speakers.
Interestingly, Proeva, does not include the Illyrians as having any Brygian in their ethno-genetic makeup and explains in detail why this is the case. She also makes some solid arguments as to why the two main tribes which inhabited the border regions with Illyria around Lake Ohrid, the Enchelanai and the Dassaretae, which are sometimes described as Greek and sometimes as Illyrian in origin, in fact belong to the Brygian/Macedonian ethnic substrate.
From Wikipedia, Bryges or Briges (Greek: Βρύγοι or Βρίγες) is the historical name given to a people of the ancient Balkans. They are generally considered to have been related to the Phrygians, who during classical antiquity lived in western Anatolia. Both names, Bryges and Phrygians, are assumed to be variants of the same root. Based on archaeological evidence, some scholars such as Nicholas Hammond and Eugene N. Borza argue that the Bryges/Phrygians were members of the Lusatian culture that migrated into the southern Balkans during the Late Bronze Age. (Note: More Slavic migration theories - this time it occurred in 1300 BC…Apparently.)
As for the etymology of the word Bryges, Wikipedia says that there is no certain derivation for the name and tribal origin of the word. In 1844, Hermann Müller suggested the name might be related to the same Indo-European root as that of Slavic Breg (shore, hill, slope, mountain), German Berg (mountain) and Illyrian breg (shore).
Note: The Slavic word Breg did not just mean “sea shore” but was also the old word for hill or mountain apparently. I have noted this since the Bryges seem to have occupied mainly hilly or mountainous areas of geographic Macedonia.
Despite hailing from various different regions and tribes, the unifying factor in the men (particularly those from Upper Macedonia) that made up Phillip and Alexander’s Macedonian army, and, consequently, made them so loyal, was the fact that they all proudly identified as Macedonians. This is best described in Waldemar Heckle & Ryan Jones’ 2006 book, “Macedonian Warrior”:
Here is an interesting quote from the ancient geographer Strabo with regard to Upper Macedonia:
What I like about this passage by Strabo is that it corroborates the idea that, when Phillip II was expanding his Macedonian kingdom, he did so by incorporating kindred peoples that resembled his own Makedones. That is, people with the same (or similar) language, culture, traditions and customs…even the way they dressed and cut their hair.
Interestingly, Proeva, does not include the Illyrians as having any Brygian in their ethno-genetic makeup and explains in detail why this is the case. She also makes some solid arguments as to why the two main tribes which inhabited the border regions with Illyria around Lake Ohrid, the Enchelanai and the Dassaretae, which are sometimes described as Greek and sometimes as Illyrian in origin, in fact belong to the Brygian/Macedonian ethnic substrate.
From Wikipedia, Bryges or Briges (Greek: Βρύγοι or Βρίγες) is the historical name given to a people of the ancient Balkans. They are generally considered to have been related to the Phrygians, who during classical antiquity lived in western Anatolia. Both names, Bryges and Phrygians, are assumed to be variants of the same root. Based on archaeological evidence, some scholars such as Nicholas Hammond and Eugene N. Borza argue that the Bryges/Phrygians were members of the Lusatian culture that migrated into the southern Balkans during the Late Bronze Age. (Note: More Slavic migration theories - this time it occurred in 1300 BC…Apparently.)
As for the etymology of the word Bryges, Wikipedia says that there is no certain derivation for the name and tribal origin of the word. In 1844, Hermann Müller suggested the name might be related to the same Indo-European root as that of Slavic Breg (shore, hill, slope, mountain), German Berg (mountain) and Illyrian breg (shore).
Note: The Slavic word Breg did not just mean “sea shore” but was also the old word for hill or mountain apparently. I have noted this since the Bryges seem to have occupied mainly hilly or mountainous areas of geographic Macedonia.
Despite hailing from various different regions and tribes, the unifying factor in the men (particularly those from Upper Macedonia) that made up Phillip and Alexander’s Macedonian army, and, consequently, made them so loyal, was the fact that they all proudly identified as Macedonians. This is best described in Waldemar Heckle & Ryan Jones’ 2006 book, “Macedonian Warrior”:
The phalangites were simple men, hardened by a life that promised them little more than self-sufficiency, and bound to their taxeis (meaning, a set of shared attributes) by kinship or shared geographical background. Their commanders were members of the local aristocracies, and they served them just as their own fathers had served theirs. Hence they were proud to declare their regional origins, as Lyncestians, Orestians, Elimiotes, or Tymphaeans…Amongst themselves they spoke the Macedonian language, and probably even a local dialect of it. It is doubtful that many of them had a good understanding of Greek. It is highly likely that they prided themselves on being distinct even from the Macedonians of the plain (Lower Macedonia), just as American southerners regarded Yankees with distrust if not loathing.”
"They gave the name of Upper Macedonia to the country about Lyncestis, Pelagonia, Orestias and Elimia. Later writers called it Macedonia the Free, and some extend the name of Macedonia to all the country as far as Corcyra (is referring to an ancient city on the island of Corfu, if I’m not mistaken), at the same time assigning their reasons, the mode of cutting their hair, their language, the use of the chlamys (a short cloak worn by men in ancient times), and similar things in which they resemble the Macedonians; some of them, however speak two languages. On the dissolution of the Macedonian empire, they fell under the power of the Romans."
Comment