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The Ancient Macedonian Language
I just want to highlight something about the era in which the Macedonians made their mark on world history. The concept of having an international or common language for people as an intermediary means of communication was very important to the ancient world. What is commonly referred to as a “lingua franca”, was a necessity to facilitate cooperation between the various ancient peoples.
It’s easy to imagine that the advent of diplomatic negotiations, trade and sharing ideas is a fairly recent phenomenon. However, this has been going on for thousands of years. The only difference between now and then is that we take it for granted that English has suddenly become the default international language. Before the turn of last century, French was the default international language. It was the language of the educated classes and the language that all the diplomats were using. Not that long ago, a new language, Esperanto, was being devised and prepared for international usage. I remember my mum’s uncle, God rest his soul, could speak in Esperanto. These days, English has taken over for obvious reasons. It’s not even the language of the educated classes. Non-English speaking people can almost certainly pick up a basic understanding of English by watching Hollywood movies and shows. It just so happens that most of the world wants to be able to communicate in this language.
In Alexander’s time, when the Macedonians were conquering the world, the ancient Greek language, was the lingua franca for most people of the eastern Mediterranean. In the middle to Far East, it was Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke. However, and this needs to be stressed, just because a certain language was accepted as a common language of commerce and diplomacy, it didn’t mean that everyone could converse in that language. It was usually a small number of people such as merchants and diplomats who, through necessity, would have had to learn the common language.
The flourishing of Ancient Greek was facilitated by the fact that Greek colonies were spread across the Mediterranean from the southern coast of France all the way to the Black Sea coast and Asia Minor who were already trading in this language. The other thing that Ancient Greek had going for it, in contrast to most of the other ancient languages, was the fact that it could be written down. It had its own script. Fast forward 2,300 years and you could be excused for thinking everyone was Greek back then. The museums are filled with artefacts bearing Greek inscriptions, originating from all over the Mediterranean basin. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the inhabitants from these far flung regions, that produced these artefacts, were Greeks. It simply means that the ancient peoples were expressing themselves by utilising the available script of the time. By the same logic, artefacts written in Greek that have been uncovered in Macedonia do not prove the Ancient Macedonians were Greek. Likewise, digging up artefacts with Greek inscriptions in Bulgaria does not prove that the Thracians were Greek. Ditto the Illyrians.
Even before Alexander’s time, Greek was the language of commerce, education and literature and was readily accessible to the educated public. When Alexander adopted this language in his empire, he did so with the knowledge that, for a long time before him, various non-Greek speaking people were already communicating in this language. It just made things easier. In addition, it simply wasn’t worth the risk of revolts against Macedonian rule by imposing an unknown language on the local populace. A fascinating case is the example of the Romans. Unlike most of the ancient peoples, the Romans had their own Latin script, yet they chose to write exclusively in Greek right up until the first half of the 2nd Century BC. Contrary to Greek claims, Alexander did not spread Greek language and culture in the east. It was already there.
I do not accept that the Macedonians, in general, spoke Greek as their native tongue. There are enough examples, preserved by the ancient authors, that clearly speak of another, not often spoken it would seem, and almost forgotten language which, nonetheless, existed within Alexander’s camp. In the preserved anecdotes, they identified this language as Macedonian and it would seem that it was mainly spoken amongst the ordinary Macedonian foot soldiers of the Pezhetairoi units (pronounced Pesh-e-teri), who did not receive a formal education. These were the simple yet rough and tough peasant folk from the hills, who, as described by Alexander himself, tended flocks of sheep for a living and dressed in animal skins. The cream of the Macedonian army, they were conscripted from all parts of Macedonia, from the mostly rural, village communities that made up the majority of Macedonian society. The unifying bond that made them identify as Macedonians was their common Macedonian tongue, which, no doubt, had its own dialects.
The contrary is evident amongst the immediate entourage of Alexander. These were the privileged few, belonging to the Macedonian aristocracy, who had the opportunity to get an education and would have been educated in Greek. Many of these would have gone through the system of the well-known Macedonian institution of Royal Pages. The sons of prominent nobles, the Royal Pages received an education at court and developed a personal attachment to the king. Many of them made up part of Alexander’s Companion Cavalry and Royal Hypaspists units.
Judging from the ancient sources, the Macedonian language, although rendered almost obsolete for Alexander and his companions through neglect and the adoption of the common language, continued to be spoken by the ordinary Macedonian soldier. This is evident during the trial of Philotas where Alexander can be clearly seen trying to win points with the assembled Macedonian army when he asks Philotas whether he will speak in his native tongue before them.
Although their native tongue was quickly becoming a secondary language for the Macedonian elite, it was, nevertheless, the language that they often reverted to in times of crisis or heightened tensions. This is evident in the preserved incident with Alexander’s foster brother Cleitus, where the ancient authors made a point of stressing that, in the heat of the moment, Alexander shouted in Macedonian. The obvious allusion is hard to miss. The implication being that the drunk and enraged Alexander, feeling that his life was in danger, suddenly dropped his Greek façade and reverted to his primal and instinctive native tongue, Macedonian. Otherwise, why would Plutarch feel the need to specifically single out the usage of the Macedonian language? What was so unusual about this that it warranted making a point of it?
Clearly, judging from these two episodes, the adopted common language had precedence in Alexander’s court and the usage of Macedonian was relegated to the uneducated Macedonian rank and file only, who could not speak Greek.
We also have the example of Eumenes of Cardia, a rare case of an ethnic Greek being in a commanding position of Macedonians. Eumenes achieved his position after the death of Alexander as a result of his close personal friendship with him. Out of respect for Alexander, the Macedonians under Eumenes’ command allowed him to be their superior. Being in a commanding position, he was very conscious that if the Macedonians were going to follow his orders then he would need to learn Macedonian. The ancient authors speak of Eumenes being greeted in Macedonian by the troops, a sign of affection, and of him responding in kind. No doubt, as is only natural, through exposure with the Macedonians, he would have picked up some basic Macedonian. Yet, we are told by the ancient authors, that even he made sure that when an important message needed to be relayed to the Macedonian army, he had to make certain that it was delivered by a man fluent in Macedonian. In other words, Eumenes had need of a Macedonian interpreter to communicate with his own troops. These are just three examples. There are others but I won’t get into them. I think I have made my point.
If nothing more, then at the very least, the following passage by the Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus describing the trial of Philotas should give Greeks today some pause for thought. I particularly love this passage because it is like old Rufus is looking down the barrel of time itself and specifically addressing today’s loud-mouthed Greeks and their stubborn convictions.
“The Macedonians are going to judge your case, please state whether you will use your native language before them,” asked Alexander. “Besides the Macedonians,” replied Philotas, “there are many present who, I think, will find what I am going to say easier to understand if I use the language you yourself have been using, your purpose, I believe, being only to enable more people to understand you.”
I just want to highlight something about the era in which the Macedonians made their mark on world history. The concept of having an international or common language for people as an intermediary means of communication was very important to the ancient world. What is commonly referred to as a “lingua franca”, was a necessity to facilitate cooperation between the various ancient peoples.
It’s easy to imagine that the advent of diplomatic negotiations, trade and sharing ideas is a fairly recent phenomenon. However, this has been going on for thousands of years. The only difference between now and then is that we take it for granted that English has suddenly become the default international language. Before the turn of last century, French was the default international language. It was the language of the educated classes and the language that all the diplomats were using. Not that long ago, a new language, Esperanto, was being devised and prepared for international usage. I remember my mum’s uncle, God rest his soul, could speak in Esperanto. These days, English has taken over for obvious reasons. It’s not even the language of the educated classes. Non-English speaking people can almost certainly pick up a basic understanding of English by watching Hollywood movies and shows. It just so happens that most of the world wants to be able to communicate in this language.
In Alexander’s time, when the Macedonians were conquering the world, the ancient Greek language, was the lingua franca for most people of the eastern Mediterranean. In the middle to Far East, it was Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke. However, and this needs to be stressed, just because a certain language was accepted as a common language of commerce and diplomacy, it didn’t mean that everyone could converse in that language. It was usually a small number of people such as merchants and diplomats who, through necessity, would have had to learn the common language.
The flourishing of Ancient Greek was facilitated by the fact that Greek colonies were spread across the Mediterranean from the southern coast of France all the way to the Black Sea coast and Asia Minor who were already trading in this language. The other thing that Ancient Greek had going for it, in contrast to most of the other ancient languages, was the fact that it could be written down. It had its own script. Fast forward 2,300 years and you could be excused for thinking everyone was Greek back then. The museums are filled with artefacts bearing Greek inscriptions, originating from all over the Mediterranean basin. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the inhabitants from these far flung regions, that produced these artefacts, were Greeks. It simply means that the ancient peoples were expressing themselves by utilising the available script of the time. By the same logic, artefacts written in Greek that have been uncovered in Macedonia do not prove the Ancient Macedonians were Greek. Likewise, digging up artefacts with Greek inscriptions in Bulgaria does not prove that the Thracians were Greek. Ditto the Illyrians.
Even before Alexander’s time, Greek was the language of commerce, education and literature and was readily accessible to the educated public. When Alexander adopted this language in his empire, he did so with the knowledge that, for a long time before him, various non-Greek speaking people were already communicating in this language. It just made things easier. In addition, it simply wasn’t worth the risk of revolts against Macedonian rule by imposing an unknown language on the local populace. A fascinating case is the example of the Romans. Unlike most of the ancient peoples, the Romans had their own Latin script, yet they chose to write exclusively in Greek right up until the first half of the 2nd Century BC. Contrary to Greek claims, Alexander did not spread Greek language and culture in the east. It was already there.
I do not accept that the Macedonians, in general, spoke Greek as their native tongue. There are enough examples, preserved by the ancient authors, that clearly speak of another, not often spoken it would seem, and almost forgotten language which, nonetheless, existed within Alexander’s camp. In the preserved anecdotes, they identified this language as Macedonian and it would seem that it was mainly spoken amongst the ordinary Macedonian foot soldiers of the Pezhetairoi units (pronounced Pesh-e-teri), who did not receive a formal education. These were the simple yet rough and tough peasant folk from the hills, who, as described by Alexander himself, tended flocks of sheep for a living and dressed in animal skins. The cream of the Macedonian army, they were conscripted from all parts of Macedonia, from the mostly rural, village communities that made up the majority of Macedonian society. The unifying bond that made them identify as Macedonians was their common Macedonian tongue, which, no doubt, had its own dialects.
The contrary is evident amongst the immediate entourage of Alexander. These were the privileged few, belonging to the Macedonian aristocracy, who had the opportunity to get an education and would have been educated in Greek. Many of these would have gone through the system of the well-known Macedonian institution of Royal Pages. The sons of prominent nobles, the Royal Pages received an education at court and developed a personal attachment to the king. Many of them made up part of Alexander’s Companion Cavalry and Royal Hypaspists units.
Judging from the ancient sources, the Macedonian language, although rendered almost obsolete for Alexander and his companions through neglect and the adoption of the common language, continued to be spoken by the ordinary Macedonian soldier. This is evident during the trial of Philotas where Alexander can be clearly seen trying to win points with the assembled Macedonian army when he asks Philotas whether he will speak in his native tongue before them.
Although their native tongue was quickly becoming a secondary language for the Macedonian elite, it was, nevertheless, the language that they often reverted to in times of crisis or heightened tensions. This is evident in the preserved incident with Alexander’s foster brother Cleitus, where the ancient authors made a point of stressing that, in the heat of the moment, Alexander shouted in Macedonian. The obvious allusion is hard to miss. The implication being that the drunk and enraged Alexander, feeling that his life was in danger, suddenly dropped his Greek façade and reverted to his primal and instinctive native tongue, Macedonian. Otherwise, why would Plutarch feel the need to specifically single out the usage of the Macedonian language? What was so unusual about this that it warranted making a point of it?
Clearly, judging from these two episodes, the adopted common language had precedence in Alexander’s court and the usage of Macedonian was relegated to the uneducated Macedonian rank and file only, who could not speak Greek.
We also have the example of Eumenes of Cardia, a rare case of an ethnic Greek being in a commanding position of Macedonians. Eumenes achieved his position after the death of Alexander as a result of his close personal friendship with him. Out of respect for Alexander, the Macedonians under Eumenes’ command allowed him to be their superior. Being in a commanding position, he was very conscious that if the Macedonians were going to follow his orders then he would need to learn Macedonian. The ancient authors speak of Eumenes being greeted in Macedonian by the troops, a sign of affection, and of him responding in kind. No doubt, as is only natural, through exposure with the Macedonians, he would have picked up some basic Macedonian. Yet, we are told by the ancient authors, that even he made sure that when an important message needed to be relayed to the Macedonian army, he had to make certain that it was delivered by a man fluent in Macedonian. In other words, Eumenes had need of a Macedonian interpreter to communicate with his own troops. These are just three examples. There are others but I won’t get into them. I think I have made my point.
If nothing more, then at the very least, the following passage by the Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus describing the trial of Philotas should give Greeks today some pause for thought. I particularly love this passage because it is like old Rufus is looking down the barrel of time itself and specifically addressing today’s loud-mouthed Greeks and their stubborn convictions.
“The Macedonians are going to judge your case, please state whether you will use your native language before them,” asked Alexander. “Besides the Macedonians,” replied Philotas, “there are many present who, I think, will find what I am going to say easier to understand if I use the language you yourself have been using, your purpose, I believe, being only to enable more people to understand you.”
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