Why were the Macedonians styled as “Greeks” in the 19th Century?
As the ancients knew well that the Macedonians were not Greeks but a distinct nation, and as the overwhelming evidence shows that the Macedonians did not regard themselves as Greeks, nor were regarded as Greeks by the Greeks, the question must be asked – why would some 19th century western writers (full 20 centuries after the end of the Macedonian kingdom), make a 180 degree bold move to consider the Macedonians as “Greeks”? The answer of this question reveals two main reasons for it: 1) Personal political motivations, and 2) Lack of sufficient ancient evidence at the time. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century western historians who were inamorata with anything Greek, and saw ancient Greece as the cradle of the Western civilization, could not possibly imagine that uncouth and brute people like the ancient Macedonians could topple the Greek states (specifically Athens) and build an empire of the likes that Europe has not seen yet. They regarded Philip II of Macedon and his Macedo
