Nation-state building in its most urgent form was a particularly prominent 19th-century phenomenon. Small proto-states then were seeking to get out from under the stifling embrace of the big empires of the day - whether British, Turkish, French or Russian. But that process of political emancipation was not confined by any means to the 19th century; indeed, it continues, in places very strongly or even violently, to this day. And new nation-states that choose to base their essential identity on ethnicity, in order to determine who 'the people' are, tend to need heroes. Not least, they feel the need for founding-father type heroes from the past who can be seamlessly re-appropriated (and of course made over) as the nation's living ancestors.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - or just plain 'Macedonia', as it is known officially to its inhabitants and, more surprisingly, to George Bush's United States of America - is exactly one such emergent ethnic nation-state of today in search of retrospective founding-father ancestors. Unfortunately, one of its 'ancestors' of choice, Alexander the Great, is already very well spoken for - in fact, most vigorously claimed and appropriated - by the neighbouring state of Greece. Though Greece began the process of independent nation-state building as early as the 1820s, it did not achieve its present geopolitical configuration until the 1940s, well within the living memory of its oldest generations. Hence it too is still not a little sensitive about its founding-father ancestors; and though it has a far huger pool to choose from than does FYROM, it too chooses to make a song and dance about Alexander as a true-blue Hellene, because the area of northern Greece centred on Greek Macedonia with its capital at Thessaloniki is the most ethnically diverse and the most ethnically contested in all the present-day Greek state. Therein lie the source, and the cause of its intensity, of the conflict between Greece and FYROM over the question of Alexander's true ethnicity - a fundamentally historical question, but one that has become twisted out of all recognition by politics: just how Greek or Hellenic was he, really?

I say 'Greek or Hellenic', because in English the very term 'Greek' is itself the result of ethnocentrism, a very ancient ethnocentrism admittedly, since it goes back to the ancient Romans, the Americans of their day. The Graikoi were indeed Greek - or Hellenic, as the Greeks themselves would have put it. They lived in Thessaly, the region immediately adjoining Greek Macedonia on the south. But they were small fry, bit-part players in the major ancient dramas. The ancient Greeks as a whole, who called themselves collectively 'Hellenes', would no more have considered calling themselves all 'Graikoi' than all Australians would today consider calling themselves Darwinites. Perhaps that's another, historically conditioned reason why Greeks today or people of Greek descent, when speaking Greek insist so strongly that Macedonia is, was and always has been Greek, I mean Hellenic.

Yet, thereby hangs another irony, and another ancient one. Because even in ancient times there was a debate in Greece over the ethnicity of the Macedonians, that is over whether they were - or all of them were, and had always been - Greek (Hellenic Greek). This debate surfaces in Herodotus, at a critical moment in his account of the Graeco-Persian Wars. Ancient Macedonia, including a part of what is today FYROM, was then a subject province of the Persian empire, that empire's European toehold or bridgehead. That was embarrassing enough for patriotic Greeks - but perhaps their consciences could be salved by saying that the Macedonians weren't 'really' Hellenes? Herodotus was on the case, though only in retrospect of course. His enquiries led him to confirm the report he was given by the Macedonians themselves - that they were indeed Greek.

However - and it is a big 'however' - honesty compelled Herodotus to add that, when the Macedonian king of the day, another Alexander (Alexander the First), had applied to compete in the all-Greek and only-Greek Olympic Games, his fellow- competitors had objected that he was a 'barbarian' (non-Greek). But the judges of the Games, who were known as Hellenodikai or 'Judges of the Hellenes', had decided in his favour - on grounds of descent, as follows. The royal family to which Alexander belonged called themselves Argeadai, descendants of Argeas, and their family tradition held that Argeas, the ultimate founding father of their family line, took his name from Argos in the Peloponnese - indeed that he had originally emigrated from Argos to Macedonia to found the line. The Olympic Judges accepted that tradition as true. But - and again, it is a big 'but' - they did not then go on to declare that henceforth all Macedonians were entitled, as Hellenes, to compete in the Olympics. Entitlement was extended only to the royal Aegead family, not to all other Macedonians as well ....

Why so? Put it another way, why was there such dispute and discord, even among ancient Greeks, over the Hellenic identity and authenticity of the Macedonians? Even though, it has to be added, this dispute and discord flew in the face of very ancient Hellenic mythic genealogy, according to which Makedon, the eponymous forefather of all Macedonians, occupied an exalted position high up in the family-tree agreed on by all Hellenes. There were I think two main reasons. First, language, and second, customs - remembering that Herodotus, when he placed a definition of Greekness in the mouths of the Athenians, singled out precisely those two factors as crucially definitional.

It's very difficult today to classify precisely the language of the ancient Macedonians, because so few examples of it have been preserved. But two things about it are reasonably certain, or at least agreed among the experts. It was basically a dialect of Greek, but so interlarded with words of non-Greek, mainly Thracian origin that not just because of accent but also because of vocabulary it could be incomprehensible to speakers of 'standard' Greek dialects. For example, Alexander himself when under the stress of huge emotion is recorded as speaking 'in Macedonian'. The issue of difference of customs is also complex, but two features may be salient. Unlike Greeks elsewhere, both in mainland Greece and in the diaspora, the Macedonians had not developed a civilisation based on cities (poleis), and correspondingly they had not developed a strong political notion of citizenship. To try to convey an idea of this difference, scholars speak - however misleadingly - of Macedonian tribalism, even feudalism. That traditional way of doing politics was not significantly altered until only a couple of generations before Alexander the Great, in the late 5th century BCE.

Apart from the lack of citification, what would have astonished all other Greeks - except the Spartans perhaps - was the practice of royal polygamy. King Philip II, Alexander the Great's father, amassed a collection of seven wives in all, only two of whom were Macedonian Greeks. Alexander's own mother Olympias was a Greek Greek, as it were, a royal princess from Epirus. Elsewhere, monogamy was not just required for all Greeks - but also regarded as a defining feature of Greek as opposed to barbarian culture.

These linguistic and cultural differences could be exploited politically, then as now. Demosthenes of Athens complained you used not even to be able to buy a decent slave from Macedonia (implying it was a barbarian territory) whereas now Macedonia under Philip II lorded it over the rest of mainland Greece including Athens as if its subjects were barbarian slaves themselves. At the battle of Issus in Asia Minor in 333, Alexander's difficulties in fighting the forces of the Persian king Darius III were compounded by the fact that many Greeks had enlisted as mercenaries on the side of Darius precisely because they hated Macedonians so.

My point in reminding readers of these ancient contentions over the ethnicity and meaning of 'Macedonian' is to emphasise how far the disputes were manufactured and exploited for political reasons, rather than based on scientific historical knowledge and understanding of the facts (such as they are and were). The same seems to me true today. On October the 28th 2007 the United Macedonian Diaspora organised a protest outside Parliament House in Canberra against FYROM's assertion that Alexander was a (non-Greek) Macedonian. It is vital, I believe, that the Greek-Australian community's response is measured, well articulated and clear. It is my view that neo-nationalist perspectives on ancient history do little to generate cohesion or cross-cultural harmony - particularly in immigrant nations such as Australia. I am also of the view that it is somewhat irrelevant whether Alexander was Greek or Macedonian according to any modern, retrospective, reappropriating notion of those terms. What matters is that he was a hugely significant leader, imbued with Hellenic values, but blessed also with a global and no less importantly multicultural perspective on the world

Alexander the Great is one of the most celebrated figures of classical antiquity. In his relatively short reign (336-323BC), the Macedonian king became the ruler of many nations, the world's wealthiest man and was ultimately worshiped as a god. Born in a remote kingdom in northern Greece as one of several royal sons, Alexander displayed leadership qualities at an early age and carved out a role for himself as heir to the Macedonian throne. Following the death of his father, Phillip II, Alexander III secured the whole of Greece and prepared to lead its allied states against the massive Persian Empire. He marched his army into Asia in 334 BC and fought his way against overwhelming odds through Asia Minor, Syria and on to Egypt. The king then turned east into the Persian heartlands, where at the age of 25, without incurring a single defeat, he became Great King of Persia by right of conquest.

Alexander- King, politician, scholar and explorer was above all a soldier. An acknowledged military genius, he was geniunely loved by his troops. Nevertheless, his belief in his own indestructibility meant he could be reckless, not only with his own life but also with the lives of his men, whom he expected to follow him on his often hazardous exploits across the known world.

Their long campaigns left an indelible imprint on the landscapes and cultures of Asia and the East. Everywhere he went, Alexander founded Greek cities. By the time he died, he ruled over the greatest empire the world has ever seen- an empire composed of millions of ethnically diverse peoples who were united by a common Greek language.

Alexander's legend has proved remarkably durable. Modern Greek fishermen invoke his name to calm storms at sea, while, at the other end of his former empire, the warlords of Afghanistan are said still to fight beneath a flag they claim was once his. In whatever form his memory lingers, Alexander the Great, son of the Gods, was undoubtedly one of the most remarkable men ever to have lived.

Alexander the Great is a key figure for Macedonian cultural heritage. His legend survived both the Christian rule of the Byzantine Emperors and the Muslim rule of the Ottoman Sultans. His extraordinary abilities and unprecedented military achievements inspired the peoples of the Balkans, Asia Minor, and the Near East as far as Afghanistan before and after the creation of nation-states. However, only the Greeks can argue convincingly that Alexander was an authentic product of the Greek classical era, a king who traced his origin to the Ancient Greek Heroes and shared the culture of the Greek city-states. At the head of a united Greek expeditionary force, spear headed by the elite Macedonian army, he brought the Greek culture to the fringes of India and has justifiably been used for centuries as a symbol of Greek civilisation.

Macedonian miniature shield
Katerini, first half of 4th century BC

Macedonia has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic period. The earliest traces of a Greek presence appear in the late Bronze Age, while recent excavations have shown that the Mycenaean world extended as far as Pieria and the middle reaches of the Haliakmon.
A decisive turning point in Macedonian history was the occupation of the central Macedonian plain by the Argeadai Makedones, and the founding of their kingdom in the 7th century BC with Aigai as its capital. Under the rule of such illustrious monarchs as Alexander I, Archelaos I and Philip II, Macedonians came to dominate the whole of northern Greece, assimilating indigenous peoples and annexing southern Greek colonies.

As a result of her policy, Macedonia emerged as a bulwark against the barbarians and a major cultural fountainhead in the Greek world. Thence, following the conquests of Alexander III, a "new, great Greek world" was born.

As a Roman province Macedonia became the intermediary between the East and the West and transmitted the Hellenic tradition to Byzantium.

At the assassination of Philip II in the autumn of 336 BC, his son Alexander III acceded to the throne. In a few weeks he succeeded in obtaining recognition as 'archon' (president) of the Thessalian League, 'hegemon' (leader) and 'strategos' (commander-in-chief) of the League of Corinth (336 BC).

When he had consolidated the northern borders of his kingdom, he dealt with rebellion of the southern Greek cities by destroying Thebes and garrisoning hostile cities with Macedonian troops.

Having entrusted the government to the aged general Antipater, in the spring of 334 BC Alexander set out on a pan-Hellenic campaign to punish the Persians and liberate the Greek cities of the Asia Minor littoral from the Persian yoke. His army, large for the times, devastated the immense Persian State and reached the Indus River.

As monarch, heir to the Persians, he organized his empire by preserving the previous administration, minting a strong currency and introducing Greek education and language. By sending out concurrent exploratory missions he contributed hitherto unknown and valuable information about the world.

Furthermore, by instituting the principle of equality between Greeks and non-Greeks, he laid the foundations on which the Roman Empire later based its development, and which also led to the spread of Christianity.

Alexander III died at the age of 33 having changed the aspect of the world and the course of history. He went down as "the Great", although he did not have time to complete his visionary task.

The meaning of the pattern and colours of the Greek flag helps to understand the inner word of the Greek people. Flags have been used since the Revolution of the Greek Nation against the Ottoman Empire, in 25th March 1821. The founders of the modern Greek state choose this pattern and colours to express themselves. The National Flag of Greece appears on the top of the page. Although it is difficult to unreveal the true intentions of the people responsible for the selection of the pattern and colours of the flag an interpretation give us a best approach.

The number of the lines is based on the number of the syllables in the Greek phrase: E-leu-the-ri-a H Tha-na-tos), which means "Freedom or Death". Freedom or Death was the motto during the years of the Hellenic Revolution against the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. According to another interpretation the number of lines reflects the number of letters in the Greek word for Freedom which equals 9. This word stirred the heart of the oppressed Greeks, it created intense emotions and inspired them to fight and gain their freedom after approximately 400 years of slavery.

The line pattern resembles the wavy sea that surrounds the shores of Greece. The interchange of blue and white colours makes the Hellenic Flag on a windy day to look like the sea that surrounds the land. Only the quaint islands are missing!

The square Cross that rests on the upper left-side of the flag and occupies one fourth of the total area demonstrates the respect and the devotion the Greek people have for the Orthodox Church and signifies the important role of Christianity in the formation of the modern Hellenic Nation. During the dark years of the Ottoman rule, the Orthodox Church helped the enslaved Greeks to retain their cultural characteristics: the Greek language, to continue the Byzantine culture, which itself was a continuation of the Hellenistic culture which in turn was based on the classical Greek culture, and generally the Greek ethnic identity, by the institution of the Crypha Scholia (hidden (night) schools). The Crypha Scholia were a web of schools that operated secretly throughout Greece and were committed in transmitting to the Greeks the wonders of their ancestors and the rest of their cultural heritage. Today, Christianity is still the dominant religion among Greeks with about 98% of them following the Eastern Christian Orthodox Faith. For 2000 years!!!. The

Alexander the Great, who would become the Conqueror of the Ancient World, was born at Pella, Macedonia in 356 B.C.E. His father was King Phillip II and his mother was Olympias, a deeply spiritual woman who taught her son that he was a descendant of Achilles and Hercules. From the earliest age, then, Alexander was conditioned for conquest and kingly glory. He, thus, became focused on being a great ruler.

When he was 13, Alexander became student to the great Greek philosopher Aristotle. Under Aristotle's tutorship he gained an interest in philosophy, medicine and science. However, Aristotle's concept of small city-state government would not have gone down well with the young prince who was bent on world domination. Aristotle did, however, cultivate Alexander's interest in reading and learning.

At age 16 Alexander was called to Macedonia to put down a Thracian rebellion while his father was away. Distinguishing himself immediately, Alexander quelled the rebellion, stormed the rebel's stronghold and renamed it Alexandroupolis, after himself.

In 336 B.C.E. Phillip was assassinated and 20 year old Alexander took the throne of Macedonia. Within two years he had embarked on his campaign of conquest. His army of 30,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 cavalreymen was small but efficient. Along with the army he took engineers, surveyors, architects, scientists and even historians.

The first engagement was against the Persians at the Granicus River in modern day Turkey. Defeating the Persians he swept through western Asia Minor. The next Autumn the second major encounter against the Persians took place at Issus, in the south eastern corner of Asia Minor. Persian king Darius III had amassed an army of about half a million to wipe out the Greek threat. But the vicious and tactically superb attack mounted by Alexander routed the Persians, despite being outnumbered about 13 to 1.

Alexander now turned south, marching along the Mediterranean coast His only resistance came from the island city of Tyre. Alexander began a siege that would last for seven months. Finally Tyre was completely destroyed in July, 332 B.C.E.