| bitushanec |
The discovery of the Veneti re-opened anew the question of the language spoken by the ancient Macedonians. In this connection, Charles Bryant-Abraham recorded Alexander the Great (356 - 323 BC), King of Macedonia and Greece, who, at a gathering admonished one of his men, Philotas by name, to talk in his mother tongue and not in Greek (cf. The Augustan, Vol. XXXI, Nr. 3, Daggett, Calif. 1999, p. 21). His mother tongue could have been only Macedonian, which evidently was different from Greek.
Yet, to which linguistic group pertained the then Macedonian language? I would say, we find a reliable answer in the inscriptions of Dura-Europos, deciphered by Anthony Ambrozic (cf. his book on "Adieu to Brittany", Toronto 1999, p. 74 ff.). He deciphered inscriptions based on the language, which I call Venetic, from which the Slav languages descended. - On this question see my explanations below.
What was Dura-Europos? It was a fortress on the Euphrates in present-day Syria, founded by Alexander the Great. Shipments from India were transported by sea and on the river Euphrates to the docks of this fortress. There, they where displayed, reloaded, and hauled over land to the Mediterranean coast. Thus, it was a very strategic post, which Alexander the Great entrusted only to his most reliable men. And, as the inscriptions in the "Slav" (Venetic) language confirm, they were his compatriots, the Macedonians. The garrison of Dura-Europos evidently survived the decline of Alexander's empire. The aforesaid inscriptions descend from the period of the Romans, who annexed the fortress in 165 AD, and were expelled by the Sassanians in 256 AD. Nevertheless, these inscriptions do not bear witness yet, that the then Macedonians were of Venetic origin.
Anyway, with regard to the Macedonians, an important indication of their Venetic origin is the quotation of Herodotos (ca. 480 - 425 BC), who also mentioned the presence of the Veneti in the Illyricum (I, 196), i.e., in the Balkans. But where was the territory of their settlement?
suppose, they were the ancestors of the Macedonians. Thus, because on the border of ancient Macedonia (in present-day northern Greece) I find even today a village called Veneton, situated on the Aegean coast (Thessaly) near Zagora. Further on, a tributary of the Aliakmon (Bistrica) River is still called Venetikos. I believe, these names bear witness of the places, where the very Venetic area ended. Other Venetic or Slav names are found inside all over the Greek peninsula and in the Peloponnese. But these are, in my opinion, a legacy of the Pelasgians, who spoke a similar language, even if they were not Veneti.
An ulterior characteristic of the Veneti was their social organization, based on the village community called vas. This community was composed of family dwellings, among which the field was divided. The social organization of many other peoples, like Celts, Germans, Illyrians... was based on the great family - Sippe, clan,... with the common field. In the Balkans, such a great family, called "zadruga" (in Serbian) or "rod" in (Bulgarian), was preserved until the 20th century AD. So, I am very anxious to know, whether or not in the tradition of Macedonians there are traces of such a (Venetic) village community and if in their language the word Vas exists? It is known to me, that in the Macedonian language exists the word Drzava (State), but the basis of it was formed by village communities.
Concerning Alexander III the Great, King of Macedonia and Greece, we know, that he was educated in a splendid Greek civilization. But his soul evidently remained Macedonian, or Venetic. From his conquering of the world, one cannot imagine, that he was born with the desire to subjugate territories and peoples, but rather to bring peace and progress to them. Such a desire had also the ancient Veneti, who wanted to bring to the world their idea of salvation after death.
In his inner self, Alexander the Great experienced this message also, but because of his Greek upbringing, the message remained an intuition only, and did not mature in his consciousness and in his thinking. Anyway, his men and the people understood his way and followed Alexander. In the East, his image was preserved among the people and entered later the Christian era.
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