The national symbols seem timeless or such is the desire of dominance and up to a point it has achieved it. However how timeless is the Vergina sun? We will not focus on the form of the symbol itself; we will examine its semiotic value and what it produces, considering a threshold its numerous appearing at an excavation of some tombs in Vergina of Imathia in 1977. These tombs are attributed to the Macedonian Argead dynasty. According to M. Andronikos, chief archaeologist of the excavation, the Vergina sun was the emblem of this dynasty and since then, the symbolic value of the Vergina sun has reached the point of almost being recognized as a national emblem. However the numerous appearances of the same symbol on findings, which belong to different historical periods and regions (even before Fillip’s time), supports the notion that this same sun is a symbol, if not common, widely used by the ancient world of the Balkan peninsula40. What erects our first questions is why the Greek archaeological service, just in 197741 and hitherto, attributed this sun to the house of the Argeads and to the ancient Macedonian kingdom. An answer could be that said year and at said excavation this symbol was found adorning a golden larnax. Even if this answer seemed satisfactory, the next two arguments would raise our further reasonable question. Firstly why the absolute right of usage and reference to this symbol has to answer only to a certain Balkan state? According to historians of all political opinions, the Macedonian army reached India and its soldiers mingled (as did their king) with native people. Thus, why shouldn’t the contemporary Afghani or Turkmen have a right to use and refer to this symbol, as they could easily claim being descendants of Macedon soldiers who had children with residents of Bactrian?
Secondly what will the Greek archaeological service and in turn he Greek and Macedonian political leaders, have to say, if tomorrow this same symbol is found on a tomb of the king or prince of Zamunda42? Are the two tombs going to be chronologized to find out which is the older? And if the one of Zamunda proves to be the older, then is the Vergina sun going to be renamed as “Zamunda sun”, and consequently is the Vergina sun going to be removed from the buildings it has been erected on and from the documents it has been printed on? Or did some state rush to enshrine first the copyright and thus the court of law will decide, like in the case of the Greek feta cheese?
As ridiculous as it may seem, the truth is that Greece has enshrined in July 3rd 1995 the Vergina sun to the world intellectual property organization43. Thus as one can understand, whoever non Greek dares use it44, he/she will have the same fate as the Danish cheese producers in October 200245. In fact following the same logic, Turkey could forbid all non Turks to make baklava.
Of course all these questions are of little matter and they are not posed in terms of who has the absolute right of using this symbol. Even if the Afghani or the Turkmen or the Zimbabwean had the right to refer to it, it is of no interest to us. On the contrary said questions contribute to the deconstruction of the symbol of the Vergina sun and of the myth that has been constructed on it. What interests us and to which we are opposed to, lies on the recognition of different rights to referenciality, and also to the necessity of the states to use a symbol as a tool. It is a matter of great importance that the Greek and the Macedonian states are in a constant competition for the right of usage of this symbol and not over the usage of the name “Alexander”46, or for the right to refer to a lighter. The significance of this lies in the semantic value of the lighter and that of the Vergina sun, or of Alexander the 3rd. As in the example of the toilet paper, it will be very difficult – if not totally impossible – for the mathematic maxim which lacks reference to race, blood ties etc, to become the reference point, through which people will identify themselves, or to be a gathering point of the masses, in terms of national conscience. In other words, it will not be able to become easily the base, on which the national myth as a semiotic system will be constructed.
After the reappearance of the Macedonian issue in the two last decades, the nationalisms of the Balkan states felt the need to expand their rhetoric. Thus it was necessary to find new tools to unite the populaces in national terms. Amidst naming of streets, airports, ports and other buildings and geographical sites, the finding golden larnax bearing the sun on it, was added in 1977. This came to further feed the competition for Macedonia among the Balkan states.
40 Contrary to M. Andronikos’ opinion, another archaeologist devoted to the ancient Macedonian kingdom Eugene N. Borza claims that the Vergina sun was widely used in ancient Macedonian art, without necessarily being related to the royal house. In addition John Paul Adams mentions the wide use of said symbol in all Greek art previous and subsequent. He also points out the inability to ascribe the Vergina sun to the Argead house and generally to the ancient Macedonians. Specifically besides it’s use in pot adorning, the Vergina sun has been found on armors and shields of Greek hoplites and on coins, which are attributed to a time long before Fillip II’s birth. Back
41 The Vergina sun was found adorning the lid of a golden larnax in “Tomb II” at the Vergina excavation site. According to M. Andronikos “Tomb II” is the one that contained Fillip II’s remains. Back
42 From the film: «The prince of Zamunda» with Eddy Murphy. Back
43 http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/en/6ter, in “state” choose “Greece” and pressing “search” yoy will have (Νο 3,4 και 5) that leed to the correspondent emblems. The relative acknowledge letter of WIPO: http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/IPDL-IMAGES/SIXTERXML-IMAGES/pdf/en/e5682.pdf. Back
44 The same goes for all enterprises regardless location of head office who dare include the Vergina sun as part of their trademark. Back
45 (EK) 1829/2002 the commission of European communities, that amends the 1107/96 (EK) in reference to “feta cheese” (EE L 277, s. 10). Thus the Greek feta cheese is protected by copyright law. Back
46 Although till today the certain name is not a field that produces controversy between the two nationalisms, the increase of frequency of the name “Alexander” given to boys in Republic of Macedonia has a clear nationalistic hue. We will not be surprised if in the future the name “Alexander” follows the fate of the Vergina sun. Back
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