The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.Blogger Tips and Tricks
This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Not sons of Alexander the Great..[ 446 ]

Modern Macedonians (Fyrom) not sons of Alexander the Great, scholar says


Belgrade/Mannheim - Skopje may continue the already two- decades-long battle over the right to use the name Macedonia, but history is clearly on the side of Athens, a scholar said Friday. At the core of the strife is the national identity of Alexande...





Belgrade/Mannheim- Posted by : DPA, Fri, 02 Oct 2009, 14:23 GMT-

Skopje may continue the already two- decades-long battle over the right to use the name Macedonia, but history is clearly on the side of Athens, a scholar said Friday. At the core of the strife is the national identity of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian conqueror from the 4th century BC.

"Alexander was basically a Greek and in no case a forefather of today's Slavic Macedonians," the director of Reiss-Engelhorn Museum, Alfred Wieczorek, told the German Press Agency dpa. "Macedonians and Greeks understood each others, as they spoke the same language."The exhibition "Alexander the Great and the Opening of the World" opened on Friday at the museum. It offers impressive insight into the short life of one among the ancient world's greatest leaders.

Before he died in 323 BC, aged just 32, Alexander stormed the southeastern Mediterranean and sliced through the Persian empire, leaving a massive cultural and historical legacy in his wake.

The exhibition in Mannheim, in southern Germany, follows his course to Central Asia and demonstrates the cultural, economical and social upheavals caused by his conquests. Two and a half millenia later, Greece is blocking Macedonia, which emerged as a sovereign state from the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia in 1991, from using that name. Athens insists that only its northern province, Alexander's homeland, has the right to it.

Slavs began arriving from Asia in the 6th century, a millenium after Alexander died. These were the predecessors of Slavic Macedonians, who represent a three-quarter majority in the former Yugoslav republic, which has a significant, 25-per cent Albanian minority.

Yet contemporary Macedonians claim the heritage of the great king, putting his Star of Vergina on the national flag and naming major buildings and projects, such as the Skopje airport and the key highway, after Alexander. The latest effort aimed at proving relation with Alexander is a plan to put multi-million-dollar statue of him on a prancing horse on the sprawling central square in the capital. All that does not impress Wieczorek.

"The latest discoveries clearly prove that Macedonians and Greeks of the Alexander era were closely related," he said. The row over the name has so far cost Macedonia membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which Greece vetoed last year. It is also hindering the country's closer ties to the EU.
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