Ancient Macedonians were neither Illyrians, nor Thracians

All the available archaeological and literary evidence makes it explicit that Ancient Macedonians
and their barbarian Illyrian neighbors shared nothing in common except a common border.
(a) Ancient Macedonians never identified themselves as Illyrians.
Exactly NOT a single quote from ancient sources exist where an ancient Macedonian identifies himself
as an Illyrian. Any informed reader could easily find ancient Macedonians identifying themselves as
being Greek, but NOWHERE any Macedonian links himself with Illyrians. Macedonians never
regarded Illyrians as their kinsmen. Alexander the Great left no doubt as to who the Ancient
Macedonians were by emphasizing the otherness of the Illyrians, in contrast with the
Macedonian acknowledgement of being Greek:
There are Greek troops, to be sure, in Persian service but how different is their cause from ours!
They will be fighting for pay and not much of it at that; WE on the contrary shall fight for
GREECE, and our hearts will be in it. As for our FOREIGN troops Thracians, Paeonians,
Illyrians, Agrianes they are the best and stoutest soldiers of Europe, and they will find as their
opponents the slackest and softest of the tribes of Asia.
(Alexander talking to the troops before the battle, as quoted by Arrian in Anabasis - the
Campaigns of Alexander, Book 2, Chapter 7, Penguin Classics, translated by Aubrey De
Seliucourt, page 112)
(b) Ancient Macedonians spoke a different language from Illyrians.
The Greek language (dialect) of the Macedonians was unintelligible to Illyrians, hence translators
were used in their exchanges between the two peoples. Even much later than Alexanders era,
interpreters are used, as the evidence reveals from the negotiations between the Greek-speaking
Macedonians of Perseus and Illyrians.
Perseus sent Pleuratus the Illyrian, an exile living at his court, and Adaeus of Beroea on a mission
to king Genthius, with instructions to inform him of what he had achieved in his war with the
Romans, Dardani, Epirotes, and Illyrians up to the present time; and to urge him to make a friendship
and alliance with him in Macedonia. These envoys journeyed beyond Mount Scardus, through Illyria
Deserta, as it is called, a region a short time back depopulated by the Macedonians, in order to
make an invasion of Illyria and Macedonia difficult for the Dardani. [] He promptly responded:
Genthius had no wish to forfeit the friendship of Perseus; but he alleged want of means as an excuse for
not complying with the request at once, and his inability to undertake a war with Rome without money.
With this answer, Adaeus and his colleagues returned home. Meanwhile Perseus arrived at Stubera,
and sold the booty and gave his army a rest while waiting for the return of Pleuratus and Adaeus. On
their arrival with the answer from Genthius, he immediately sent another mission, consisting again of
Adaeus, Glaucias, one of his body-guards, and the Illyrian (Pleuratus) also, because he knew the
Illyrian language, with the same instructions as before: on the ground that Genthius had not stated
distinctly what he wanted, and what would enable him to consent to the proposals. (Polybius,
Histories 28.8)

(c) Ancient Macedonians and Illyrians had a different religion and different customs.
Since Macedonians were Greeks, they shared the common religious and cultural features of the
Hellenic world. Consequently the gods worshipped among southern Greeks can also be found in
Macedonia. However regional characteristics have to be noted. On the other hand, the 12 gods of
Olympus were not shared by Illyrians. Aristophanes places the gods f the Triballians (some
Thracians very closely related to the Illyrians) above Zeus, distinguishing this way the 12 Olympian
Gods from theirs. A clear delimitation of the Hellenic world and its borders with Illyrians, who are
portrayed as barbarian as the gods of the Triballians.
Prometheus: The barbarian gods are starving so now they scream out like Illyrians and say their
armies will march down attacking Zeus, unless he moves to get the ports re-opened, to make sliced
entrails once again available. Pisthetairos: You mean other gods, barbarian ones, are there above
you? Prometheus: Barbarian deities? Of course. Thats where Execestides derives all his ancestral
family gods. Pisthetairos: Whats the name of these barbarian gods? Prometheus: The name? Theyre
called Triballians. Pisthetairos: I see that must be where we get our phrase theyve got me 'by the
balls.' Prometheus: You got that right. Now let me tell you something to the point ambassadors are
coming here to settle this, from Zeus and those Triballians up there. But dont agree to peace unless
great Zeus gives back his sceptre to the birds again, and gives the Princess to you as your wife."
(Aristophanes, in his Birds, translated by Ian Johnston)
Similarly, those two ancient people, Macedonians and Illyrians, had different cultures. Herodotus
refers to the Eneti tribe in Illyria and their habit of taking their daughters to the marketplace to sell
them for marriage, a Barbarian custom which was found only among Babylonians.
"The dress of the Babylonians is a linen tunic reaching to the feet, and above it another tunic made in
wool, besides which they have a short white cloak thrown round them, and shoes of a peculiar fashion,
not unlike those worn by the Boeotians. [...] Of their customs, whereof I shall now proceed to give an
account, the following (which I understand belongs to them in common with the Illyrian tribe of the
Eneti) is the wisest in my judgment. Once a year in each village the maidens of age to marry were
collected all together into one place; while the men stood round them in a circle. Then a herald called
up the damsels one by one, and offered them for sale." (Herodotus in "Histories", translated by
George Rawlinson, D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1885, Vol. 1, Book I, Chapters 195-196)
(d) Ancient sources always distinguish between ancient Macedonians and Illyrians.
Ancient Greek, Roman, Jewish, Persian sources always separate ancient Macedonians and
Illyrians for the sole reason that they were two completely unrelated people. In the same
manner, Macedonia is always portrayed as an entirely different region from ancient Illyria.
They leave no doubt that the ancients saw among Macedonians and Illyrians not only two alien
people, but the persistent source-tradition portrays Illyrians as the greatest enemies of Macedonians.
Illyrian incursions in Macedonian territory was a frequent phenomenon before Philips reign. During
Perdiccas and Brasidas joint expedition, their Illyrian allies changed sides without scruples and
became the chief instrument for the expulsion of the Macedonian expeditionary force. Later, Illyrians
resisted the power of Archelaos resurgent Macedon. Amyntas, the father of Philip II, was driven
out of his country by Illyrians who invaded Macedonia. He could surely give up hope for his crown,
had the Thessalians not decided to intervene, in order to restore him to his throne. Philips brother,
Perdiccas III was killed during a battle against Illyrians together with 4,000 Macedonians. Phillips
massive victory against Bardyllis, possibly in 359 BC, put an end to the ambitious plans of the Illyrian
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king. Alexander the Great, in the battle of Pelium (335 BC) defeated the Illyrian forces of Glaukias
and Cleitus. The persistent armed conflicts between the two rival people kept up during Hellenistic
ages till the Roman Occupation.
Furthermore, as Fanoula Papazoglou mentions, it is significant that despite the close contacts with
Epirus and Upper Macedonia, the strong Hellenization and the use of the Greek language especially
during the Roman period, the Illyrian Dassaretioi were never assimilated by the Macedonians, and their
land was not taken into the administrative borders of the Macedonian districts established in 167 BC.
So, although the Illyrians at Lychnitis were conquered by Philip II in 358 BC (Diodorus XVI 45; 8,
1), the ethnic border between the Illyrians, on one side, and the Paeonians and Macedonians, on the
other, always lay to the east of Lake Ochrid ancient Lychnitis, and the Dassaretis area
respectively (Papazoglu 1957, 224230; 1985; e.g. Livy XXXII 9, wrote that the Illyrian Dassaretioi
were the neighbors of the Macedonian Lynkestai).
***
Aside of the clear differentiation made between Macedonians and Thracians in the aforementioned
quote from Arrian's "Campaigns of Alexander" [see (a)], it must be noted that Thracian was a satem
Indo-European language during the classical years, since it showed one of the main satem
characteristics, the change of IE *k and or *g to s and z. Although in the past many
linguists grouped Thracian together with Phrygian (Thraco-Phrygian), Thracian was not Phrygian,
which was a centum language with such an affinity to Greek that it is evident both languages had a
common pre-historic background. Also, Herodotus (Book VII, Chapter 73) tells us that the Phrygians
initially dwelt in Europe, where they were neighbors of the Macedonians, near mount Vermion, until
they migrated to Anatolia, sometimes after the beginning of the 12th century BC. Obviously,
Macedonians developed close to other people who were far more related to the other Greeks than the
Thracians were.
However, according to the German linguist Otto Hoffmann, who made a research based on the ancient
Macedonian linguistic treasure, its general Hellenic character cannot be doubted:
"From the 29 words that according to Gustav Mayer their form was 'completely alien', it has been
proven after this research of mine that 10 of them are clearly Hellenic, with 4 more possibly
dialectical forms of common Hellenic words, so, from the entire collection, there are remaining only
15 words appearing to be justifiable or at least suspected of non-Hellenic origins. Adding to those 15,
few others which, with regards to their vocals, could be Hellenic, without till now being confirmed
as such, then, their number, in comparison to the number of pure Hellenic ones in the Macedonian
language, is so small that the general Hellenic character of the Macedonian linguistic treasure
cannot be doubted. [...] The names of the genuine Macedonians and those born of Macedonian
parents, especially the names of the elite class and nobles, in their formation and phonology are
purely Greek." (Die Makedonen, Ihre Sprache und Ihr Volkstum, Gttingen, 1906).