In Greek mythology, Makedon, also Macedon ( grc, Μακεδών) or Makednos (), was the eponymous ancestor of the ancient Macedonians according to various ancient Greek fragmentary narratives. In most versions, he appears as a native or immigrant leader from Epirus, who gave his name to

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

, previously called Emathia according to

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, which according to Marsyas of Pella was until then a part of Thrace.

Etymology

Μακεδών (Makedón) is related to the Greek μᾰκεδνός (makednós, “tall, slim”). Both adjectives traditionally derive from the

Indo-European root The roots of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) are basic parts of words that carry a lexical meaning, so-called morphemes. PIE roots usually have verbal meaning like "to eat" or "to run". Roots never occurred alone in the lang ...

''*mak-'' or ''*meh2k-'', meaning "long, slender", cognate with poetic Greek ''makednós'' or ''mēkedanós'' "long, tall", Doric ''mãkos'' and Attic ''mẽkos'' "length",

Makistos Macistus or Makistos (), or Macistum or Makiston (Μάκιστον), was a city of ancient Elis, in Greece. It is one of the six cities (along with Lepreum, Phrixae, Pyrgus, Epium, and Nudium) founded by the Minyans in the territory of the Paror ...

, the mythological eponym of a town in Elis and an epithet of Heracles,

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

''masah'' "length", Hittite ''mak-l-ant'' "thin", Latin ''macer'' "meagre" and Proto-Germanic ''*magraz'' "lean, meager". The same root and meaning has been duly assigned to the tribal name of the Macedonians, which is commonly explained as having originally meant "the tall ones" or "highlanders" in Greek.

Genealogy

Son of Zeus

The seventh fragment of the Hesiodic '' Catalogue of Women'', quoted by Constantine Porphyrogenitus, states: "Macedonia the country was named after Makedon, the son of Zeus and Thyia, daughter of Deucalion, as the poet

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

relates; and she became pregnant and bore to thunder-loving Zeus, two sons, Magnes and Macedon, the horse lover, those who dwelt in mansions around Pieria and

Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Les ...

". The poetic epithet "hippiocharmes" can alternatively be translated as "fighting on horseback" or "chariot-fighter" and has also been attributed to Aeolus son of Hellen, Troilus and

Amythaon In Greek mythology, Amythaon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμυθάων, ''gen''.: Ἀμυθάονος) was prince of Iolcus as the son of King Cretheus and Tyro, daughter of King Salmoneus of Elis. He was the brother of Aeson and Pheres. Amythaon dwelt at ...

. A fragment of the Macedonian historian Marsyas of Pella (4th century BC), through a scholiast of ''Iliad'' xiv 226 confirms the genealogy as found in the ''Catalogue of Women'': "Makedon son of Zeus and Thyia, conquered the land then belonging to Thrace and he called it Macedonia after his name. He married a local woman and got two sons, Pierus and Amathus; two cities, Pieria and Amathia in Macedonia were founded or named after them". The rare name of his mother Thyia, has been corrupted in transmission to Aithria or Aithyia through the phrase "kai Thyias, and Thyia". Thyia in the Delphic tradition was an eponym naiad of the Thyiades, alternative name of the Maenads in the cult of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

, certainly practiced also in Macedonia. The mythological chronologization of the Hesiodean passage indicates a time before the Trojan War and '' Iliad'', since then the Magnetes dwell in Magnesia, Thessaly. The ''Catalogue of Women'', which is variously dated mostly between the 8th and 6th century BC, provides the earliest and only reference to a Macedonian element before the 5th century BC historiography.

Son of Aeolus

In a fragment of a chronological work of Hellanicus called "Priestesses of

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

at Argos", and preserved by Stephanus, ''Makedon is son of Aeolus, as Hellanicus relates in the first (book or archive list) of his "Hiereiai tes Heras en Argei", and of Makedon, the son of Aeolus, the present Macedonians were named so, then living alone with the Mysians''. The fragment does not clarify who of the three Aeoli is Makedon's father but Eustathius reported him as one of the ten sons of Aeolus, thus the son of Hellen. In later traditions, Magnes is also reported as one of the ten sons of Aeolus and father of Pierus.

N. G. L. Hammond Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond, (15 November 1907 – 24 March 2001) was a British historian, geographer, classicist and an operative for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) in occupied Greece during the Second World War. Hamm ...

, based on the passage of Hellanicus, as well on the Thessalian Magnes being brother of Macedon, suggested that the

Macedonian language Macedonian (; , , ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic branch. Spoken as a first language by around two million ...

is an

Aeolic Greek In linguistics, Aeolic Greek (), also known as Aeolian (), Lesbian or Lesbic dialect, is the set of dialects of Ancient Greek spoken mainly in Boeotia; in Thessaly; in the Aegean island of Lesbos; and in the Greek colonies of Aeolis in Anatolia ...

dialect.

Jonathan M. Hall Jonathan Mark Hall is professor of Greek history at the University of Chicago. He earned a BA from the University of Oxford (Hertford College) in 1988 and a PhD from the University of Cambridge ( King's College) in 1993 and he is the author of man ...

compares Magnes and Macedon to other excluded tribes from direct lineage to Hellen and later Olympic participants, such as Aetolians, Acarnanians and Arcadians. On the contrary, Eugene N. Borza gives no significance on this mythological figure for any historical conclusions.

Son of Osiris

In "The antiquities of Egypt", first chapter of ''

Bibliotheca historica ''Bibliotheca historica'' ( grc, Βιβλιοθήκη Ἱστορική, ) is a work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, ...

'' by

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, which is based mainly on ''Aegyptiaca'' of Hecataeus of Abdera, Greek and Egyptian mythology have been

syncretized Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

. Osiris has taken the place of Dionysus in his various myths and expeditions. According to Herodotus Osiris was the Egyptian Dionysus and the house of

Ptolemies The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic K ...

claimed descent from Dionysus. (see also Osiris-Dionysus deity). Diodorus relates: "Now Osiris was accompanied on his campaign, as the Egyptian account goes, by his two sons Anubis and Macedon, who were distinguished for their valour. Both of them carried the most notable accoutrements of war, taken from certain animals whose character was not unlike the boldness of the men, Anubis wearing a dog's skin and Macedon the fore-parts of a wolf; and it is for this reason that these animals are held in honour among the Egyptians. Macedon his son, moreover, he left as king of Macedonia, which was named after him." Makedon has taken the place of the Egyptian wolf-god of Lycopolis, Wepwawet and in later traditions Makedon is mentioned as a son of the were-wolf Lycaon.

Son of Lycaon

According to

Apollodorus Apollodorus (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: ...

, but not present in the list of Pausanias or Hyginus, Macednus is the tenth of the fifty sons of the impious Lycaon king of

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

. His mother may either be the

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...

Cyllene,

Nonacris Nonacris or Nonakris ( grc, Νώνακρις) was a town of ancient Arcadia in the region of Pheneatis northwest of Pheneus, situated in what is now Achaea, southern Greece. Said to be named after the wife of Lycaon, Nonacris was part of the sta ...

or by unknown woman. The closest brother to him by region is Thesprotus. In the story of '' Pindus and the Serpent'' by Claudius Aelianus, Makedon is the son of Lycaon king of Emathia, "after whom the land was called Macedonia no longer preserving its ancient name". Eustathius, summarizing the genealogies, relates: " Emathion son of Zeus and Electra preceding the birth of Makedon son of Aeacus" (instead of Lycaon). Strabo just called him ''archaios hegemon'' (old chieftain), and Pseudo-Scymnus, ''gêgenês basileus'' (earth-born king).

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

, "rege Deucalionis materno nepote" (king, maternal grandson of Deucalion).

Descendants

According to Marsyas of Pella, Makedon son of Zeus had by a local woman two sons Pierus and Amathus. In the Ethnika of Stephanus (perhaps through Theagenes), sons and grandsons of Makedon are: Atintan (in the version of Lycaon) eponymous of a region in Epirus or Illyria, Beres, (father of Mieza, Beroea and

Olganos In Greek mythology, Olganos ( Ancient Greek: ) was a river and river-god, son of Beres in ancient Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedon ...

, toponyms in Bottiaea), Europus by Oreithyia, daughter of Cecrops, and Oropus, ''birthplace of Seleucus I Nikator '', which is perhaps confused with Europus. Finally, in the version of Lycaon, king of Emathia, Pindus is a son of Makedon, who gave his name to Pindus, where he died, a river of Doris, a region in central Greece. Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'' 4.338 (333, scholium) It is unclear whether these localities represent pre- or post-Macedonian elements, since Emathia and Pieria are older toponyms than Macedonia. Anachronism is not infrequent in later mythic traditions. (Cf. Boeotus, reported as father of autochthon Ogyges)

Name

Classical form

In Greek sources, the noun is mostly attested as (Makedôn) with two exceptions: the poetic form (Makêdôn) in Hesiod with long medial vowel serving the metrical feet of dactylic hexameter and (Mákednos) or latinicized Macednus with

barytonesis In phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sig ...

and apophony in Apollodorus. The recessive accent is reminiscent of two Macedonian barytonized personal names, ( Koînos) and ( Bálakros) (Attic/Greek adjectives:koinós, phalakrós), but whether Makedôn or Mákednos is the original spelling presumably cannot be proven. Moreover, the suffix -dnos, either as the "Dorian Makednón ethnos" of Herodotus or makednós, a rare poetic epithet denoting ''tall'', seems not to be attested in epigraphy, or used by Macedonians themselves. In Latin sources the noun is Macedo. As adjectives the Latin Macedo and Greek (Makedôn) denote foremost a Macedonian man. They also appear, mostly during the Roman era, as personal male names (cf. Macedonius)

Notes

References

, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Claudius Aelianus, ''On the Characteristics of Animals'', translated by Alwyn Faber Scholfield (1884-1969), from Aelian, ''Characteristics of Animals'', published in three volumes by Harvard/Heinemann, Loeb Classical Library, 1958
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Claudius Aelianus, ''De Natura Animalium,'' Latin translation by Friedrich Jacobs in the Frommann edition, Jena, 1832

* Claudius Aelianus, ''De Natura Animalium,'' Rudolf Hercher. Lipsiae, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1864.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''The Library of History'' translated by

Charles Henry Oldfather Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of history of the ancient world, specifically at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Persia. Parentage Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Fe ...

. Twelve volumes.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...

. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
* Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2''. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Dionysus of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities.'' English translation by Earnest Cary in the Loeb Classical Library, 7 volumes. Harvard University Press, 1937-1950
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
* Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Antiquitatum Romanarum quae supersunt'', ''Vol I-IV''. . Karl Jacoby. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1885
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. {{ISBN, 0-674-99328-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

, ''Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt,'' edited by August Meineike (1790-1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

, ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Tzetzes, John, ''Book of Histories,'' Book II-IV translated by Gary Berkowitz from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826
Online version at theio.com
Deucalionids Children of Zeus Sons of Lycaon Princes in Greek mythology Kings in Greek mythology Mythology of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Characters in Greek mythology Arcadian mythology