Perfect definition by German historian on ancient Macedonians vs Greeks

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A podcast published on Bavarian state run Radio "Bayrischer Rundfunk" talks about Alexander the Great. "The Macedonian who conquered the world" is the title of the podcast.

The podcast was part of the series called "Radiowissen" (Radio Knowledge) and was broadcasted online and via the broadcasters radio channel "Bayern 2" in october 2018.

Part of the podcast is German historian Dr. Alexander Free from the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich.

First of all he explains in the introduction, that authentic sources are hard to find, when we talk about the "Great Macedonian King". As Free says: 

The main reason why the world-storming Macedonian king is so difficult to grasp is that unfortunately not a single authentic source has been preserved from the days of Alexander. All ancient evidence of his life and work dates from the Roman Empire. Historians like Arrian, Plutarch, Diodor, Curtius Rufus or Iustin used original sources that were still available at the time, but they often interpreted them in their meaning and sometimes misunderstood them. That's why they contradict each other every now and then.


Alexander's Persian campaign was not a "Greek act of revenge"


Regarding the Persian campaign, we hear and read that the real reason for the campaign was not an "act of revenge by the Greeks united in the League of Corinth", but Macedonian greed for power.

We have to explain briefly: The League of Corinth emerged as a Macedonian instrument of power after the Greeks were suppressed under the Macedonian yoke. All Greeks were “united” in a League, and it was stated that Persia was to be attacked in order to “take revenge on the Persians who committed atrocities against the Greeks”. Macedonia itself was not a member of the League, but presided over the Corinthian League as Hegemon.

The modern Greek propaganda uses this so called "Alexander's revenge on the Persians" as an argument to explain the “Greekness” in Alexander and the Macedonians.

Ancient historian Free debased, wanted or unwanted, this modern propaganda. So we hear (from minute 4:23 in the video/podcast):

When Alexander sets foot on Persian soil, he had a force of around 30,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 cavallery with him. About half of them were Macedonians. The other half was made up of Greeks from the so-called Corinthian League: an alliance of most Greek city-states. Hegemon, i.e. leader or chairman of the federal government, is the king of Macedonia according to the constitution. Now, in 334 BC the hegemon is called Alexander. He took the place of his murdered father two years ago.

And further:
 
As is still common today, the official reason for war is purely propaganda: The company is said to be an act of revenge by the Greeks united in the Corinthian League for the Persian attack on Greece some 150 years earlier. The Macedonians only wanted to support them. The real reason instead is pure greed for power: Philip II of Macedon made the once insignificant dwarf kingdom of Macedonia with military and diplomatic skill into the leading regional power in the southern Balkans. And now, following his father's plan, Alexander wants to extend the Macedonian sphere of influence to Asia Minor.


"This is historically wrong"


But the podcast gets even more exciting, immediately after this conversation about the campaign in Persia, the moderator of the podcast refers suddenly about modern times, and thus means the dispute between modern day Greece and the Republic of Macedonia.

From minute 5:46 she says:

In the ongoing dispute with Macedonia over Macedonian heritage, Greece always emphasizes today that Macedonia and the Macedonians have always been Greek. But that's historically wrong. In ancient times, only the Macedonian rulers of the Argead were considered to be Greek because they had successfully constructed a Greek migration background for themselves.

SOURCE: Bayern 2 Radiowissen Podcast "Alexander der Große - Wie ein Makedone die Welt veränderte". Translated from the article from our German page Makedonien.mk

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