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The Myths of the Temenids Πάπυροι - Επιστημονικό Περιοδικό τόμος 8, 2019 Papyri - Scientific Journal volume 8, 2019 The myths of the Temenids VASILEIOS CHRIMATOPOULOS, Historian-Archaeologist, International Hellenic University E-mail: [email protected] Θεσσαλονίκη 2019 – Thessaloniki 2019 ISSN:2241-5106 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License Πάπυροι - Επιστημονικό Περιοδικό Papyri - Scientific Journal τόμος 8, 2019 volume 8, 2019 www.academy.edu.gr [email protected] The myths of the Temenids The myths of the Temenids VASILEIOS CHRIMATOPOULOS, Historian-archaeologist, International Hellenic University Περίληψη Ο μύθος αποτελεί ένα λαογραφικό (προφορικό η γραπτό) μέρος του «λόγου», που αποτε- λείται από αφηγήσεις ή ιστορίες που διαδραματίζουν θεμελιώδη ρόλο ένα κοινωνικό σύνολο. Θα μπορούσε επίσης να χαρακτηρισθεί ως μια παραδοσιακή ή θρυλική ιστορία, που συνήθως αφορά κάποια ύπαρξη, έναν ήρωα, κάποιο γεγονός, με ή χωρίς φυσική εξήγηση. Ένας μύθος αποτελεί ένα από τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά μιας κοινωνία και χαρακτηρίζει-αντιπροσωπεύει τον τρόπο με τον οποίο αντιλαμβάνονται τον κόσμο γύρω της και πως οι άνθρωποι που ανήκουν σε αυτή, αναπροσδιορίζονται. Ξεκινώντας με τον προσδιορισμό αυτό, στο παρόν πόνημα θα εξεταστούν τα πρώτα ιστο- ρικά στοιχεία τα οποία σχετίζονται με την Μυθολογία των ελλήνων Μακεδόνων, κυρίως από τον Ηρόδοτο και τον Θουκυδίδη. Σύντομη αναφορά βέβαια θα γίνει και σε άλλα ιστορικά στοιχεία και πρωτογενείς πηγές, οι οποίες φανερώνουν στοιχεία σχετικά με το πώς φυλετικά προσδιορίζο- νταν οι αρχαίοι Μακεδόνες. Να επισημανθεί εδώ ό,τι, οι περισσότεροι αρχαίοι ιστορικοί που έγραψαν για την Μακε- δονία ήταν από την δυτική Ελλάδα και την περιοχή της Αθήνας. Αυτό έχει μια διττή σημασία κα- θώς, όχι μόνο μέσα στα γραπτά τους απεικονίζεται ο τρόπος που οι Μακεδόνες αναπροσδιορίζο- νταν αλλά και ο τρόπος με τον οποίον οι Αθηναίοι τους χαρακτήριζαν, αντιλαμβανόντουσαν και φυλετικά προσδιόριζαν. Επιπλέον, θα συνδεθούν τα στοιχεία αυτά με άλλες πρωτογενής πηγές από την ύστερη περίοδο στην προσπάθεια επαλήθευσης των διαθεσίμων γραπτών πηγών. Λέξεις κλειδιά: Μύθος, Άργος, Τημενίδες, Ηρόδοτος Θουκυδίδης, Ευριπίδης, Περδίκκας, πρω- τογενής πηγές, Κάρανος, Μακεδονία Abstract Myth is a folklore (spoken or written) part of the "discourse", consisting of narratives or stories that play a fundamental role in a social whole. It could also be described as a traditional or legendary story, usually involving some existence, a hero, an event with or without a physical ex- planation. A myth is one of the key features of a society and it characterizes - represents how the world around it is perceived and how its people are redefined. Starting with this designation, this paper will examine the first historical elements related to the Mythology of the Greek Macedonians, mainly by Herodotus and Thucydides. A brief refer- ence will, of course, be made to other historical data and primary sources which reveal evidence of how the ancient Macedonians were racially identified themselves. Note here that, most of the ancient historians who wrote about Macedonia were from the western Greece and the region of Athens. This has a twofold meaning as, not only does their writ- ing portray the way the Macedonians defined themselves (as Greeks or not) but also, the way the Athenians perceived them. In addition, these data will be linked to other primary sources from the later period, in an effort to verify and cross-examine the available written sources. Keywords: Myth, Argos, Temenids, Temenidae, Herodotus, Thucydides, Euripides, Perdiccas, pri- mordial sources, Caranus, Macedonia 183 ISSN: 2241-5106 Πάπυροι - Επιστημονικό Περιοδικό Papyri - Scientific Journal τόμος 8, 2019 volume 8, 2019 www.academy.edu.gr [email protected] The myths of the Temenids “The country by the sea which is now called Macedonia ... Alexander I, the father of Perdiccas (II), and his forefathers, who were originally Temenidae from Argos1” Introduction Once, in the Ancient Macedonia, there were three young Kings, sons of the king Temenos who was a descendant of Heracles and the great-grandson of Zeus. Those three youngsters left Peloponnese and the mainland of Greece in search of their destiny. They walked days and nights through the mountains, met various people on their trip and marveled the wonders of nature around them2……………. This could be the very beginning of a well-said story, maybe a bedtime one, to relax the spirits and provide some quality time for a parent with his breed, but it certainly isn’t. It’s an actual myth brought to us by a great ancient writer, characterized by Cicero as the “Father of History”, Herodotus3. But what is a myth? Myth in the ancient times was originally identical with the “logos” and was purely connected with the oral narration. It was a fictional story based on traditions that mostly included Heroes and Heroines. Its character was instructional and in the passage of time it acquired legendary dimensions4. A myth establishes a perception of a story which in most cases is fictional. In many cases, it occupies a coded-hidden image of the past and the human’s perception and comprehension of a specific region, at a certain pe- riod, beyond any logical boundaries. Ancient Greeks paid a great tribute to their myths and traditions. The purpose of the myth was to fill in the gaps of the unknown, dark periods of the past and combine them with the historical present. Therefore, it was part of the historical truth, even if excesses could be traced to tradition. According to Buxton: An ancient Greek myth is a narrative for the actions of gods and heroes and their relationships with ordinary mortals, which is transmitted as a tradition in the ancient world and it occupies a collective importance of a particular social group5. A “Mythos” structured the ideological fundamentals of a commu- nity, displayed their perception of the world they lived in, record of what was socially ac- ceptable and vice versa, examined the problems and the potential solutions, all of them taking place at a certain period stimuli. The care of the intellectuals was to improve and rationalize the myth on those points that were hard to accept, rather than rejecting it. This method is widely known today as “rationalization”6. Critics of the myths occurred scarlessly in antiquity and can be only met in Homer and Hesiod’s works. For example in “Theogonia” by Hesiod, the Muses are attested as capable of telling lies but also the truth when they wish to. 1 Thuc., 2.99.3 [Loeb, C. F. Smith] 2 Ηρόδοτος 8, p. 137-139, paraphrased. 3 Herodotus was born at Alikarnasos and lived from 484-425 BC, approximately. He was a historian, an excursionist and a geographer. His main work is called Historiai, an archive about the battles between the Greeks and the Persians, enriched with many topological and geographical pieces of information. He was the first one attested as the “Father of History” by Cicero (T. James Luce, The Greek Historians, 2002, p. 26). 4 Μπέγζος, 2000, p. 401. 5 Buxton, 2002, p. 38. 6 The rationalization of myth seems to have been inaugurated by Ekataios by Miletus. He was the first one who associated in his work many of the new features mentioned above. 184 ISSN: 2241-5106 Πάπυροι - Επιστημονικό Περιοδικό Papyri - Scientific Journal τόμος 8, 2019 volume 8, 2019 www.academy.edu.gr [email protected] The myths of the Temenids Ποιμένες ἄγραυλοι, κάκ' ἐλέγχεα, γαστέρες οἶον, ἴδμεν ψεύδεα πολλὰ λέγειν ἐτύμοισιν ὁμοῖα, ἴδμεν δ' εὖτ' ἐθέλωμεν ἀληθέα γηρύσασθαι.7 The beginnings of the critique date back to the 6th century, with the parallel evolution of the intellectuals during the period 550-450 BC. In a variety of activities of their intellectu- als, who are widely known as “Proverbial philosophers”, ancient Greeks began to criticize the perceived worldview and image. The new scientific but also moral civism set by the procura- tors made it difficult to accept traditional theology and myth8. It was no longer possible to ac- cept unconditionally the tradition. It was desirable to examine it, to relate it to up-to-date knowledge, to modify it (if necessary) or even to reject it (given the inadequacy of an explana- tory interpretation of the world). Undoubtedly, there were still many Greeks, whose knowledge was still as limited as those of Hesiod. Those who, however, accepted the influ- ences of new developments, no longer saw mankind under a one-dimensional prism, but as a complex collection of different peoples in terms of appearance (language, etc.)9. Therefore, comparative ethnography was included in the scientific Interests of the first philosophers-scientists, and later it was also the source of inspiration and information that most probably had a great impact on tragedy plays. The purpose of these intellectuals was to give, through their texts, an image of the then-known world, combining the information and the wealth of material they had gained from both personal tours and the detailed descriptions of travelers (mainly seafarers and merchants)10. The results of the observations of the foreign people and the tribes (those travelers came across during their expeditions), gradually formed the Greek thought. From the late 6th to the 5th century onwards, "scientific" historiography embarked with representatives such were Ekataios the Milesian, Herodotus and Thucydides. Their work is characterized by their critical analysis and the personal awareness of the writer. However, it should not be overlooked that in this new context, notwithstanding the improvement of the knowledge provided by the intellectuals to the public, adhesion to the mythological past and traditions had not completely disappeared. In several cases, the invention of new myths can be detected11. Both Herodotus and Thucydides are part of a wider literary tradition, which was particularly receptive to tradition. The reasons for accepting it should be sought in the original essence of the myth and its position in everyday’ s life.
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