Countries Closest to the Aegean Sea

Same, lol

I believe that the phrase "only Greek people" should never be used in a conversation with a Greek (:

Actually, the name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" is the one that is officially used to refer to the country by the United Nations, the European Union and other international organizations, while 16 countries use this term for ALL diplomatic purposes. And there is good reason for that, as Macedonia is a wider geographical region, like Scandinavia is much more than, say, Finland. Nor does this country have any right to monopolise the Macedonian national, historical and cultural heritage, especially since ancient Macedonia was part of the ancient Greek civilization. However, I'd be happy to hear any objections which could explain why I haven't found another quiz on this site which accepts "FYROM".

I believe that Greece definitely maintains a historical and cultural continuity, most evident in terms of language. Thus, regardless of the extent to which modern Greece truly preserves and honours its heritage, I don't think that any group of people would consider themselves Greek without identifying with modern Greek culture. However this is not the case for Greek Macedonians. The worldwide usage of the term "Macedonia" as a reference to a country with a completely different culture than theirs deprives them of their own cultural identity. The issue could be settled with an addition of some defining word(s) to the country's name, which could ensure the rights that both Greeks and Slavs have to a certain aspect of Macedonian culture. The denial by the government of FYROM to accept that means that Greek Macedonians are actually denied their name, an action which you may either call petty and dickish, or just a matter of political foul play.

Indeed it is a bit ironic, I just wanted hear some opinions and support my view on this issue, since most quizzes on JetPunk didn't accept FYROM (although that semms to be changing). Thanks for your understanding!

In English, I generally call the country by its initials. In Greek, because the initials (PGDM) are not easy to pronounce as one word, we unofficially call the country "Skopje", after its capital. I'm not saying either of these is a solution (FYROM was meant to be provisional anyway), but I'd never call it simply Macedonia. Something like "Slavic Macedonia" would be just fine for everyone, except maybe for politicians who want to gain public support by fuelling "Macedonian" irredentist claims.

Since making this comment I spent several months residing in Greece, mostly in Thessaloniki very close to the country of Macedonia, and heard lots of people say either "Fyrom" or "Skopje"... they all sounded supremely foolish, often using either name with exaggerated emphasis as if even they themselves weren't convinced.

I think it is a problem for Greek people to admit to Macedonia, mainly because that makes Alexander the Great 'Macedonian' and not 'Greek'.

So when FYROM capitalizes on its proclaimed name in order to promote the nationalist narrative of continuation of the "not-Greek" ancient Macedonian kingdom, completely disregarding and distorting the international consensus among historians, when its citizens express irredentism and passionate hatred towards Greeks even at unrelated (i.e. not against/in Greece) international sporting events, chanting that "even the Thessaloniki Plain will be theirs", it somehow is Greeks who sound foolish and have issues they need to get over for refusing to accept a name that historically refers to a wider geographical region and national heritage and has now been turned into a means of propaganda. I really can't see the logic here.

This is really sad to hear, and I regret not pointing out myself that idiotic nationalist beliefs exist on both sides of the border to a certain extent, and that I certainly wouldn't blame the average Macedonian Slav for their government's aggressive stance that is inevitably affecting the population as well. The difference I see though, and the reason why I have been so vocal about the issue in this thread, (which I apologize for! :) ) is that FYROM's government has been constantly employing blatant lies to incite hatred domestically and has declined internationally any offer that would respect both Greek and Slav Macedonians' right of self-identification, probably to ease the implementation of its domestic policy. All this, of course, at the expense of Greeks, whose effort to defend their own identity and history is perceived, as the discussion above suggests, as stubborn and ridiculous.

georgekotz: I like the underhanded way you brought in your biased phrasing "Macedonian Slav: & "Macedonian Greek"...... finally you show your true colours and they are pretty murky.

george: both sides are aggressively promoting lies. Neither is only defending "history and identity." and you don't consider insisting on the stupid name "FYROM" as aggressive? The country's name is the Republic of Macedonia. It's not your prerogative to decide what they call themselves. Given the long-standing ever-present ethnic tensions and territorial disputes in the Balkans, simply accepting the country's name would probably go a long way toward defusing any incitement to hatred. If there was only love and respect coming out of Greece, instead of pettiness and name-calling, the government in Skopje's alleged efforts to promote any conflict would be toothless and futile.

Mediterranean begins where Aegean begins (not where it ends)

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