One feature of the 20th century was the way the map of the world was redrawn. Breakdown of empires, decolonization, popular protests, nationalist aspirations — all these combined to create new nations and political divisions and boundaries where none had previously existed. The Balkan peninsula went through turmoil from the late 19th century as European powers tried to grapple with what they called the Eastern Question. At the end of the 20th century, the same region again went through a period of violence and bloodshed as well as a redrawing of political boundaries. This process, many will argue with some justification, is beyond the control of human beings and is the outcome of the impersonal forces of history. What is equally true is that these twists of history have given rise to curious — and perhaps unnecessary — political controversies.

One such is raging between Greece and the republic of Macedonia. The latter was born when it gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. The Greeks objected to its very name. They insisted that the country be officially called “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” when it joined the United Nations in 1993. There was another protest from Athens when Macedonia used the “Vergina Sun” on its national flag. The flag had to be changed in 1995 because the Greeks insisted that the use of the “Vergina Sun” was an attempt to link it with the ancient king of Macedon. The present controversy arises from the installation of a huge statue of Alexander the Great in the Macedonian capital of Skopje. The Greek government accused the Macedonian republic of trying to usurp Greek history. Underlying the allegation is the claim that Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was Greek as was the kingdom of Macedon, which his father Philip established and Alexander expanded beyond the imagination of his contemporaries. Northern Greece has a province bearing the name of Macedonia.

The controversy boils down to the simple question: to whom does Alexander belong? One rhetorical answer could be, “To history.” But politicians, even though they thrive on the art of rhetoric, will never be satisfied with such a response. They want to use historical figures to pursue political ends. Thus, that Alexander spoke Greek and conversed with Greek philosophers and from a small kingdom in ancient Greece conquered vast parts of the world is important to the nation state called Greece. The new republic of Macedonia is a rival claimant to the same heritage. Claims on the past are the concerns of controversies in the present. “Where is Alexander the Great?” the fishermen of Lesbos cry to the rising waves. On giving their own answer, “Alexander the Great lives and is King,” they are reassured that the sea will be calm.