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| <table align="right"><tr><td>]<tr><td align="center">''The ] |
<table align="right"><tr><td>]<tr><td align="center">''The ]<br>from 1991 to 1995, showing a Vergina Sun''</table> | ||
| The '''Vergina Sun''' is the sixteen-ray star that was a ] of the ancient state of ]. It has been found by ] in ], ]. | |||
| The '''Vergina Sun''' is the sixteen-ray star symbol that decorates the golden ] found in burial site II, in ], ], by archaeologist Prof. Manolis Andronikos in 1978. The larnax is generally believed to belong to king ]. It is on display in the National Archaeological Museum of ], in Greece. | |||
| Archaeologist do not agree whether the sun was a symbol of the Macedonian state, a symbol of Phillip's ], a religious symbol, or simply a decorative design. Eight pointed suns often appear in Macedonian coins and shields of that period. Eight-, twelve- and (rarely) sixteen-pointed suns have been used as a decorative element in ], the ] and elsewhere for centuries, without any specific association with Macedonia. | |||
| When ] split in 1991, the ] designated the Vergina Sun as its national symbol, and displayed it on its flag. This was seen by Greece as a direct claim by FYROM on the legacy of Philip II (and therefore his son, ]), and even a territorial claim on the Greek province of Macedonia, the Vergina site, and a claim on the larnax itself. | |||
| The Vergina Sun was removed from the FYROM's flag in 1995, as part of an agreement for the country's admission to the United Nations. A close-up of an 8-pointed sun is displayed on the ]. | |||
| A Vergina Sun on a blue background is still used as the official symbol of the Greek province of ]. | |||
| ==External link== | ==External link== | ||
Revision as of 04:39, 24 April 2004
| File:Ac.macedoniaflag.jpg |
| The flag of the Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia from 1991 to 1995, showing a Vergina Sun |
The Vergina Sun is the sixteen-ray star symbol that decorates the golden larnax found in burial site II, in Vergina, Greece, by archaeologist Prof. Manolis Andronikos in 1978. The larnax is generally believed to belong to king Philip II of Macedon. It is on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, in Greece.
Archaeologist do not agree whether the sun was a symbol of the Macedonian state, a symbol of Phillip's dynasty, a religious symbol, or simply a decorative design. Eight pointed suns often appear in Macedonian coins and shields of that period. Eight-, twelve- and (rarely) sixteen-pointed suns have been used as a decorative element in Greece, the Middle East and elsewhere for centuries, without any specific association with Macedonia.
When Yugoslavia split in 1991, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia designated the Vergina Sun as its national symbol, and displayed it on its flag. This was seen by Greece as a direct claim by FYROM on the legacy of Philip II (and therefore his son, Alexander the Great), and even a territorial claim on the Greek province of Macedonia, the Vergina site, and a claim on the larnax itself.
The Vergina Sun was removed from the FYROM's flag in 1995, as part of an agreement for the country's admission to the United Nations. A close-up of an 8-pointed sun is displayed on the current flag.
A Vergina Sun on a blue background is still used as the official symbol of the Greek province of Macedonia.