35. On the other hand, a military disposition, which still distinguished the Macedonians in the time of Polybius, personal valour, and a certain freedom of spirit, were the national characteristics of this people. Long before Philip organised his phalanx, the cavalry of Macedon was greatly celebrated, especially that of the highlands, as is shown by the tetradrachms of Alexander the First. In smaller numbers they attacked the close array of the Thracians of Sitalces, relying on their skill in horsemanship and on their defensive armour.[2126] Teleutias the Spartan also admired the cavalry of Elimea;[2127] and in the days of the conquest of Asia the custom still remained that the king could not condemn any person without having first taken the voice of the people or of the army.[2128]
36. It is difficult to treat of the Macedonian language, as not only the ancient period of the native dialect must be distinguished from the second, in which the Grecian language was partially introduced, after Archelaus, Philip, and Alexander made their people acquainted with Athenian civilisation, but also from a third, in which many barbarous words were adopted from the mixture of the Macedonians [pg 486] with Indians, Persians, and Egyptians.[2129] Nevertheless it is possible to form a well-grounded opinion as to the form of the Macedonian language in the first period. In the first place, they had many barbarous words for very simple and common objects,[2130] which may be certainly considered as Illyrian, since among the very scanty relics of the Illyrian and Athamanian dialects[2131] there are some words which are also mentioned as Macedonian.[2132] Indeed, without supposing some barbarous foundation of this kind, we could hardly account for the Macedonian language being still unintelligible to the Greeks in the time of Alexander the Great.[2133] Yet it cannot be doubted that the Greek had passed into the Illyrian dialect before the introduction of Athenian literature, and that their combination produced the mongrel language which was afterwards called Macedonian. The nominatives in α, such as ἱππότα, πολῖτα, &c., could not have been derived from the Athenians; but the Thessalians, the Dryopians, and probably all the Pelasgians, used that form.[2134] That some mixture of Greek had taken place at an early period seems also to be proved by the great and almost inexplicable change which the Grecian words experienced in the mouth of the Macedonians, who appear to have been unable to pronounce the letters Φ and Θ, and [pg 487] hence they always substituted Β for the former, and Δ for the latter,[2135] perhaps from a peculiarity of the Illyrian nation. On the other hand, the Macedonian language had a consonant ΟΥ or V, as Volustana, the name of the country round Olympus,[2136] the Candavian mountains,[2137] &c., prove; and thus both in this and the former respect it approximated to the vocal system of the Latin.
Note on the Map of Macedonia.
Since the annexed Map is entirely copied from that of Barbié du Bocage, as far as the country is concerned, I will only remark some important points in which Arrowsmith's great Map of Turkey, which is in part founded on quite different authorities, differs from it. In this Map the small lake to the east of Lychnis, or Lychnitis (the lake of Ochrida), is not connected with any river running to the coast, and the mountains to the west of it stretch uninterruptedly to the south. (Perhaps this is correct: see p. [453], note g. [Transcriber's Note: This is the footnote to “Candavian chain,” starting “Ptolemy.”]) The Haliacmon rises rather more to the north than in Barbié du Bocage's Map. The Cara-Sou, which is certainly the Erigon, runs into the lake of the Lydias. (Incorrect, according to Strabo, quoted in p. [451], note b. [Transcriber's Note: This is the footnote to “mountains of Illyria,” starting “Its rise in these mountains.”]) The Lydias has a longer course, and rises in the Illyrian mountains. The modern river Gallico, which I make the Echeidorus, flows at some distance from the sea through a lake into the Axius. The tributary branch of the Achelous, called by the ancients the Inachus, rises further to the south, under the Pindus-chain (contrary to the authors quoted in p. [452], note f. [Transcriber's Note: This is the footnote to “Epirus of Lacmon,” starting “Or Lacmus.”]). Upon the whole, Barbié du Bocage's Map is without doubt the more accurate.
Appendix II. Genealogy of Hellen.
There is a particular tendency which may be traced throughout all the accounts that have come down to us of early Grecian history, viz., of reducing everything to a genealogical form. It was much encouraged by the opinion of the later historians, that every town and valley had received its name from some ancient prince or hero; thus even Pausanias meets with persons who explained everything by means of genealogies;[2138] who, for example, out of the Pythian temple at Delphi made a son of Delphus Pythis, a prince of early times. This tendency, however, is manifestly founded on the genuine ancient language of mythology. With the inventors of these fabulous narratives, nations, cities, mountains, rivers, and gods became real persons, who stood to one another in the relation of human beings, were arranged in families, and joined to one another in marriage. Now although such fictions are in many cases easily seen through, and the meaning of the connexion may be readily deciphered, yet these genealogies, as there was nothing of arbitrary and fanciful invention in them, in after-times passed for real history; and were, both by early and late historians, with full confidence in their general accuracy, made use of for the establishment of a sort of chronology. On these principles, then, the genealogies which were formed in the age of the later epic poets, and perhaps even of the early historians, cannot be considered as pure invention; these too must have been founded on certain arguments and facts, which were generally believed at that time. We will endeavour to point this out in the famous genealogy of the [pg 490] chief races of the Greeks, which was taken from the Ἠοῖαι of Hesiod.[2139]
[Transcriber's Note: Here are the relationships shown in the table: