Famous Macedonia

"Famous Macedonia" (Greek: Μακεδονία ξακουστή, romanized: Macedonía xacustí, pronounced [mɐce̞ðo̞ˈɲi.ɐ ks̠ɐkuˈs̠ti]) is a Greek patriotic song and military march, often regarded as the regional anthem of Greek Macedonia,[1] and used by the Hellenic Army since the Balkan Wars.

Macedonía xacustí

English: Famous Macedonia
Μακεδονία Ξακουστή
Regional anthem of Macedonia
Lyrics	Unknown (folklore, 1910s)
Music	Unknown (traditional from Macedonia)

It is associated with the Macedonomáchœ in the Macedonicós Agónas and can be heard on parades and in national anniversaries.

Until the recent introduction of 24-hour programming, it also marked the end of radio programs on the local Macedonian channel ("Rádio Macedonía 102 FM"), played before Hýmnos is tin Eleftherían.

It is written in Dorian scale, in iambic 15-syllable. The beat is 2/4 and it can be danced as a chasápico. It can be performed in conjunction with the Makedonia dance. In addition, the text refers to Alexander the Great, who is the progenitor of the Greek Macedonians.

Origin

The origin of the march is not certain. According to an ethnographic study conducted in villages in Serres and Drama,[2] the song wasn't known or danced to in the area. Women from Ano Oreini and Petrousa attribute the Greek lyrics and the teaching of the dance to an anonymous teacher after World War II. Women from Petrousa claim that the melody of the song is a modification of a local malady of theirs, which was made "somewhere more centrally", and they dance to a similar melody with Slavic lyrics and different steps, similar to those of other local traditional dances.[3]

The musicologist Markos Dragoumis found a cassette with Ladino songs of Thessaloniki, which included the melody of the song, as a composition made for the opening of the Schola de la Alianza, the first Jewish school of Thessaloniki, in 1873. Dragoumis guesses that it was either composed for the opening of the school and later was transmitted to the groups in the area, or it was originally composed in the middle of the 19th century by some Western composer for the Ottoman Sultan and later used by the Jewish communities.[4]

According to the Greek Army's website, it is a military march—or emvatírjo (εμβατήριο)—based on the traditional Macedonicós Chorós (Μακεδονικός Χορός), which is related with Acrítes of Byzantium.[5]

Lyrics

Current version

Greek alphabet	Greco-Roman alphabet	IPA transcription
𝄆 Μακεδονία ξακουστή, του Αλεξάνδρου η χώρα, 𝄇 𝄆 Που έδιωξες τον τύραννο κι ελεύθερη είσαι τώρα! 𝄇 𝄆 Ήσουν και είσαι ελληνική, Ελλήνων το καμάρι, 𝄇 𝄆 Κι εμείς θα σ'αντικρύζουμε, περήφανα και πάλι! 𝄇 𝄆 Οι Μακεδόνες δε μπορούν να ζούνε σκλαβωμένοι, 𝄇 𝄆 Όλα και αν τα χάσουνε η λευτεριά τους μένει! 𝄇[6]	𝄆 Macedonía xacustí, tu Alexándru hi chóra, 𝄇 𝄆 Pu édjoxes ton tyranno ci eléftheri ísæ tóra! 𝄇 𝄆 Ísun cæ ísæ hellinicí, Hellínon to camári, 𝄇 𝄆 Ci hemís tha s'anticrýzume, períphana cæ páli! 𝄇 𝄆 Hœ Macedónes de borún na zúme sclavoménœ, 𝄇 𝄆 Hóla cæ an ta chásune hi lefterjá tus méni! 𝄇	𝄆 [mɐce̞ðo̞ˈɲiɐ ks̠ɐkuˈs̠ti |] [tu ɐle̞ˈks̠än̪ðru̯i ˈxo̞ɾɐ |] 𝄇 𝄆 [pu ˈe̞ðʝo̞ks̠e̞s̠ to̞n ˈtiɾɐno̞] [ce̞ˈle̞fθe̞ˌɾiːs̠e̞ ˈto̞ɾɐ ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [ˈis̠uŋ ce̞ ˌis̠e̞ːliɲiˈci |] [e̞ˈlino̞n to̞ kɐˈmäɾi |] 𝄇 𝄆 [ce̞ˈmis̠ θɐ s̠ɐdiˈkriz̠ume̞ |] [pe̞ˈɾifɐnɐ ce̞ ˈpäli ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [i mɐce̞ˈðo̞ne̞s̠ ðe̞ bo̞ˈɾun] [nɐ ˈz̠une̞ s̠klɐvo̞ˈme̞ɲi |] 𝄇 𝄆 [ˈo̞lɐ ce̞ ɐn tɐ ˈxäs̠une̞] [i le̞fte̞ɾˈʝä tus̠ ˈme̞ɲi ‖] 𝄇[lower-alpha 1]

English translation
𝄆 Famous Macedonia, the land of Alexander, 𝄇 𝄆 You drove away the tyrant, and now you are free! 𝄇 𝄆 You were and you are Greek, the very pride of every Greek, 𝄇 𝄆 And we will be looking at you with pride again! 𝄇 𝄆 Macedonians cannot live enslaved, 𝄇 𝄆 Even if they lose everything, they still have their Freedom! 𝄇

Original version

Greek alphabet	Greco-Roman alphabet	IPA transcription
𝄆 Μακεδονία ξακουστή, του Αλεξάνδρου η χώρα, 𝄇 𝄆 Που έδιωξες τους Βάρβαρους κι ελεύθερη είσαι τώρα! 𝄇 𝄆 Είσαι και θα ΄σαι ελληνική, Ελλήνων το καμάρι, 𝄇 𝄆 Κι εμείς τα Ελληνόπουλα, σου πλέκουμε στεφάνι! 𝄇 𝄆 Οι Μακεδόνες δε μπορούν να ζούνε σκλαβωμένοι, 𝄇 𝄆 Όλα και αν τα χάσουνε η λευτεριά τους μένει! 𝄇 𝄆 Μακεδονόπουλα μικρά χορέψτε και χαρείτε, 𝄇 𝄆 Πρωτού κι εσείς στα βάσανα του κόσμου τούτου μπείτε. 𝄇[7][8][lower-alpha 2]	𝄆 Macedonía xacustí, tu Alexándru hi chóra, 𝄇 𝄆 Pu édjoxes tus Várvavus ci eléftheri ísæ tóra! 𝄇 𝄆 Ísæ cæ tha 'sæ hellinicí, Hellínon to camári, 𝄇 𝄆 Ci hemís ta Hellinópula, su plécume stepháni! 𝄇 𝄆 Hœ Macedónes de borún na zúme sclavoménœ, 𝄇 𝄆 Hóla cæ an ta chásune hi lefterjá tus méni! 𝄇 𝄆 Macedonópula micrá chorépste cæ charíte, 𝄇 𝄆 Protú ci esís sta vásana tu cósmu tútu bíte. 𝄇	𝄆 [mɐce̞ðo̞ˈɲiɐ ks̠ɐkuˈs̠ti |] [tu ɐle̞ˈks̠än̪ðru̯i ˈxo̞ɾɐ |] 𝄇 𝄆 [pu ˈe̞ðʝo̞ks̠e̞s̠ tus̠ ˈväɾvɐvus̠] [ce̞ˈle̞fθe̞ˌɾiːs̠e̞ ˈto̞ɾɐ ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [ˈis̠e̞ ce̞ θɐ s̠æ e̞liɲiˈci |] [e̞ˈlino̞n to̞ kɐˈmäɾi |] 𝄇 𝄆 [ce̞ˈmis̠ tɐ e̞liˈno̞pulɐ |] [s̠u ˈple̞kume̞ s̠te̞ˈfäɲi ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [i mɐce̞ˈðo̞ne̞s̠ ðe̞ bo̞ˈɾun] [nɐ ˈz̠une̞ s̠klɐvo̞ˈme̞ɲi |] 𝄇 𝄆 [ˈo̞lɐ ce̞ ɐn tɐ ˈxäs̠une̞] [i le̞fte̞ɾˈʝä tus̠ ˈme̞ɲi ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [mɐce̞ðo̞ˈno̞pulɐ miˈkrä] [xo̞ˈɾe̞ps̠te̞ ce̞ xɐˈɾite̞ |] 𝄇 𝄆 [pro̞ˈtu ce̞ˈs̠is̠ s̠tɐ ˈväs̠ɐnɐ] [tu ˈko̞s̠mu ˈtutu ˈbite̞ ‖] 𝄇

English translation

𝄆 Famous Macedonia, the land of Alexander, 𝄇 𝄆 You drove away the Barbarians and you are now free! 𝄇 𝄆 You are and you'll be Greek, the very pride of every Greek, 𝄇 𝄆 And we as the children of Greek, knit you a wreath! 𝄇 𝄆 Macedonians cannot live enslaved, 𝄇 𝄆 Even if they lose everything, they still have their Freedom! 𝄇 𝄆 Young Macedonians dance and rejoice, 𝄇 𝄆 Before, you too, the hardships of this world enter. 𝄇

Notes

1. Transcriptions were put together after basing on sources from Greek language, Modern Greek phonology and Help:IPA/Greek. Therefore, it is not considered original research.
2. The original version of the song contained an additional fourth stanza. There were two minor differences in the preserved lyrics as well; instead of "barbarians", "Bulgarians" can be substituted, and in some versions (as in the current version) the word "tyranny" is used instead. Additionally, the verse "κι εμείς θα σ'αντικρύζουμε, ελεύθερη και πάλι!" ("and we will be looking at you with pride again!") was originally "κι εμείς τα Ελληνόπουλα, σου πλέκουμε στεφάνι!" ("and we, the Sons of Greece, plait you a crown").

References

1. Roudometof, V. (2002). Collective Memory, National Identity and Ethnic Conflict: Greece, Bulgaria and the Macedonian Question. Greenwood Press. p. 81. ISBN 0-275-97648-3.
2. Ρόμπου-Λεβίδη 2016, p. 135. sfn error: no target: CITEREFΡόμπου-Λεβίδη2016 (help)
3. Ρόμπου-Λεβίδη 2016, p. 134-5. sfn error: no target: CITEREFΡόμπου-Λεβίδη2016 (help)
4. Ρόμπου-Λεβίδη 2016, p. 136. sfn error: no target: CITEREFΡόμπου-Λεβίδη2016 (help)
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-02-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "Αποβλήθηκαν έξι μαθητές που αψήφισαν την απαγόρευση και τραγούδησαν το «Μακεδονία Ξακουστή» στην παρέλαση". Φλόγαsport (in Greek). 2018-02-11. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
7. Γραμμενος, Ηλιας (2018-01-21). "Με «Μακεδονία ξακουστή» έκλεισε το πρόγραμμα του ο Στέφανος Βορδώνης". ερωτόκριτος (in Greek). Retrieved 2019-08-08.
8. "Μακεδονία ξακουστή του Αλεξάνδρου η χώρα που έδιωξες τους τύρρανους κι ελεύθερ' είσαι τώρα". ΦΩΝΗ (in Greek). 2019-03-25. Retrieved 2019-08-08.

External links

• An arrangement for mixed chorus by Nicolas Astrinidis – YouTube
• Another remixed version – YouTube