Until the recent introduction of 24-hour programming, it also marked the end of radio programs on the local Macedonian channel (Radio Makedonia102 FM"), played before the
Greek national anthem.
It is written in Dorian scale, in iambic 15-syllable. The beat is 2/4 and it can be danced as a hasapiko. It can be performed in conjunction with the
Macedonia dance. In addition, the lyrics 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,[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
According to the Greek Army's website, it is a military march or emvatirio based on the traditional Makedonikos choros, which is related with
Acrítes of
Byzantium.[2]
Lyrics
Current version
Greek original
Transcription
IPA transcription
English translation
𝄆 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! 𝄇[3]
𝄆 Makedonia xakousti,
tou Alexandrou i chora, 𝄇
𝄆 Pou edioxes ton tyranno
ki eleftheri eisai tora! 𝄇
𝄆 Isoun kai eisai elliniki,
Ellinon to kamari, 𝄇
𝄆 Ki emeis tha s'antikryzoume,
perifana kai pali! 𝄇
𝄆 Oi Makedones de boroun
na zoune sklavomenoi, 𝄇
𝄆 Ola kai an ta chasoune
i lefteria tous menei! 𝄇
𝄆 O, Famous Macedonia,
land of Alexander, 𝄇
𝄆 Thou drovest away the Barbarians,
now liberated thou art. 𝄇
𝄆 Thou art and thou shalt be Greek,
the pride of every Greek, 𝄇
𝄆 We sons and daughters of the Greek
knit a coronal for thee. 𝄇
𝄆 Let not the Macedonians
in slavery draw breath, 𝄇
𝄆 Even if they lose everything,
their liberty still reigneth! 𝄇
𝄆 Macedonians of young
let us dance and rejoice, 𝄇
𝄆 Before thou enterest
the hardships of this world. 𝄇
Notes
^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
^Roudometof, V. (2002). Collective Memory, National Identity and Ethnic Conflict: Greece, Bulgaria and the Macedonian Question. Greenwood Press. p. 81.
ISBN0-275-97648-3.