Famous Macedonia
# Famous Macedonia

"Famous Macedonia" (Greek: Μακεδονία ξακουστή, romanized: Macedonia xacusti, pronounced) is a Greek military march folk song often regarded as the regional anthem of Greek Macedonia, and used by the Hellenic Army since the Balkan Wars.

It is associated with the Macedonomachœ in the Macedonicos Agonas 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 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 chasapico. 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, 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.

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.

According to the Greek Army's website, it is a military march or emvatirio based on the traditional Macedonicos choros, which is related with Acrítes of Byzantium.

## Lyrics

### Current version

| Greek original | Modern Roman Greek | 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! 𝄇 | 𝄆 Macedonia xacusti, tu Alexandru hi chora, 𝄇 𝄆 Pu edioxes ton tyranno ci eleutheri isæ tora! 𝄇 𝄆 Isun cæ isæ hellinici, Hellinon to camari, 𝄇 𝄆 Ci hemeis tha s'anticryzume, periphana cæ pali! 𝄇 𝄆 Hœ Macedones de borun na zune sclavomenœ, 𝄇 𝄆 Hola cæ an ta chasune hi leuteria tus menei! 𝄇 | 𝄆 [maceðoˈni.a ksakusˈti |] [tu alekˈsanðru‿i ˈxora |] 𝄇 𝄆 [pu ˈeðʝokses ton ˈtirano] [ceˈlefθeri‿ˈise ˈtora ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [ˈisuɲ ce ˈise‿eliniˈci |] [eˈlinon to kaˈmari |] 𝄇 𝄆 [ceˈmis θa sa(n)diˈkrizume |] [peˈrifana ce ˈpali ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [i maceˈðonez ðe boˈrun] [na ˈzune sklavoˈmeni |] 𝄇 𝄆 [ˈola ce an ta ˈxasune] [i lefteˈrʝa tuz ˈmeni ‖] 𝄇 | 𝄆 O, Famous Macedonia, land of Alexander, 𝄇 𝄆 Thou drovest away the tyrant, now liberated thou art! 𝄇 𝄆 Thou wert and thou art Greek, the pride of every Greek, 𝄇 𝄆 Thee we shall recognise by thine honour glorious. 𝄇 𝄆 Let not the Macedonians in slavery draw breath, 𝄇 𝄆 Even if they lose everything, their liberty still reigneth! 𝄇 |

### Original version

| Greek original | Modern Roman Greek | IPA transcription | English translation |
| - | - | - | - |
| 𝄆 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. 𝄇 | 𝄆 Macedonia xacusti, tu Alexandru hi chora, 𝄇 𝄆 Pu edioxes tus Varvavus ci eleutheri isæ tora! 𝄇 𝄆 Isæ cæ tha 'sæ hellinici, Hellinon to camari, 𝄇 𝄆 Ci hemeis ta Hellinopula, su plecume stephani! 𝄇 𝄆 Hœ Macedones de borun na zume sclavomenœ, 𝄇 𝄆 Hola cæ an ta chasune hi leutheria tus menei! 𝄇 𝄆 Macedonopula micra chorepste cæ chareite, 𝄇 𝄆 Protu ci eseis sta vasana tu cosmu tutu beite. 𝄇 | 𝄆 [maceðoˈni.a ksakusˈti |] [tu alekˈsanðru‿i ˈxora |] 𝄇 𝄆 [pu ˈeðʝokses tuz ˈvarvarus] [ceˈlefθeri‿ˈise ˈtora ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [ˈise ce θa se‿eliniˈci |] [eˈlinon to kaˈmari |] 𝄇 𝄆 [ceˈmis ta eliˈnopula |] [su ˈplekume steˈfani ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [i maceˈðonez ðe boˈrun] [na ˈzune sklavoˈmeni |] 𝄇 𝄆 [ˈola ce an ta ˈxasune] [i lefteˈrʝa tuz ˈmeni ‖] 𝄇 𝄆 [maceðoˈnopula miˈkra] [xoˈrepste ce xaˈrite |] 𝄇 𝄆 [proˈtu ceˈsis sta ˈvasana] [tu ˈkozmu ˈtutu ˈbite ‖] 𝄇 | 𝄆 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. 𝄇 |
