From the President: Everyone's Hero
Ancient models, modern identity
This was the title of an article in the September/October 2009 issue of ARCHAEOLOGY magazine, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America.
The article, written by C. Brian Rose (president of the Archaeological Institute of America) discussed the use of past heroes by governments for political purposes. Brian Rose specifically referred to the appropriation of Alexander the Great by the modern government of FYROM (former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). He also mentioned the letter sent to President Barack Obama, signed by international scholars.
In response to this article, Professor Stephen G. Miller (Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley) wrote a letter to the editor of the magazine on September 22, 2009 suggesting that Archaeology, the Archaeological Institute of America and its President have no business corrupting historic integrity for modern political purposes.
Here is the letter as it appeared on the Archaeology magazine website. And here is Professor Stephen G. Miller's response.
Letter to President Obama
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- On May 18th, 2009,
200 Classical Scholars from around the world, sent a letter to the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. - On June 22nd, 2009,
an update with 332 signatures was sent.
Since then, the list of cosigners has grown to 376, see Addenda.
- On May 18th, 2009,
Macedonian coin, stating in Greek: "ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ"
(in English: "ALEXANDER'S")