Vergina Sun
The Vergina Sun (Greek: Ήλιος της Βεργίνας, romanized: Ilios tis Vergínas, lit.
On 17 June 2018, the two countries signed the Prespa Agreement, which stipulates the removal of the Vergina Sun from public use in North Macedonia.
[2] Eventually, in early July 2019 the government of North Macedonia announced the complete removal of the symbol from all public areas, institutions and monuments in the country, except archeological sites.
[7][8] During his excavations at Vergina, the site of the ancient Macedonian capital of Aegae, the archaeologist Manolis Andronikos found the symbol on the coffin (Golden Larnax) believed to belong to Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great.
The symbol might represent the Sun god (Helios), whose role as a patron deity of the Argead dynasty might be implied by a story about Perdiccas I of Macedon narrated by Herodotus (8.137).
The Vergina Sun on a blue background became commonly used as an official emblem of the three administrative regions, the prefectures and the municipalities of Greek Macedonia.
[18] Speaking on the BBC World Service's The World Today programme, archaeologist Bajana Mojsov from the Republic of Macedonia said that "the symbolic weight attached to the Vergina Star was archaeologically absurd – but politically inevitable," arguing: The star of Vergina applies to the 3rd century BC northern Greece – a very different situation, not related to the 21st century AD.
[27]At the same time, Demetrius Floudas, Senior Associate at Hughes Hall, Cambridge, and one of the leading analysts of the Macedonia naming dispute, claimed that: what prompted the adoption of the Vergina Star was a desire from Skopje's part to advance maximalist objectives in order to barter with them for other concessions at the negotiating table when the time comes.
[28]Although the authorities in Skopje denied any ulterior motives, the flag became a major issue in the wider political dispute between the two countries of the early 1990s (see Foreign relations of North Macedonia).
[29] The symbol was removed from the flag of the Republic of Macedonia as part of an agreement to establish diplomatic and economic relations between the two sides,[29] and it was replaced by a stylised yellow sun with eight widening beams on red ground.
After strong Greek protests, the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Macedonia condemned the incident and recalled its diplomat back to Skopje for consultations.
A six-pointed Vergina sun is the logo of the Thessaloniki-based Vergina television station, it also appears on Municipality of Chalkidona coat of arms in Thessaloniki region unit, on Makedonikos FC (Greek: Μακεδονικός) logo which is a Greek professional football club based in Neapoli, on ASF ALEXANDRIAS in Imathia, on Makedonikos Foufas F.C.
[49] In 2018, IP Australia, the agency of the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science responsible for administering the intellectual property rights in Australia, denied the World Macedonian Congress the right of registering and using the Vergina Sun on its trademark, citing the Paris Convention which recognizes the emblem as a national symbol of Greece.
[51][52] On 17 June 2018, Greece and the Republic of Macedonia signed the Prespa Agreement, which stipulates the removal of the Vergina Sun from public use across the latter's territory.
