Mark K.: I’m tempted to exlaim that it’s all Greek to me, and allow that Macedonia may have several agendas at work. But I must say, this general practice doesn’t really bother me. It would be a good thing for Turkey to take pride in Homer, if only because it might help forge a connection to the West. Likewise, the American descendents of slaves should feel that George Washington belongs as much to them as he does to you and me. When we start to worry too much about bloodlines–and the question of whether anyone in Macedonia can claim Alexander the Great as an authentic ancestor–we play a game that inevitably leads to balkanization, a useful word we receive from the peninsula that Macedonians call home.