Greetings again Nicholas... and thank you for the kind words. InI forgot to mention Albanian Orthadoxy is different from (and much older than) Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy. The Illyrians (Albanian ancestors before Albania the country was formed) language is very distinct from the Greek language.

Ancestors of today's Albanians, the Illyrians were not a uniform body of people but a conglomeration of many tribes that inhabited the western part of the Balkans, from what is now Slovenia in the northwest to and including Macedonia and the region of Epirus, which extends about halfway down the mainland of modern Greece. They have occupied the western Balkans since before the 2nd millena (2000) BC. They came in the beginning of the 3rd millennium (3000) BC from Asia Minor. A convoy of interested warring states followed. The Greeks arrived in the 7th century BC.

Most of the ancient Greek Gods derived their names from Albanian: Zeus from the Albanian "Zot". Athena (the Latin Minerva), the goddess of wisdom as expressed in speech, owes its derivation to the Albanian "E Thëna," which simply means "speech." Thetis, the goddess of waters and seas, is Albanian "Detis" which means "sea." It is also interesting to note that whether in its Latin or Greek form the word "Ulysses," or "Odysseus," means "traveler" in the Albanian language, from the word "Udhë," which stands for "route" and "travel,". There are many such examples of words that existed in ancient Albania long before Greek use.

The Greeks and Romans eventually overran much of waht was Illyria and enslaved my people to work the fields of Roman estates. What is now left is but a small portion of Albania. Albania has been dand continues to de downpressed by many nations. But we continue to resist.

InI don't know if any of this interests you, but the I thought you might like to know where InI are coming from. On another site the I post at, InI am called Ras Bardhylus. Bardhylus was the greatest King of Illyrian/Albanian history and ruled around 400BC until Philip of Macedon (father of Alaxander the Great) attacked and conquered him. Ras Bardhylus in Albanian means Prince White Star.

Zoti të bekoftë! God Bless you!
Lavdëroj bëj në Zot! Praise be to God!

One Love,
Ras Bardhylus