Zemlja zauzima dio teritorije u regionu koji je bio poznat kao Makedonija nakon osvajanja Aleksandra Velikog u 4. stoljeću naše ere, a Grčka se vrlo zaštitnički ponaša prema njemu i prema, kako ona tvrdi, historijskim dokazima da je Makedonija grčka, što je stav koji se u Makedoniji energično osporava.
The country occupies some of the territory in the region that was known as Macedonia after the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, and Greece is fiercely protective of him and what it claims is historical evidence proving Macedonia is Greek, a view vehemently disputed in Macedonia.