Vergina Sun

The Vergina Sun (Greek Ήλιος της Βεργίνας, also known as the "Star of Vergina", "Macedonian Star" or "Argead Star") is a rayed solar symbol appearing in ancient Greek art of the period between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC. The Vergina Sun proper has sixteen triangular rays, while comparable symbols of the same period variously have sixteen, twelve, eight or (rarely) six rays.

The name "Vergina Sun" refers specifically to an archaeological find of 1977; in older references, the name "Argead Star" or "Star of the Argeadai" is used for the Sun as the royal symbol of the Argead dynasty of Macedon. It came to prominence following archaeological excavations in and around the small town of Vergina, in northern Greece. There it was depicted on a golden larnax found in a 4th-century BC royal tomb belonging to either Philip II or Philip III of Macedon, the father and half-brother of Alexander the Great, respectively.

As the historical royal symbol of Macedonia, the Vergina Sun came into popular use in Greek nationalism, and especially Macedonian Greek nationalism, in the 1980s. With the independence of the Republic of Macedonia in 1991 (then officially the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Vergina Sun symbol became involved in the controversy surrounding Macedonian nationhood and the naming dispute regarding the newly-independent republic. The Vergina Sun was depicted on the first design for the flag of the Republic of Macedonia, which was revised into a different rayed solar symbol in 1995 as a result of this dispute.

...
Wikipedia