Aeolians
{{Short description|Ancient Greek tribe}}
{{distinguish|Aeolian Islands}}{{Other uses|Aeolian (disambiguation){{!}}Aeolian}}
{{History of Greece}}
The Aeolians ({{IPAc-en|iː|ˈ|oʊ|l|i|ən|z}}; {{langx|el|Αἰολεῖς}}, Aioleis) were one of the four major tribes into which Greeks divided themselves in the ancient period (along with the Achaeans, Dorians and Ionians).{{harvnb|Hard|2004|pp=401–436}}.{{harvnb|Smith|1856|pp=[https://archive.org/details/dictionarygreek08smitgoog/page/n66 50–51]}}. They originated in the eastern parts of the Greek mainland, notably in Thessaly and Boeotia. By {{Circa|1100}} BC, the Aeolians began their early settlements on the west coast of Anatolia, known as Aeolis, comprising the territory between Troas and Ionia, as well as on the Aegean islands of Lesbos and Tenedos.{{Sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=14-15}}{{Cite web |title=Aeolis |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aeolis |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |language=en}} A second round of Aeolian settlements took place during the 7th century. They spoke Aeolic, a dialect of Ancient Greek most famously known for its use by poets like Sappho and Alcaeus from Lesbos,{{Sfn|Wilson|2013|p=586}} and Corinna from Boeotia.{{Cite web |title=Aeolic dialect |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aeolic-dialect |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |language=en}}
History
The name derives from Aeolus, the mythical ancestor of the Aeolians and son of Hellen, himself the mythical patriarch of the Greek nation. The name Aeolian ({{Lit|of the wind}}) derives from the Greek name Aeolus, aiolos (αίολος) literally meaning "changeable", "quickly moving".{{cite web|last=Harper|first=Douglas|year=2001–2020|title=Aeolian|website=Online Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Aeolian}} They spoke an Ancient Greek dialect that is referred to as Aeolic. According to Herodotus, it was said that the Aeolians were previously called Pelasgians.Herodotus, The Histories, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+7.95&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126 7.95]: "The Aeolians furnished sixty ships and were equipped like Greeks; formerly they were called Pelasgian, as the Greek story goes."
Originating in Thessaly, a part of which was called Aeolis, the Aeolians often appear as the most numerous amongst the other Hellenic tribes of early times. The Boeotians, a subgroup of the Aeolians, were driven from Thessaly by the Thessalians and moved their location to Boeotia. Aeolian peoples were spread in many other parts of Greece such as Aetolia, Locris, Corinth, Elis and Messinia. During the Dorian invasion, Aeolians from Thessaly fled across the Aegean Sea to the island of Lesbos and the region of Aeolis, called as such after them, in Asia Minor.
See also
Footnotes
{{reflist|2}}
Sources
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |last=Hard |first=Robin |title=The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology |year=2004 |location=London and New York |publisher=Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group) |isbn=0-415-18636-6}}
- {{cite book |last=Smith |first=William |author-link=William Smith (lexicographer) |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography |location=London |publisher=Walter and Maberly |year=1856 |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionarygreek08smitgoog}}
- {{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Nigel |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2013 |isbn=9781136788000 |chapter=Aeolians |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8pXhAQAAQBAJ&dq=aeolians&pg=PA14}}
{{refend}}
Category:Ancient tribes in Greece
Category:Ancient tribes in Thessaly