Aeolians
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish{{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists The Aeolians (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx, Aioleis) were one of the four major tribes into which Greeks divided themselves in the ancient period (along with the Achaeans, Dorians and Ionians).<ref>Template:Harvnb.</ref><ref name="Smith">Template:Harvnb.</ref> They originated in the eastern parts of the Greek mainland, notably in Thessaly and Boeotia. By Template:Circa 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.Template:Sfn<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A second round of Aeolian settlements took place during the 7th century.<ref name=":0" /> They spoke Aeolic, a dialect of Ancient Greek most famously known for its use by poets like Sappho and Alcaeus from Lesbos,Template:Sfn and Corinna from Boeotia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
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 (Template:Lit) derives from the Greek name Aeolus, aiolos (αίολος) literally meaning "changeable", "quickly moving".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They spoke an Ancient Greek dialect that is referred to as Aeolic.<ref name="Smith" /> According to Herodotus, it was said that the Aeolians were previously called Pelasgians.<ref>Herodotus, The Histories, 7.95: "The Aeolians furnished sixty ships and were equipped like Greeks; formerly they were called Pelasgian, as the Greek story goes."</ref>
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.<ref name="Smith" /> The Boeotians, a subgroup of the Aeolians, were driven from Thessaly by the Thessalians and moved their location to Boeotia.<ref name="Smith" /> Aeolian peoples were spread in many other parts of Greece such as Aetolia, Locris, Corinth, Elis and Messinia.<ref name="Smith" /> 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.<ref name="Smith" />