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{{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 [[List of ancient Greek tribes|tribes]] into which [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] divided themselves in the ancient period (along with the [[Achaeans (tribe)|Achaeans]], [[Dorians]] and [[Ionians]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Hard|2004|pp=401–436}}.</ref><ref name="Smith">{{harvnb|Smith|1856|pp=[https://archive.org/details/dictionarygreek08smitgoog/page/n66 50–51]}}.</ref> They originated in the eastern parts of the [[Geography of Greece|Greek mainland]], notably in [[Ancient Thessaly|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 [[Troad|Troas]] and [[Ionia]], as well as on the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] islands of [[Lesbos]] and [[Tenedos]].{{Sfn|Wilson|2013|pp=14-15}}<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Aeolis |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Aeolis |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> A second round of Aeolian settlements took place during the 7th century.<ref name=":0" /> They spoke [[Aeolic Greek|Aeolic]], a [[Ancient Greek dialects|dialect of Ancient Greek]] most famously known for its use by poets like [[Sappho]] and [[Alcaeus of Mytilene|Alcaeus]] from Lesbos,{{Sfn|Wilson|2013|p=586}} and [[Corinna]] from Boeotia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aeolic dialect |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aeolic-dialect |access-date=2024-01-25 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
The name derives from [[Aeolus (son of Hellen)|Aeolus]], the mythical ancestor of the Aeolians and son of [[Hellen]], himself the mythical [[patriarch]] of the [[Ancient Greece|Greek nation]]. The name ''Aeolian'' ({{Lit|of the wind}}) derives from the Greek name [[Aeolus (son of Hippotes)|''Aeolus'']], ''aiolos'' (αίολος) literally meaning "changeable", "quickly moving".<ref>{{cite web|last=Harper|first=Douglas|year=2001–2020|title=Aeolian|website=Online Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Aeolian}}</ref> They spoke an [[Ancient Greek dialects|Ancient Greek dialect]] that is referred to as [[Aeolic Greek|Aeolic]].<ref name="Smith" /> According to [[Herodotus]], it was said that the Aeolians were previously called [[Pelasgians]].<ref>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."</ref>

Originating in [[Thessaly]], a part of which was called ''Aeolia'', 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]], [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]], [[Ancient Elis|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 [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]].<ref name="Smith" />

==See also==
*[[Achaeans (tribe)|Achaeans]]
*[[Dorians]]
*[[Ionians]]

==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:Aeolians| ]]
[[Category:Greek tribes]]
[[Category:Ancient tribes in Greece]]
[[Category:Ancient tribes in Thessaly]]
[[Category:Ancient tribes in Boeotia]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of Anatolia]]