ETHNOLINGUISTIC OBSERVATIONS IN UPPER MACEDONIA

1. THE TERM "UPPER MACEDONIA"

Strabo in his "Geography" defines as "Upper Macedonia" (ἄνω Μακεδονία) the area which consisted of the regions Lyncus, Pelagonia, Orestias and Elimeia («καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ περὶ Λύγκον καὶ Πελαγονίαν καὶ Ὀρεστιάδα καὶ Ἐλίμειαν τὴν ἄνω Μακεδονίαν ἐκάλουν») ¹. According modern historical research, Upper Macedonia consisted of Elimeia, Tymphaea, Lycenstis, Orestias, Pelagonia, Derriopus, Eordaea, with Antintania and Dassaretis being incorporated later into the region ² The following map ³ might be helpful:

 

2. ETHNIC AFFILIATIONS

2.1 Archaeological Data

Upper Macedonia, being part of the Mycenaean world, was inhabited by Greek tribes already since the Bronze Age. This was confirmed by archaeological discoveries of the last decades, namely pottery associated with North-Western/ Doric Greek tribes, which also point to Mycenaean Greek settlements in the region. According to L. Wynn - Antikas: 

«This can be seen in the numerous matt painted vases in the tradition of late Bronze Age pottery which developed from the Middle Helladic pottery in southern Greece ( 1900-1800 BC ). Matt painted ware has been found as far away as Albania, Central Macedonia and Thessaly, and was typically used by the north-western Greek tribes of the Dorians and the Macedonians. Among the Mycenaean finds found is a unique figurine ( Fig 6 ) which dates to the late Helladic - IIIb period ( 1300 to 1200 BC). Such artefacts have led archaeologists to believe that it is likely there were Mycenaean settlements in Upper Macedonia » ⁴.

2.2 Part of the Epirotic Ethne

The archaeological conclusions coincide with historical records, since the tribes of Upper Macedonia are associated with North-Western Greek tribes in ancient literature. Hecataeus of Miletus (6th c. BCE) , in a fragment preserved by Stephanus of Byzantium, describes the tribe of the Orestae as an Epirotic tribe and, more specifically, Molossian:

«Ὀρέσται, Μολοσσικόν ἔθνος. Ἑκαταῖος Εὐρώπῃ» ⁵.

Hecataeus' information can be confirmed by a 4th century BCE inscription found in Dodona, where an Orestian named Φρύνος appears as co-leader of the Molossian tribal state (κοινόν):

	ἐπὶ προστά[τα] Δροάτου Κελαίθ̣[ου, γραμ]-
	ματέος δὲ Παυσ[ανία Τριπ]-
	ολίτα, συναρχόν[των Θεαρί(?)]-
5	δα Κελαίθου, Ἄλκ[ωνος Πεί]-
	αλος, Μενεφύλου [— — — — —],
	Ἀντίκ̣κα Ἐθνεστοῦ, Μ̣[․․․․․ Τ]-
	ριφύλα, Γεννάδα Ὀ[νοπέρνο]-
	υ, Ἕκτορος Ὄνφαλος, Δ[αμοίτα]
10	Ἀμύμνου, Αἰρόπου Γε[νοαίου, Ἀ]-
	νεροίτα Ἀρκτᾶνος, Ν[ίκωνο]-
	ς Φύλατος, Ἀνερεία Τρ̣[ιπολίτ]-
	α, Φρύνου Ὀρεστοῦ, Ἀρ[χιδάμο(?)]-
	υ Παρωροῦ, Ὀμοστακ[ίου Κυεσ]-
15	τοῦ ἔδωκε τὸ κοινὸν τ[ῶν Μο]-
	λοσσῶν πολιτείαν [Ἀριστ]-
	οκλεῖ, Μονδαι[ῶι — — — Ἀντ]-
	ιγένεος Ν[αυ]πα[κτίοις, εὐε]-
	ργέτας εἶμεν τῶν [Μολοσ]-
20	σῶν καὶ αὐτο̣[ῖ]ν̣ καὶ γ[ενεᾶι ὡς]
	παντὶ Μολο[σσ]ῶ̣ι̣ κ̣[αὶ ἀτέλεια]-
	ν καὶ ἐντέλειαν [καὶ γᾶς ἔγ]-
	κτασιν καὶ ὅσα [τίμια πάντα]
	τοῖς ἄλλοις ε[ὐεργέταις π]-
25	ολιτευομέν[οις ὑπάρχειν]. ⁶.

In a 2nd c. BCE inscription we find the phrase "Orestian Molossians" ⁷:

< Ὀρεστοὶ Μολοσοί > 

The Epirote origin of the Orestae is also attested in Strabo's Geography, where other Upper Macedonian tribes, such as the Tymphaei and the Atintanes, are listed as Ἠπειρῶται:

«The Amphilochians are Epeirotes; and so are the peoples who are situated above them and border on the Illyrian mountains, inhabiting a rugged country—I mean the Molossi, the Athamanes, the Aethices, the Tymphaei, the Orestae, and also the Paroraei and the Atintanes, some of them being nearer to the Macedonians and others to the Ionian Gulf» ¹.

While in another passage, Strabo mentions the Orestae, the Pelagonians and the Elimiotae as Epirotes who were annexed to Macedonia:

 «For both on account of the fame and of the predominance of the Thessalians and the Macedonians, the countries of those Epeirotes who were their nearest neighbors were made, some willingly and the others unwillingly, parts of Thessaly or Macedonia; for instance, the Athamanes, the Aethices, and the Talares were made parts of Thessaly, and the Orestae, the Pelagonians, and the Elimiotae of Macedonia» ⁸.

Epirotic origin is also assigned to the Lyncestae (Λυγκῆσται) by Stephanus of Byzantium who mentions Lyncus (Λύγκος) as a "city of Epirus":

«Λύγκος, πόλις Ἠπείρου. Στράβων ἑβδόμῃ. ἐκλήθη ἀπὸ Λυγκέως. τὸ ἐθνικὸν Λυγκησταί. τὸ θηλυκόν Λυγκηστίς. λέγεται καὶ Λύγκιος ὡς Λύττιος. λέγεται καὶ Λυγκεύς» ⁹.

Based on the above, it is reasonable to conclude that the tribes of Upper Macedonia belonged to the branch of North-Western Greeks, or Epirotes, as archaeological data have indicated. N. G. L. Hammond is convinced that this is the case:

«On crossing the Balkan chain, we find that Hecataeus called the Orestae 'a Molossian tribe' (F 107), and Strabo (434; cf. 326) probably derived from Hecataeus his belief that the Elimeotae, Lyncestae, and Pelagones, as well as the Orestae, were Epirotic or rather Molossian tribes before their incorporation by the Macedones into the Macedonian kingdom» ¹⁰.

2.3 Connections to Macedonia

Marsyas of Pella, Macedonian writer, informs us that Orestis was also called Maketa (or Maketia) ¹¹ , while we also know that Maketai (or Macetae in Latin) was another name for the Macedonians ¹². It is possible that Orestis was home to a North-Western/Epirotic tribe, the Maketai, who migrated southwards and formed the new tribe of the Makedones. Moreover, given the fact that Orestai ("mountain-men") and Maketai/Makedones ("highlanders") are tribal names with almost identical meaning (see here), it can be assumed that Macedonians and Orestae were derived from the same North-Western Greek stock. This view is reinforced by Herodotus, who wrote that the ancestors of the Dorians, when they lived around Epirus, were called Macedonians ¹³ :

«For in the days of king Deucalion it inhabited the land of Phthia, then the country called Histiaean, under Ossa and Olympus, in the time of Dorus son of Hellen; driven from this Histiaean country by the Cadmeans, it settled about Pindus in the territory called Macedonian; from there again it migrated to Dryopia, and at last came from Dryopia into the Peloponnese, where it took the name of Dorian»

Eugene Borza summarizes:

«The “highlanders” or “Makedones” of the mountainous regions of western Macedonia are derived from northwest Greek stock; they were akin both to those who at an earlier time may have migrated south to become the historical “Dorians”, and to other Pindus tribes who were the ancestors of the Epirotes or Molossians. That is, we may suggest that northwest Greece provided a pool of Indo-European speakers of proto-Greek from which were drawn the tribes who later were known by different names as they established their regional identities in separate parts of the country» ¹⁴.

3. LINGUISTIC AFFILIATIONS 

Having said these, we can now come to the conclusion that it was Epirote tribes from Orestis who brought the Northwestern - Doric dialect to Macedonia. Thus, the Orestae, the rest of Upper Macedonians and the Macedonians should have spoken similar dialects. 

3.1 Ancient Testimonies

Indeed, the similarity in language between Upper Macedonians and Macedonians had been pointed out by the time of Strabo. Strabo reports that people classified as "Macedonia" the region from Upper Macedonia as far as Corcyra (Corfu) due to similarity in culture and speech:

«And in fact the regions about Lyncus, Pelagonia, Orestias, and Elimeia, used to be called Upper Macedonia, though later on they were by some also called Free Macedonia. But some go so far as to call the whole of the country Macedonia, as far as Corcyra, at the same time stating as their reason that in tonsure, language, short cloak, and other things of the kind, the usages of the inhabitants are similar, although, they add, some speak both languages» ¹. 

From Strabo's description we can distinguish the following regions: 

(a) Macedonia Proper

(b) Upper Macedonia & Epirus 

(c) Corcyra Island. 

In region (a) , the Macedonian idiom of North-Western Greek Doric was spoken ¹⁵. Region (c) was a Corinthian colony and, obviously, Corinthian Doric was the language of the Island. Corinthians, along with other Dorian colonists had founded several colonies along Western Greece and the Adriatic, such as Epidamnos. Thucydides clearly mentions the Corinthian Doric ancestry of the Corcyraeans:

«The city of Epidamnus stands on the right of the entrance of the Ionic gulf. Its vicinity is inhabited by the Taulantians, an Illyrian people. The place is a colony from Corcyra, founded by Phalius, son of Eratocleides, of the family of the Heraclids, who had according to ancient usage been summoned for the purpose from Corinth, the mother country. The colonists were joined by some Corinthians, and others of the Dorian race» ¹⁶.

The dialects of Corcyra and Macedonia were so similar that they were considered equally Macedonian. Consequently, the Doric character of the language of region (b) is also confirmed once again. To make it more simple, Strabo basically implies an equation Corinthian ≈ Macedonian ≈ Epirotic (= Doric).

3.2. The ethnonymic suffix -stai

The ethnonymic suffix -stai is a characteristic of Upper Macedonian tribal names such as the Ὀρέσται (Orestai), the Ἀργέσται (Argestai/Argestaioi, tribe attested in Pelagonia ¹⁷) and the Ἐθνέσται (Ethnestai , tribe located at Orestis or near Orestis ¹⁸). The suffix is very regular in Greek derivatives of s-stem neuter nouns ¹⁹:

•   ὄρος > Ὀρέσ-ται

•   Ἄργος > Ἀργέσ-ται > ἀργεσταῖοι

•   ἔθνος >  Ἐθνέσ-ται 

However, the use of the suffix is also used in ethnonyms that are not derived from neuter s-stems. This generalization must have been applied by North-Western Greeks, as it is present in neighbouring Macedonian and Epirote tribal names:

•    Ἐορδαία > Ἐορδέσται, but Ἐορδίζω > Ἐορδισταί ²⁰, regular derivation in Greek from verbs in -ίζω (e.g. κτίζω , "to build" > κτίσται , "builders"). 

•    Δῖον > Διέσται ²¹ or Διάσται ²², the Macedonian inhabitants of Dion .

•    αἴξ (?) > Αἰγεσταῖοι , another name for the Thesprotians ²³

Finally, the form -ησται (ē/ before -stai) as in Λυγκῆσται/Λυγκησταί is only attested in Ἐγχηστοί, an Epirotic tribe ²⁴:

• Λύγκος > Λυγκησταί

• Ἐγχος > Ἐγχηστοί

According to Stephanus of Byzantium, these derivations are a Macedonian dialectal feature: 

«Μακεδόνων γὰρ ὁ τύπος, Ὀρέσται, Λυγκησταί» ²².

N. G. L. Hammond confirms that the suffix -estae is a West-Greek feature: 

«...The aetiologizing motive is patently obvious, the more so as the word Orestae has an obvious derivation from ὄρος and the west-Greek ethnic termination -estae» ²⁵.

The occurrence of -st- suffixal elements in Illyrian ethnonyms could be attributed to neighbourιng Greek influence. Greek suffixes such as -ānes or -atai are also found in Illyrian tribes:

•   Ἐγγελᾶνες , Illyrian tribe  — Δυμᾶνες , Doric tribe

•   Αὐταριάται , Illyrian tribe — Ποτειδαιάται , Greek inhabitants of Poteidaea ²⁶.

____________________

Sources/References:

¹ Strabo 7.7.8

² Brill's Companion to Ancient Macedon: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Macedon, 650 BC - 300 AD, p.95

³ CAH, vol.6, p.424

⁴ Minerva, "The Aiani Museum opens in Western Macedonia", vol.9

⁵ Stephanus Byzantinus, Ethnica

⁶ https://inscriptions.packhum.org/text/308124?hs=111-120%2C205-213

⁷ https://inscriptions.packhum.org/text/308173?hs=410-432

⁸ Strabo 9.5

⁹ Stephanus Byzantinus, Ethnica

¹⁰ CAH, vol.3, part III, p. 266

¹¹ Marsyas of Pella, Makedonika

¹² cf. Aulus Gellius, 9.3.1

¹³ Herodotus 1.56

¹⁴ Studies in Attic Epigraphy, History, and Topography Presented to Eugene Vanderpool, p.7

¹⁵ The Ancient Macedonian Language:

    Part #1

    Part #2

¹⁶ Thucydides 1.24,  cf. an inscription writing Ϙορινθιων Ϙορϙυραιων , "(of the) Corinthian Corcyraeans"

¹⁷ Epigraphic attestation of the Argestai

¹⁸ P. Cabanes, L'Épire de la mort de Pyrrhos à la conquête romaine (272-167 av. J.-C.), p.125

¹⁹ P. Chantraine, Dictionnaire Étymologique De La Langue Grecque Histoire Des Mots, p. 826

²⁰ According to Stephanus of Byzantium ; for Eordestai see here

²¹ Διεσται

²² Διασται

²³ Αἰγεσταῖοι

²⁴ Epigraphic attestation of Ἐγχηστοί

²⁵ A History of Macedonia, vol.1, p.311

²⁶ https://inscriptions.packhum.org/text/294509?hs=54-60

THE "HELLENIZATION" OF EPIRUS DEBUNKED

1. INTRODUCTION

In this article, the phrase "Hellenization of Epirus" will be used to refer to the scenario according to which the ancient Epirotic tribes were originally Illyrians, who later became Hellenized. This theory, although not accepted by the majority of modern academia, has been supported by various scholars ¹, who however base their thesis on controversial "evidence" while ignoring less doubtful facts. Today, this specific view of Epirotic history is mostly supported and promoted by Albanians ² whose part of national mythic narrative is claiming linear connection to the ancient Illyrians and dehellenizing anything Greek concerning the ancient history of their current lands.

2. NO EVIDENCE OF EPIRUS AND EPIROTES BEING ILLYRIAN

Taking a look at ancient Greek literature, anyone could easily realise that Epirus was never classified as part of "Illyria" and its inhabitantants were never described as part of the people known as "Illyrians". On the other hand, the region of Epirus and its tribes are clearly separated from the Illyrian world. Strabo (63 BC – c. 24 AD) reports that Via Egnatia was the border between Illyria and Epirus:

«In travelling this road from the neighbourhood of Epidamnus and Apollonia, on the right hand are the Epirotic nations situated on the coast of the Sicilian Sea, and extending as far as the Gulf of Ambracia; on the left are the Illyrian mountains…» ³

Simiralry, Pausanias (c. 110 – c. 180) writes in a more understandably that 

«Illyrians inhabit the coast of the Ionian Sea, north of Epirus» ⁴

Appian, while describing the "Illyrian" territories , records a southern boundary with Chaonia and Thesprotia, where ancient Epirus began south of the river Aous (Vijose) ⁵, as does Pseudo-Scylax in his "Periplous" around 380-360 BC ⁶. The proponents of the "Hellenization" theory have suggested that this distinction between Illyrians and Epirotes is a result of the Hellenization of the latter, which according to Arnold Toynbee, started taking place around 429 BC ⁷. This is however extremely doubtful, especially when earlier ancient authors like Hecataeus of Miletus also highlighted the contiguity of the Chaonians to the Illyrian people living north of the Acroceraunian Mountains ⁸.

3. THE USE OF THE TERM "BARBAROI"

On the other hand, what does not end the discussion at this point is the fact that certain ancient writers seem to describe the ancient Epirotes as "barbarians". A good question to ask here is who are these barbarians, if the Epirotes were distinguished from their Illyrian neighbours? Many like to answer by taking the designation of the "barbarian" as a non-biased ethnolinguistic feature ancient writers attributed. In reality, passages where Epirotes and other Greek peoples (e.g. Macedonians) are presented as "barbarians" are either biased or misinterpreted, as linguist Panagiotis Filos notes:

"Nonetheless, such views, which largely rely on some subjective ancient testimonies, are not supported by the earliest (and not only) epigraphic texts" [In: "Studies in Ancient Greek Dialects: From Central Greece to the Black Sea", n.18]

Anyone who is familiar with ancient Greek literature knows that in many instances writers subjectively used to discriminate other Greek tribes. A great example is the rise of Athenian nationalism and the "racial" conflict between Dorians and Athenians/Ionians during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. During that period, Athenians promoted the myth of "autochthony", proudly claiming that they are born from the land they inhabit. Isocrates boasted that Athenians were pure-blooded, unlike "others" — meaning the Dorians — who were race-mixed migrants (Panygericus, 24). A similar concept is presented in Plato's Menexenus (245d), where Athenians appear as the only real Hellenes in contrast with other Greek tribes whose mythological progenitor was of foreign origin. And while Athenian writers presented themselves as the only real Greeks and Dorians as barbarians, the Dorian authors like Herodotus presented their own group as the real Hellenes and the Athenians/Ionians as "Hellenes" of barbarian Pelasgic origin ⁹. That is why the Athenian Thucydides chooses to describe the Dorians ¹⁰ of Epirus and Northwestern Greece as barbarians: 

«The Hellenic troops with him consisted of the Ambraciots, Leucadians, and Anactorians, and the thousand Peloponnesians with whom he came; the barbarian of a thousand Chaonians, who, belonging to a nation that has no king, were led by Photios and Nicanor, the two members of the royal family to whom the chieftainship for that year had been confided. With the Chaonians came also some Thesprotians, like them without a king, some Molossians and Atintanians led by Sabylinthos, the guardian of king Tharrhyps who was still a minor, and some Parrrhavaeans, under their King Oroedos, accompanied by a thousand Orestians, subjects of King Antiochos and placed by him under the command of Oroedos» ¹¹.

In contrast to the Athenian Thucydides, the Dorian Herodotus classifies Epirus as Greece and Epirotes as Greeks:

«Then all the Greeks who were proud of themselves and their country came as suitors, and to that end Cleisthenes had them compete in running and wrestling contests. From Italy came Smindyrides of Sybaris, son of Hippocrates, the most luxurious liver of his day (and Sybaris was then at the height of its prosperity), and Damasus of Siris, son of that Amyris who was called the Wise. These came from Italy; from the Ionian Gulf, Amphimnestus son of Epistrophus, an Epidamnian; he was from the Ionian Gulf. From Aetolia came Males, the brother of that Titormus who surpassed all the Greeks in strength, and fled from the sight of men to the farthest parts of the Aetolian land. [3] From the Peloponnese came Leocedes, son of Phidon the tyrant of Argos, that Phidon who made weights and measures for the Peloponnesians1 and acted more arrogantly than any other Greek; he drove out the Elean contest-directors and held the contests at Olympia himself. This man's son now came, and Amiantus, an Arcadian from Trapezus, son of Lycurgus; and an Azenian from the town of Paeus, Laphanes, son of that Euphorion who, as the Arcadian tale relates, gave lodging to the Dioscuri, and ever since kept open house for all men; and Onomastus from Elis, son of Agaeus. These came from the Peloponnese itself; from Athens Megacles, son of that Alcmeon who visited Croesus, and also Hippocleides son of Tisandrus, who surpassed the Athenians in wealth and looks. From Eretria, which at that time was prosperous, came Lysanias; he was the only man from Euboea. From Thessaly came a Scopad, Diactorides of Crannon; and from the Molossians, Alcon» ¹² 

[Alcon the Molossian Epirote listed among the Greeks]

 

«If the Phoenicians did in fact carry away the sacred women and sell one in Libya and one in Hellas, then, in my opinion, the place where this woman was sold in what is now Hellas, but was formerly called Pelasgia, was Thesprotia; and then, being a slave there, she established a shrine of Zeus under an oak that was growing there; for it was reasonable that, as she had been a handmaid of the temple of Zeus at Thebes , she would remember that temple in the land to which she had come. After this, as soon as she understood the Greek language, she taught divination; and she said that her sister had been sold in Libya by the same Phoenicians who sold her» ¹³  

[Thesprotia classified as part of Hellas and a woman of foreign origin learning the Greek language among the Thesprotians].

This "racial" conflict we mentioned before is, therefore, perfectly reflected in the historical works and Panagiotis Filos is proven to be correct in calling ancient testimonies like those of Thucydides subjective. It seems that, in the eyes of Thucydides, Northwestern Greeks did not reach the cultural standards of democratic Athens. This could be understood by the fact that, while characterising Chaonians and Thesprotians as barbarians, Thucydides did not forget to mention right after that both of them «belong to a nation that has no king». He does something similar when describing the "barbarian" Aetolians as living «in unfortified villages», or when portraying the Eurytānes as having an «incomprehensible speech» and being «eaters of raw meat». Jonathan Hall correctly calls Thucydides descriptions "pseudo-ethnographic" and concludes that Western Greek tribes were considered as Hellenes manques and not as complete foreigners.

The same thing can be observed in the works of Strabo, who also calls Epirotes "barbarians". The ancient geographer, however, distinguishes them from the neighbouring - also barbaric - Illyrians. If we consider his characterizations for the Epirotes as ethnological evidence, then it should be supposed that Epirotes were not Greeks or Illyrians, but a separate ethnicity. This is of course not supported by any other kind of evidence. In the same way as Thucydides, Strabo prefers calling tribes of a primitive way of life "barbarians". It is more clear when the ancient author calls the inhabitants of Dodona - the spiritual center of the ancient Greek world - "barbarians" because they "do not wash their feet and sleep on the ground": 

"With respect to Dodona, Homer clearly intimates that the people who lived about the temple were barbarians, from their mode of life, describing them as persons who do not wash their feet, and who sleep on the ground. Whether we should read Helli, with Pindar, or Selli, as it is conjectured the word existed in Homer, the ambiguity of the writing does not permit us to affirm confidently. Philochorus says, that the country about Dodona was called, like Eubœa, Hellopia; for these are the words of Hesiod, “‘There is a country Hellopia, rich in corn-fields and pastures; at its extremity is built Dodona.’” ¹⁴

In the case of Strabo too, "barbarian" is not a characterization that could be considered as important ethnological evidence and Panagiotis Filos is proven to be correct once more. 

4. WERE THERE PEOPLE PREDATING GREEKS IN EPIRUS?

The answer to this question is positive. In the aforementioned excerpt of Herodotus' "Histories" about Thesprotia ¹³, it is stated that the region was formerly called "Pelasgia" and then Hellas. However, that was the case for the rest of Greece. According to Strabo 

«Almost every one is agreed that the Pelasgi were an ancient race spread throughout the whole of Greece, but especially in the country of the Æolians near to Thessaly»¹⁵. 

Similarly to Herodotus, the ancient geographer believed that the Epirotic tribes were of Pelasgian origin:

«many have likewise asserted that the nations of the Epirus are Pelasgic, because the dominions of the Pelasgi extended so far» ¹⁵.

While both Herodotus and Strabo know the history of Epirus and also are aware about the existence of the neighbouring Illyrians, none of them ever recorded them as the original inhabitants of Epirus. They both agree that Pelasgians are the only people predating Greeks in Epirus and the rest of Greece. Therefore, it could in no way be supported that the Epirotes were Hellenized Illyrians, when the so-called Pelasgians were the only recorded Pre-Greek population in the history of the region.

5. CONCLUSION

The evidence presented strongly challenges the notion that the Epirotic tribes were merely Hellenized Illyrians. Not only is there no substantial reason to support this hypothesis, but the available historical and linguistic data actively refute it. Ancient sources consistently distinguish the Epirotes from the Illyrians, with no records identifying the former as part of the latter. Although some ancient authors described the Epirotes as barbarians, they were more frequently regarded as one of the oldest Hellenic peoples—an integral part of the Greek world ¹⁶. Aside from the semi-mythical Pelasgians, no other ethnic group apart from the Greeks is recorded as inhabiting Epirus, mirroring the demographic patterns observed throughout ancient Greece. Moreover, recent finds suggest that Epirus was part of the Greek linguistic world, with Epirotes having their own dialect of ancient Greek ¹⁷. Therefore, based on the historical and archaeological evidence, it is reasonable to conclude that Epirus was no less Greek than any other region of Greece.

____________________

References:

¹ cf. eg. Witczak 1995, Toynbee 1969

² John Wilkes, The Illyrians, p. 104

³ Strabo 7.7.5

⁴ Pausanias, 4.35.5

⁵ John Wilkes, The Illyrians, p. 69

⁶ Nicholas Hammond, in: The Cambridge Ancient History: The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries B.C., Vol. III, part 3, p. 284

⁷ Arnold Toynbee, Some Problems of Greek history, p. 110

⁸ Sandro de Maria, Lorenzo Manicini in: Politics, Territory and Identity in Ancient Epirus, p.202

⁹ cf. Hdt. 1.56-1.57 , 8.44.1

¹⁰ "Dorians" in the broader sense of "Northwestern Greeks"

¹¹ 2.80.5-6

¹² 6.126-127

¹³ Herodotus, 2.56

¹⁴ Strabo, 7.7

¹⁵ Strabo, 5.2.4

¹⁶  Sasel Kos, Portolano Adriatico, p.14

¹⁷ cf. Irad Malkin, The Returns of Odysseus, pp. 142-143

IS THE WORD 'EPIRUS' OF ALBANIAN ETYMOLOGY?

It is argued by pseudo-historians that the word 'Epirus' has Albanian origin and etymology. Specifically, it is claimed that the initial form of the word Epirus was 'Epir-i', meaning 'Upper (Land)' in Albanian, which was later Hellenized by Greeks by adding the suffix '-os' [1].

However, the region of Epirus was never recorded as "Epiri" in ancient literature but as 'Epirus' and 'Epeiros' ( Ἤπειρος) in ancient Latin and Greek texts accordingly, therefore there is no evidence to support the Albanian hypothesis.

Now, the Albanian theory comes to be demolished by an Albanian of the well-known medieval Albanian house of Muzaka, Gjon Muzaka (or Giovanni Musachi). According to Gjon Muzaka «Epirus is called 'Pylloria' in the Albanian language» («Epiro ch’ in lingua albenese se dice Pylloria») [2]. Even though medieval Albanians are styled as "Epirotes" by outsiders, they themselves did not use the term in their native language!

The word 'Epirus' can only be etymologized through Greek  Ἤπειρος meaning "mainland" [3]. According to the British archaeologist John Wilkes, Greeks used the phrase "Epirotic peoples" in the meaning of "peoples of the mainland" [4].

The word appears as "Apeiros" ("ΑΠΕΙΡΟΣ") in ancient Epirotic coins, resembling the common shift of η to α in the Doric Greek dialects. Indeed, today it is believed that the ancient Epirotes spoke their own dialect of Doric Greek [5].

__________________

Sources/References:

[1] Proposed by Spiro Konda, Shqiptaret dhe Problemi Pellasgjik, Prishtine, 1997, pp. 154-158

[2] Charles Hopf, Chroniques Gréco-Romaines , Berlin, 1873, p.278

[3] Studies in Ancient Greek Dialects: From Central Greece to the Black Sea, 2018, p.215

[4] John Wilkes, The Illyrians, p.69

[5] Cf. Radoslav Katičić, Ancient Languages of the Balkans, p.123-124

PLUTARCH - EPIRUS - BARBARISM

The question of whether the ancient Epirotes were barbarians, meaning non-Greek in origin, is addressed clearly and concisely by Plutarch in the introduction to his "Life of Pyrrhus." The author, recounting the history of Epirus, initially provides a significant linguistic detail, specifically a word from the native language of the Epirotes: the word "Aspetos," which translates to "unspeakably great" and has a clear Greek etymology [1]. This indicates that the native language of the Epirotes was Greek.

Furthermore, Plutarch addresses the question of why ancient writers such as Thucydides and Strabo referred to the Epirotes as barbarians. He explains that Epirus became "barbarized" at a certain point, which implies that Epirus was originally non-barbarian, i.e. Greek (after all, Plutarch had already implied thr Greekness of the Epirotes' speech). Epirus underwent cultural re-Hellenization after King Tharrhypas reorganized the region both culturally and politically.

This explanation by Plutarch provides a nuanced understanding of the cultural and linguistic identity of the Epirotes, showing that despite periods of cultural transformation, their roots and language were fundamentally Greek. Modern experts confirm that there is not any evidence clearly doubting Epirotes' Hellenic ethnological profile [2].

____________________

References:

[1] The word occurs in Iliad 8.558, Iliad 18.403, Odyssey 4.75, see:A Greek-English lexicon

by Liddell, Henry George, 1811-1898; Scott, Robert, 1811-1887, p.233

[2] J. Engels in: A companion to Ancient Macedonia p.83-84; Sasel Kos, Portolano Andriatico, p.14