Ionians

The Ionians were one of the ancient Greek ethnic groups, somewhat larger than a tribe, but identified by the other groups as speaking their own dialect. Other groups included Dorians, Aeolians and Achaians. They were known collectively as Hellenes.

Related Topics:
Greek - Dorians - Achaians - Hellenes

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The etymology of the word is uncertain. Its Mycenaean Greek reconstruction is Iawones (pronounced Yawones), a name that seems to have been in general use; that is, the Athenians, the Dorians, and so on, are more local names adopted by original Iawones. Most derivations postulate that it evolved into Greek from some preceding name, Indoeuropean or pre-Greek.

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Classical Ionia of the 1st half of the 1st millennium BC on the coast of Turkey was settled and named by migrating Iawones from southern and central Greece. In theory they were pushed out by the Dorian invasion. Certainly, the Dorian ethnic group came to predominate in regions where there is no evidence that it was located previously, such as Messenia and Crete. The native land of the Dorians, however, remains a mystery, save for the tiny state of Doris, too small to have repopulated half of Greece.

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