Chaonians: Difference between revisions
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According to [[Strabo]]<ref>Strabo, ''The Geography, Book VII, Chapter 7.5'' at LacusCurtius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/7G*.html]</ref>, the Chaonians, along with the [[Thesprotians]] and the [[Molossians]], were the most famous among the fourteen tribes of Epirus, because they once ruled over the whole of Epirus. [[Plutarch]] <ref>Plutarh, ''Pyrrhus'' at The Internet Classics Archive[http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/pyrrhus.html]</ref> tells us that the Chaonians were one of the three principal clusters of Greek-speaking tribes that had emerged in Epirus, the other two being the [[Thesprotians]] and the [[Molossians]], who were the most powerful among all other tribes in the [[Epirus (region)|region]]. |
According to [[Strabo]]<ref>Strabo, ''The Geography, Book VII, Chapter 7.5'' at LacusCurtius [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/7G*.html]</ref>, the Chaonians, along with the [[Thesprotians]] and the [[Molossians]], were the most famous among the fourteen tribes of Epirus, because they once ruled over the whole of Epirus. [[Plutarch]] <ref>Plutarh, ''Pyrrhus'' at The Internet Classics Archive[http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/pyrrhus.html]</ref> tells us that the Chaonians were one of the three principal clusters of Greek-speaking tribes that had emerged in Epirus, the other two being the [[Thesprotians]] and the [[Molossians]], who were the most powerful among all other tribes in the [[Epirus (region)|region]]. |
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They were regarded as "uncivilized" by their neighbors and there are some clues that they knew little about cultivation and ate uncooked foods.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} They developed a governing system relying on an annually chosen leader. By the [[5th century]] BC they were eventually conquered and had combined to a large degree with [[Thesprotians |
They were regarded as "uncivilized" by their neighbors and there are some clues that they knew little about cultivation and ate uncooked foods.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} They developed a governing system relying on an annually chosen leader. By the [[5th century]] BC they were eventually conquered and had combined to a large degree with the neighboring [[Thesprotians]] and [[Molossians]]. The Chaonians were part of the ''League of Epirus'' until [[170 BC]] when they were annexed into the [[Roman Empire]]. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 18:43, 31 July 2007
The Chaonians (Χάονες, Χαόνων, in Ancient Greek), were an ancient Epirot tribe of Chaonia, which covered the northwestern portion of Epirus. Ancient scholars unanimously note that they were an Epirot Greek tribe. The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax does not include the Chaonians among the Illyrian tribes, but it does not specify whether or not they were a Greek people. The geographer Hecateus of Miletus of the 6th century BC describes the Dexari (Ancient Greek Δέξαροι), a Chaonian tribe, as Greek speaking people[1]. On their central frontier lay another Epirote kingdom, that of the Molossians, to their southwest stood the kingdom of the Thesprotians, and to their north the lived the Illyrian tribes. According to Virgil, Chaon (Ancient Greek Χάων) was the eponymous ancestor of the Chaonians.[2]
Ancient sources
According to Strabo[3], the Chaonians, along with the Thesprotians and the Molossians, were the most famous among the fourteen tribes of Epirus, because they once ruled over the whole of Epirus. Plutarch [4] tells us that the Chaonians were one of the three principal clusters of Greek-speaking tribes that had emerged in Epirus, the other two being the Thesprotians and the Molossians, who were the most powerful among all other tribes in the region.
They were regarded as "uncivilized" by their neighbors and there are some clues that they knew little about cultivation and ate uncooked foods.[citation needed] They developed a governing system relying on an annually chosen leader. By the 5th century BC they were eventually conquered and had combined to a large degree with the neighboring Thesprotians and Molossians. The Chaonians were part of the League of Epirus until 170 BC when they were annexed into the Roman Empire.