For the micronation of Molossia, see Republic of Molossia Arms of the Republic of Molossia The Republic of Molossia is a micronation, a nation and/or state which is unrecognized by the established states of the world. ...

Map of Chaonia, Molossis & Thesprotia

The Molossians (Molossoi) were an ancient Greek^[1] tribe that settled Epirus during Mycenaean times. As in the case of the Ancient Macedonians, Chaonians, and Thesprotians, during the Classical period they were widely regarded by many southern Greeks as semi-barbarians. On their northeast frontier they had the Chaonians and to their southern frontier the kingdom of the Thesprotians, to their north were the Illyrians. The Molossians were part of the League of Epirus until they were annexed into the Roman Empire and 150,000 of its inhabitants were enslaved. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (698x667, 85 KB) Summary Map of Chaonia, Molossis, Thesprotia http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (698x667, 85 KB) Summary Map of Chaonia, Molossis, Thesprotia http://www. ... Chaonia, Chaon, was the name of an ancient tribe located in modern-day Albania and Greece. ... Map of Chaonia, Molossis & Thesprotia The Thesprotians (Gk. ... Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Ípiros) is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe. ... Mycenaean Greece, the last phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, is the historical setting of the epics of Homer and much other Greek mythology. ... The Ancient Macedonians were the inhabitants of Macedon in ancient times. ... The Chaonians (Χάονες, Χαόνων, in Greek), were an ancient tribe of Chaonia, which covered the northwestern portion of Epirus. ... Map of Chaonia, Molossis & Thesprotia The Thesprotians (Gk. ... Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD... The Chaonians (Χάονες, Χαόνων, in Greek), were an ancient tribe of Chaonia, which covered the northwestern portion of Epirus. ... Map of Chaonia, Molossis & Thesprotia The Thesprotians (Gk. ... Illyria (disambiguation) Illyrians has come to refer to a broad, ill-defined group of peoples who inhabited the western Balkans (Illyria, roughly from northern Epirus to southern Pannonia) and even perhaps parts of Southern Italy in classical times into the Common era, and spoke Illyrian languages. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Mythology

According to the Greek myth, they were the descendants of Molossus, one of the three sons of Neoptolemus, son of Achilles and Deidamea. Following the sack of Troy, Neoptolemus and his armies settled in Epirus where they joined the local population. The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. ... Molossus has several meanings: In Greek mythology, Molossus was the son of Neoptolemus and Andromache. ... Neoptolemus killing Priam In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus, also Neoptólemos or Pyrrhus, was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamea. ... The Wrath of Achilles, by François-Léon Benouville (1821–1859) (Musée Fabre) In Greek mythology, Achilles, also Akhilleus or Achilleus (Ancient Greek ) was a hero of the Trojan War, the central character and greatest warrior of Homers Iliad, which takes for its theme, not the War... In Greek mythology, Deidamea, or Deidamia, was the daughter of Lycomedes, King of Scyros. ... Troy or Ilion, see Troy (disambiguation) and Ilion (disambiguation). ...

Molossus inherited the kingdom of Epirus after the death of Helenus, son of Priam and Hecuba of Troy, who had married his erstwhile sister-in-law Andromache after Neoptolemus' death. Helenus was a Trojan soldier in the Trojan War. ... In Greek mythology, Priam (Greek Πρίαμος) was the king of Troy during the Trojan War, and son of Laomedon. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Andromache grieves the loss of Hector In Greek mythology, Andromache was the wife of Hector and daughter of Eetion, sister to Podes. ...

Plutarch tells us that according to some historians their first king was Phaeton, one of those who came into Epirus with Pelasgus. Plutarch also says, that Deucalion and Pyrrha, having set up the worship of Zeus at Dodona, settled there among the Molossians.^[2] Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Ípiros) is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe. ... In Greek mythology, Pelasgus referred to several different people. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Deucalion In Greek mythology, Deucalion, or Deukálion (new-wine sailor) was the name of at least two figures: a son of Prometheus, and a son of Minos. ... Deucalion and Pyrrha throwing rocks that become babies. ... The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in Ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th century engraving Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Zeús, genitive: Díos), is... Theatre of Pyrrhus in Dodona. ...

Ancient Sources

Strabo tells us that the Molossians, along with the Chaonians and Thesprotians, were the most famous among the fourteen tribes of Epirus, who once ruled over the whole Region - the Chaonians earlier and later the Thesprotians and Molossians. Plutarch^[3] tells us that the Thesprotians, the Chaonians and the Molossians were the three principal clusters of Greek-speaking^[4] tribes that had emerged from Epirus and were the most powerful among all other tribes. The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... The Chaonians (Χάονες, Χαόνων, in Greek), were an ancient tribe of Chaonia, which covered the northwestern portion of Epirus. ... Map of Chaonia, Molossis & Thesprotia The Thesprotians (Gk. ... Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Ípiros) is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe. ... The Chaonians (Χάονες, Χαόνων, in Greek), were an ancient tribe of Chaonia, which covered the northwestern portion of Epirus. ... Map of Chaonia, Molossis & Thesprotia The Thesprotians (Gk. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... The Chaonians (Χάονες, Χαόνων, in Greek), were an ancient tribe of Chaonia, which covered the northwestern portion of Epirus. ...

The Molossians were also renowned for their vicious hounds, which were used by shepherds to guard their flocks. This is where the canine breed Molossoid, native to Greece, got its name. Virgil tells us that in ancient Greece the heavier Molossian dogs were often used by the Greeks and Romans for hunting (canis venaticus) and to watch over the house and livestock (canis pastoralis). "Never, with them on guard," says Virgil, "need you fear for your stalls a midnight thief, or onslaught of wolves, or Iberian brigands at your back." The Molossus is an ancient, extinct breed of dog that is commonly considered to be the ancestor of todays Mastiff-type dogs and of many other modern breeds. ... A bust of Virgil, from the entrance to his tomb in Naples, Italy. ... Area under Roman control  Roman Republic  Roman Empire  Western Empire  Eastern Empire Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a city-state founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Iberia can mean: The Iberian peninsula of southwest Europe; That part of it inhabited by the Iberians, speaking the Iberian language. ...

Strabo records that the Thesprotians, Molossians, and Macedonians referred to old men as pelioi and old women as peliai (<PIE *pel-, 'gray'). Cf. Ancient Greek peleia, "pigeon", so-called because of its dusky gray color. Ancient Greek pelos meant "gray".^{[citation needed]} The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Pigeon redirects here. ... Gray (Gy) is the derived SI unit for absorbed dose, specific energy and kerma (kinetic energy in matter). ...

The Royal House Molossis

The most famed member of the Molossian dynasty was Pyrrhus, who became famous for his Pyrrhic victory over the Romans. According to Plutarch Pyrrhus was the son of Alexander I of Epirus, of the Aeacides of Epirus and a Greek lady from Thessaly named Phthia, the daughter of a war hero in the Lamian war. He was the nephew of the Molossian princess Olympias and cousin of Alexander the Great. Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (318-272 BC) (Greek: Πύρρος), king of the Molossians (from ca. ... A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with devastating cost to the victor. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (318-272 BC) (Greek: Πύρρος), king of the Molossians (from ca. ... Alexander I of Epirus (c. ... Aeacides (in Greek Aιακιδης; died 313 BC), the son of Arybbas, king of Epirus, succeeded to the throne on the death of his cousin Alexander, who was slain in Italy. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Phthia (in Greek Φθια; lived 4th century BC) was a daughter of Menon of Pharsalus, the Thessalian hipparch, and wife of Aeacides, king of Epirus, by whom she became the mother of the celebrated Pyrrhus, as well as of two daughters: Deidamia, the wife of Demetrius Poliorcetes, and Troias, of whom... Olympias (Greek: Ολυμπιάς) (c. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ...

Notes

See also

• Chaonians
• Chaonia
• Thesprotians
• Olympias
• Pyrrhus