The Selloi ( el, Σελλοί) were an ancient Greek tribe inhabiting

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

in ancient Greece, in a region between Dodona—site of the oldest reported oracle—and the

Achelous In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Achelous (also Acheloos or Acheloios) (; Ancient Greek: Ἀχελώϊος, and later , ''Akhelôios'') was the god associated with the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece. According to Hesiod, he ...

river;

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

named the area ancient Hellas. A group who were formerly called

Graecians The Graecians (; also Graei and Graeci; , and , ), were an ancient Hellenic tribe. Their name is the origin of the Latin (and English) name of the Greeks as a whole. Etymology It is possible that their name is derived from the toponym of ''G ...

and later

Hellenes The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, other ...

lived there as well. According to

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, they were priests of the Dodonian

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

. Classicist and linguist Steve Reece has traced the Homeric name ''Selloi'' Σελλοί back to a historical tribe named ''Helloi'' Ἑλλοί (related to ''Hellas'', ''Hellenes'', etc). During the oral period of epic transmission one of Homer's bardic predecessors misheard a formulaic expression in which the name was embedded and metanalyzed "Helloi" as "Selloi."Reece, Steve. "Whence the Selloi of Dodona?" in Steve Reece, "Homer's Winged Words" (Leiden: Brill, 2009) 201-215.

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