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 Heinrich ...
in ancient Greece, in a region between
Dodona
Dodona (; Doric Greek: Δωδώνα, ''Dōdṓnā'', Ionic and Attic Greek: Δωδώνη, ''Dōdṓnē'') in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BCE according to Herodotus. T ...
—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, h ...
river;
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...
named the area ancient
Hellas
Hellas may refer to:
Places in Greece
*Ἑλλάς (''Ellás''), genitive Ἑλλάδος (''Elládos''), an ancient Greek toponym used to refer to:
** Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country i ...
. A group who were formerly called
Graecians 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, othe ...
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 ...
, 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 religion, ...
. 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.]
See also
*
Greeks
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, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, Albania, Greeks in Italy, ...
(names)
*
Names of the Greeks
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
* Van Windekens, Albert J. (1961). "The Selloi at Dodona". In: ''Names: a Journal of Onomastics'', 9:2, pp. 91-94. DOI: 10.1179/nam.1961.9.2.91
Ancient tribes in Epirus
Greek tribes