Molossians
The Molossians (
Ancient sources
According to Strabo, 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 ruled Epirus at an earlier time, and afterwards the Thesprotians and Molossians controlled the region. The Thesprotians, the Chaonians, and the Molossians were the three principal clusters of Greek tribes that had emerged from Epirus and were the most powerful among all other tribes.[4]
The Molossians were also renowned for their vicious
Strabo records that the Thesprotians, Molossians and
Molossian royalty
The Molossian ruling dynasty claimed to be descended from mythological
The most famed member of the Molossian dynasty was Pyrrhus, who became famous for his several Pyrrhic victories in battle over the Romans. According to Plutarch, Pyrrhus was the son of Aeacides of Epirus and a Greek woman from Thessaly named Phthia, the daughter of a war hero in the Lamian War. Pyrrhus was a second cousin of Alexander the Great. Moreover, Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, was a member of this celebrated sovereign house.
History
Molossian core
During the Late Bronze Age the Molossians were probably located over much of the central and western ranges of the
Molossian expansion
Molossians were also among the Greek colonists that reached the
The Epirotes were traditionally in friendly terms with the Corinthians, however in 5th century BC during the last decades of the reign of Tharyps, the Molossians adopted a pro-Athenian policy. This change had also its effects in trade.[19]
In 385 BC,
Unified Epirus
The ruling
In 334 BC, the time
In another Illyrian attack in 360 BC, the Molossian king
In 330 BC, upon Alexander the Molossian's death, the term "Epirus" appears as a single political unit in the ancient Greek records for the first time, under the leadership of the Molossian dynasty. Subsequently, the coinages of the three major Epirote tribal groups came to an end, and a new coinage was issued with the legend Epirotes.[27]
After Alexander's I death, Aeacides of Epirus, who succeeded him, espoused the cause of Olympias against Cassander, but was dethroned in 313 BC.
Reign of Pyrrhus
Aeacides's son
In 277 BC, Pyrrhus captured the Carthaginian fortress in Eryx, Sicily. This prompted the rest of the Carthaginian-controlled cities to defect to Pyrrhus.[29] His Italian campaign came to an end following the inconclusive Battle of Beneventum (275 BC). Having lost the vast majority of his army, he decided to return to Epirus, which finally resulted in the loss of all his Italian holdings. Because of his costly victories, the term "Pyrrhic victory" is often used for a victory with devastating cost to the victor.[30]
Koinon of the Epirotes
In 233 BC, the last surviving member of the Aeacid royal house, Deidamia, was murdered. Her death brought the Epirote royal family to an abrupt extinction and a federal republic was set up. The reasons for the swift fall of the Aeacid dynasty were probably complex. Aetolian pressure must have played a part, and the alliance with Macedonia may have been unpopular; in addition, there were perhaps social tensions.[31] However, Epirus remained a substantial power, unified under the auspices of the Epirote League as a federal state with its own parliament (or synedrion).[31]
In the following years, Epirus faced the growing threat of the expansionist
Culture
Language
There is today an overall consensus that the Molossians were among the Greek-speaking population of Epirus, which spoke the North-West Doric dialect of Ancient Greek, akin to that of Aetolia, Phocis, and certain other regions,[39][40] this is also attested by the available epigraphic evidence in Epirus.[41] Eugene Borza argues that the Molossians originated from those Proto-Greek tribes that inhabited northwestern Greece in c. 2.600 BC.[42] Linguist Vladimir Georgiev argues that northwestern Greece, including Molossia, was part of the proto-Greek region, before the Late Bronze Age migrations.[43] After the split of proto-Greek (c. 1700 BC) the northern Greek dialect was spoken in Epirus. Greek speech continued to be spoken in Epirus from the beginning of the Mycenaean period (c.1600) and onwards.[44] As such the Molossians were among the 32 known Greek tribes of the Mycenaean Age in particular after the split of Proto-Greek.[10] N. G. L. Hammond (1982) argues that the Molossians and other Epirote tribes spoke Greek at least from the Dark Ages (1100–800 BC).[45][46] The language the Epirotes spoke was regarded as a primitive Northwestern Greek dialect, but there was no question that it was Greek.[8]
Earlier historians (Nilsson (1909 and 1951), Meyer (1878)) argued for a possible partial Hellenization of pre-classical Epirus, with Greek elites ruling over a population of non-Greek origin. However, such views were based on subjective ancient testimonies and are not supported by the earliest epigraphic evidence.[47]
Society and views among Greeks
In modern research, the question of identity has arisen about what constituted the ancient Greek identity, with mode of life as the main criterion of ethnicity construction, regardless of what language they spoke. In each given historical era, the Molossians were regarded as "barbarians" by many contemporary Greeks, not on the basis of language, but because of their tribal way of life, their organization, and their pastoral economy. In this context, the Epirotes were more similar to the Macedonians and the non-Greek Illyrians than to those ancient Greeks who were organized in city-states.[48][8] A wider hellenization process among Molossians and other Epirotes continued after the Roman conquest,[49] nevertheless most scholars don't object the fact that they were Greek in terms of language.[40] In the view of Irad Malkin, following Hammond, Greek was spoken at least since the 5th century BC, and notes that it may have been the prestige language without the Molossians themselves necessarily being regarded as Greeks.[50] Moreover, Malkin specifies that they were Greek-speakers, though not universally regarded as "Greek" by other Greeks.[51] According to Johannes Engels, however, the way of life in Epirus was more archaic than that in the Corinthian and Corcyrean colonies on the coast, but there was never a discussion about their Greekness.[8]
The ancient historians and geographers did not follow the scientific methods of modern linguists, who record in detail the speech of the groups they study; their information was based, more rarely on personal experiences, and mostly on the impressions of each of their informants, who as a rule, had neither philological training nor particularly linguistic interests.
The oracle of Dodona was located in the center of the homeland of the Molossians, the Molossis, which has always been regarded as a Greek oracle, the latter being a well-established religious sanctuary of Zeus since at least the
Local Greek script
The first inscriptions come from Corinthian colonies or dedications to Dodona and are not representative of sites in Epirus, although some of the early Dodona tablets may be related to Epirus.[58][59] The first epigraphic evidence in Epirus outside of Dodona and the nearby colonies dates from the beginning of 4th century BC. The Molossian decrees issued during the reign of king Neoptolemos I (370–368 BC) display considerable experience in the use of Greek language. They used a Greek dialect which was not borrowed by nearby Corinthian colonies, but a distinct northwestern Greek dialect similar to Akarnanian, Aetolian and Lokrian, which also exhibited several unique features. Thus, the possibility of being borrowed is rejected.[60] Most inscriptions comes from the late Classical or the Hellenistic era, in which they were under influence from a northwestern Doric dialect also used by the adjacent populations.[61] The epigraphic corpus unearthed during the recent decades also yielded a great number of onomastics which is of Greek origin akin to the onomastic areas of Thessaly and Macedon. Based on these points the possibility of Greek being not the ancestral language among Epirotes can be easily rejected.[62]
Historian Elizabeth Meyer, in 2013 suggested a new chronology for some inscriptions in Dodona (from early 4th century to one century later), if accurate this would have larger implications about local history,[63][64][65] but not all historians will be convinced by the interpretations suggested in this account and further investigation is needed.[65]
Religion
In terms of religion they worshipped the same gods like the rest of the Greeks. No traces of non-Greek deities were found until the Hellenistic age (with the introduction of oriental deities in the Greek world). Their supreme deity was Zeus and the Oracle of Dodona found in the land of the Molossians attracted pilgrims from all over the Greek world. As with the rest of the Epirotes they were included in the thearodokoi catalogues where only Greeks were allowed to participate in Panhellenic Games and festivals.[66]
Mythological royal genealogy
In ancient Greece common descent was demonstrated thorough genealogies and foundation legends. As such the local royal household, the settlements and tribes traced their origin to Achaean mythical heroes of the Mycenaean era. Such genealogies were known and widely accepted in Ancient Greece at least from the end of the Archaic period, as demonstrated in the poems of Pindar (c. 518 – 438 BC) dedicated to the Achaean Neoptolemos.[67][68] As such, in order to increase their prestige, the ruling dynasty of the Molossians in classical antiquity constructed a prestigious genealogy going back to the Trojan War and then these names from the Trojan cycle were used for contemporary rulers of the dynasty like Neoptolemos and Pyrrhus of Epirus.
In the case of the Molossian ruling class, the philosopher who has been credited with much of the mythological construction of their origins is Proxenus of Atarneus (early 4th century BC).[69] This use of names from Iliad was contrary to ancient Greek name giving customs of classical antiquity in which names from the Iliad were not given to living people.[69] When the ruling class of the Molossians began to construct such a genealogy is unclear. The various theories place it chronologically from a post-Odyssey framework to the 5th century BC. The initial reasons for doing so are also debated.
The conflict with the Thessalian tribes to the east (who claimed similar mythological ancestry as the later Molossians) and the beginning of the Hellenization of the Molossians in the 5th century BC have been argued as contributing factors for these constructions.[70] An important point is that the function of this construction of a fictional genealogy by the ruling dynasty of the Molossians was not to Hellenize the ethnic origin of their people, but to heroize their house.[48] In this context, the purpose of the constructed genealogy was to provide the Molossian dynasty with a "cultural passport as Greeks" in their relations with other ruling houses.[71] These genealogical claims from the Molossian ruling dynasty were part of a planned effort by them in order to use elements of Greek culture for their own political ends in order to dominate in regional power struggles.[72]
Politics and offices
An inscription from the 4th century stated (referring to Alexander I of Epirus):[78]
When King was Alexandros when of Molossoi prostatas was Aristomachos Omphalas secretary was Menedamos Omphalas resolved by the assembly of the Molossoi; Kreston is benefactor hence to give citizenship to Kteson and descent line
The shrine of Dodona was used for the display of public decisions.[79] Despite having a monarchy, the Molossians sent princes to Athens to learn of democracy, and they did not consider certain aspects of democracy incompatible with their form of government.[80][81]
Symbols
The typical emblem inscribed on Molossian coins was the
List of Molossians
- Pyrrhus of Epirus (318–272 BC), most prominent Epirote king
- Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great
- Aeacid dynastytill 231 BC)
- Molossus, son of Neoptolemus and Andromache
- Alcon (6th century BC), suitor of Agariste of Sicyon
- Admetus, who gave asylum to Themistocles
- Eidymmas prostates, secretary Amphikorios gave citizenship το Philista, wife of Antimachos from Arrhonos, under King Neoptolemos I 370–368 BC[83]
- Tharyps, Epidauros 365 BC[84]
- Arybbas, winner in
- Aristomachos prostates secretary Menedamos gave citizenship to Simias of Apollonia, resident at Theptinon, under King Alexander I 342–330/329 BC.[86]
- Deidamia II of Epirus (died circa 233 BC), last surviving representative of the royal Aeacid dynasty
- Kephalos, Antinoos sided with Perseus against the Romans (Third Macedonian War) circa 170 BC[87]
Family tree of kings of Epirus
Family of Molossians | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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See also
- Chaonia
- Olympias
- Orestis (region)
- Invasion of Molossia
References
Citations
- ^ Borza 1992, pp. 62, 78, 98; Encyclopædia Britannica ("Epirus") 2013; Errington 1990, p. 43; Hammond 1998, p. 19; Hammond 1994, pp. 430, 433–434; Hammond 1982, p. 284; Wilkes 1995, p. 104.
- ^ Hornblower, Spawforth & Eidinow 2012, p. 966: "Molossi, common name of tribes forming a tribal state (koinon) in Epirus, which originated in northern Pindus including the Orestae, FGrH 1 F 107) and expanded southwards, reaching the Ambraciote Gulf (see AMBRACIA) c.370 BC."
- ^ Errington 1990, p. 43.
- ^ a b Plutarch. Parallel Lives, "Pyrrhus".
- ^ Liddell & Scott 1889: πελός.
- ^ Liddell & Scott 1889: πελιγᾶνες.
- ISBN 9789602133712.
The proposition, that the Molossian kings aroud 500 B.C. were descended from the grandfather of Achilles, Aiakos, born some 800 years earlier, was not doubted by writers of the Classical period.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4443-5163-7.
- ^ Douzougli & Papadopoulos 2010, p. 8
- ^ a b Katona, A. L. (2000). "Proto-Greeks and the Kurgan Theory" (PDF). The Journal of Indo-European Studies: 87.
The proto-Greeks split progressively... are known (Molosssians...).
- ^ Press, Cambridge University (1994). The Cambridge Ancient History: The fourth century B.C. Cambridge University Press. p. 433.
A very large cemetery, estimated to have a hundred tumuli, is being excavated at Koutsokrano in Pogoni, the homeland of the Molossian group of tribes.
- ISBN 9781785702327.
- S2CID 59130541. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ Hammond 1994, pp. 433
- ISBN 9789025610500.
- ^ Hammond 1967, p. 411: "The participation of Molossians in the Ionian migration (c. 1020 to 900 BC)".
- ^ Hammond, 1997, p. 55
- ^ Hammond, 1997, p. 56: "The Molossian expansion was at the expense of the Thesprotian group especially. The Chaonians may have lost some pastures, but they kept control of these on the greenstone formation which run from Grammos to the south-western side of the lakeland (by Moschopolis and Shipischa). They suffered losses too at the hands of the Taulantioi and the settlers at Apollonia, who captured the southern part of the coastal plain, the Malakastra."
- ISBN 9789602133712.
Thanks to their peaceful trade with the Molossians , the Epirotes were always friends of the Corinthians down to the last decades of the fifth century B . C . , when the king of the Molossoi , Tharyps , embarked upon a pro - Athenian policy .
- ^ Hammond 1986, p. 479.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus. Library, 15.13.1.
- ^ Hammond 1986, p. 470.
- ^ a b c Hammond 1994, p. 428.
- ^ Anson 2010, p. 5.
- ^ Hammond 1994, p. 438.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus. Library, 14.92, 15.2, 16.2.
- ^ Hammond 1994, p. 442.
- ^ Franke 1989, pp. 462–479 .
- ^ Franke 1989, pp. 477–480 .
- ^ Franke 1989, p. 468 .
- ^ a b Walbank 1984, p. 452 .
- ^ "Linear A and Linear B". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
- ^ Ziolkowski 1986, p. 79.
- ^ Ziolkowski 1986, p. 71.
- ^ Ziolkowski 1986, p. 80.
- ^ Ziolkowski 1986, p. 75.
- ^ Suha 2020, p. 31.
- ^ Filos 2017, p. 242.
- ^ Filos 2017, p. 224: "There is an overall consensus nowadays that the Greek-speaking population of Epirus, despite its fragmentation into major (Molossoi, Thesprotoi, Chaones) and minor... tribes, spoke a North-West Doric variety akin to that of the numerous neighboring populations of central and western Greece (Aettolia, Acarnania, Phocis, Doris, cf. also certain affinities with the dialects of Elis and Macedonia), even though there were obviously some inevitable local peculiarities... the contact with non-Greek populations (Illyrians) in the northern part of Epirus may have further boosted sub-dialectal variation in this part of the region at least (e.g. lexicon), although we lack any concrete evidence, especially outside the field of onomastics..."
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7156-3201-7.
We are left with the vexed question as to what language there Epirotes tribes spoke. Greek scholars, followed by most people in the West, would have them speaking Greek
- ^ Filos 2017, p. 221: "...the epigraphic evidence from the late Archaic period (6th – 5th c. BC) onwards indicates that the population of Epirus proper at least spoke a dialectal variety akin to the so-called ‘North-West (NW) Doric’ (or ‘North-West Greek’)..."
- ISBN 978-0-87661-519-5.
- ISBN 9789535172611.
The Proto Greek Region... Μολοσσία , Μολοττία , a derivative of the tribal name Μολοσσοί , and the personal name Μολοσσός ,
- ISBN 9781108758666.
- ISBN 978-1-108-47739-0.
"Proto-Greek has been located by Georgiev (1981) to northwestern Greece... around 2500 BC.
- ^ Hammond 1982, pp. 284, 285: "Greek speech of the tribes in Epirus should not be ascribed to the influence of the Greek colonies on the coast. Nowhere in fact did the Greek colonies convert the peoples of a large hinterland to Greek speech. If these tribes of the hinterland spoke Greek, it was because they had done so before the Dark Age. What we have seen in this chapter is the consolidation of the Greek-speaking in the north, which enable them to fulfill their future role of defending the frontiers of a city-state civilization and later of leading that civilisation into wider areas."
- ^ Filos 2017, p. 222: "...posited a possible (partial) Hellenization of pre-classical Epirus, with Greek elites ruling over non-Greek populations; cf. also Nilsson (1909) [...] Nonetheless, such views, which largely rely on subjective ancient testimonies, are not supported by the earliest (and not only) epigraphic texts.".
- ^ a b Douzougli & Papadopoulos 2010, p. 8 In terms of mode of life, moreover, the tribal Epirotes were more similar to Illyrians than they were to those Greeks dwelling in poleis.
- ISBN 1349051233.
- ^ Douzougli & Papadopoulos 2010, p. 7
- ISBN 978-0-520-92026-2.
In Epirus the peoples involved seem to have been Greek-speakers not universally regarded as "Greek" by other Greeks.
- ^ a b Hatzopoulos 1997, p. 141.
- ^ Hatzopoulos 1997, p. 140-141: "It is equally incontestable that the Epirote tribes practised the same religion as the other Greeks. The supreme god of the Epirotes was Zeus and his sanctuary at Dodona attracted believers from all over the Greek world. Foreign deities are not attested...The most convincing proof, however, that the Epirotes belonged firmly within the religious body of Greece, is provided by the catalogue of thearodokoi listing Greek cities and tribes to which the major hellenic sanctuaries sent theoroi to... only Greeks were allowed to, participate in the pan-hellenic games and festivals.
- ^ Filos 2017, p. 219
- ^ Davies 2002, p. 247.
- ISBN 978-1-78570-234-1.
In the centre of all this... real origin of the Greek were Epirote.
- ^ Hammond 1986, p. 77: "The original home of the Hellenes was 'Hellas', the area round Dodona in Epirus, according to Aristotle. In the Iliad it was the home of Achilles' Hellenes.".
- ^ Filos 2017, p. 233.
- ^ Filos 2017, p. 222: "..most epigraphic texts date to the late Classical/Hellenistic period i.e. to a time when the impact of a supraregional NW Doric koina was already felt, even though the Attic-Ionic koine eventually established itself in the region at a later time, i.e. in ca 1st c.AD.".
- ^ Hatzopoulos 1997, p. 141: “...date not from the end but from the beginning of the fourth century B.C.. And it is clear that the composers of the Molossian decrees incised "in the reign of Neoptolemos of Alketas between 370 and 368 already had a considerable experience in the use of Greek. Second, it was established that the dialect in which they are written is not, as we believed, the Doric of Corinth, but a north-west dialect, akin to others of the same family (Akarnanian, Aitolian, Lokrian etc.), but exhibiting several distinctive features that preclude the possibility of its being borrowed.“.
- ^ Filos 2017, p. 222.
- ^ Hatzopoulos 1997, p. 141: “The epigraphic evidence of recent decades has also yielded a vast number of personal names. There are not only purely Greek from the very... Indeed the affinities they reveal are not with the onomasticon of the Corinthian colonies, but with those of Macedonia and Thessaly. There is thus no longer any doubt that the ancestral speech of the inhabitants of Epirus was Greek.”.
- S2CID 231892260.
- ^ Smith, Philip (2014). "The Inscriptions of Dodona and a New History of Molossia. Heidelberger althistorische Beiträge und epigraphische Studien (HABES), 54". Bryn Mawr Classical Review.
- ^ S2CID 193681863.
The inscription was dated, by Cabanes, in the years before 330 / 328 BC, the last years of Alexander I.s reign. M. seems to trust in Hammond's restoration of the name of the king (Neoptolemus, Alexander's son) in the last line of the inscription: in fact, it is very unlikely (an unicum, in all epigraphic sources in Epirus) that the name of the king would be listed after the name of the prostatas and of the other officials (political, in common scholars' opinion, or religious, as M. suggests).
- ^ Hatzopoulos 1997, p. 140-141: "It is equally inconstestable that the Epirote tribes practised the same religion as the other Greeks. The supreme god of the Epirotes was Zeus and his sanctuary at Dodona attracted believers from all over the Greek world. Foreign deities are not attested...The most convincing proof, however, that the Epirotes belonged firmly within the religious body of Greece, is provided by the catalogue of thearodokoi listing Greek cities and tribes to which the major hellenic sanctuaries sent theoroi to... only Greeks were allowed to, participate in the pan-hellenic games and festivals.
- ISBN 978-0-19-927724-7.
- ^ Hatzopoulos 1997, p. 141: "Common descent was not demonstrated by anthropometric research or blood analysis, but by resource to genealogies and the foundation-legends of cities and tribes. And it is known that only the royal households but also the tribes and cities of Epirus traced their origin or their foundation to Achaian heroes of the Mycenaean period. These genealogies were known and accepted as early as the end of the Archaic period at the latest, and are projected in the work of Pindar as fully established and beyond dispute".
- ^ a b Douzougli & Papadopoulos 2010, p. 7 "Nilsson argues persuasively that the bold mythological inventions were due to Proxenos, who flattered the royal house with an unsurpassed and excessive abuse of mythology, and that apart from the native names of Tharyps and Arrybas "all other male members of the house have names take from the Trojan myth (...) This plundering of mythical names is contrary to the principles of Greek nomenclature in the classical age in which the heroic names were not given to living men. The whole story shows the overdone eagerness of a barbarian house to appear as heroic Greeks."
- ^ Douzougli & Papadopoulos 2010, p. 6
- ^ Davies 2002, p. 242.
- ^ Davies 2002, p. 237 In fact it was not Greek needs, ambitions or curiosity which eventually eliminated the barriers, so much as a calculated effort by the ruling dynasty of one Epeirote people, the Molossoi, to manoeuvre themselves into a position of predominance within the region. (..) One truck was cultural - to present themselves as Greek (with a Trojan War ancestry) to take from Greek culture what could be turned to political use, and to manipulate the Greek political process in their own interest as best they could.
- ^ Hammond 1967, pp. 507–508: "'They relate', says Plutarch in introducing Pyrrhus, 'that Tharyps was the first to become renowned, as he organized the states on a system of Greek customs, and rules and regulations of a humane kind' (Θαρρύπαν πρῶτον ἱστοροῦσιν Ἑλληνικοῖς ἔθεσι καὶ γράμμασι καὶ νόμοις φιλανθρώποις διακοσμήσαντα τὰς πόλεις ὀνομαστὸν γενέσθαι. (Plu. Ρ. 1)). ... It is probable that Tharyps was responsible for the kind of written rules and regulations which we find in the earliest known decrees of the Molossian state in 370–368 B.C. But the institutions were, of course, much earlier in origin.".
- ^ Horsley 1987, p. 243; Hornblower 2002, p. 199.
- ^ a b Pliakou, 2007, p.
- ^ Hammond 1994, p. 431.
- ^ Hammond 1994, pp. 431
- ^ Brock & Hodkinson 2000, p. 250.
- ^ Brock & Hodkinson 2000, p. 257.
- ^ Alcock & Osborne 2007, p. 392.
- ^ Brock & Hodkinson 2000, p. 256.
- ISBN 9789602133712.
Its emblem was the Molossian hound, and the issuing authority, the Molossoi, was inscribed around a Molossian shield and it was accompanied by a bronaze coinage which laster until c. 330 B.C.
- ^ Cabanes, L'Épire 534,1.
- ^ IG IV²,1 95 Line 31.
- ^ Woodbury 1979, pp. 95–133
- ^ Cabanes, L'Épire 540,4.
- ^ Smith 1844, p. 191: "ANTI'NOUS (Άντίνους), a chief among the Molossians in Epeirus, who became involved, against his own will, in the war of Perseus, king of Macedonia, against the Romans."
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The Molossian group was the leading power in the time of Hekataios. Its expansion may have begun early in the sixth century.
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