Pelasgian was a term given by the Greek writers to the nations believed to be the ancestors of the present-day Greeks. The term Pelasgian is believed to have been derived from Greek that could mean “from the sea”, “hairy”, or “springing from the earth.” Thus pointing to the “the sea men” or “Sea People” that not only live in the sea but were also hairy and aboriginal. They appear on the Bible Timeline Poster beginning in 1700 BC
They were thought to be the predecessor of the Dorians in Peloponnesus. Others believed that they were the forefathers of the Hellenes, the ancestors of the Greeks.
Pelasgians flourished both in the land and sea. It is believed that they worshipped the goddess Hera. They were good carpenters improving the traditional huts by using huge stones as the foundation and base making them more stable and comfortable.
At its peak, its power and influence was thought to have covered a huge portion of Europe, Asia, and Africa. But its important history is shadowed by numerous legends and myths.
They had been ruled by kings whom they worshipped and honoured as deities. The Pelasgians saw their kings as gods who came down to earth from the sky. As a way to honour these kings, they built temples and altars where they offered their sacrifices.
The most popular character of the Pelasgian myth was the great Eurynome who was called “The Goddess of All Things” as she was the great goddess who created everything from the sky to the earth. She was the daughter of chaos and her first major accomplishment was when she was able to split the water and the sky. The name Eurynome could mean “wide wandering” and from her sprung out the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, the earth, among all other living things.
Pelasgia: Home of the Pelasgians
Pelasgia was the area dwelt in by the ancient nation of Pelasgians. It was a town under the territory of Phthiotis, Greece until 2011 when the local administration was reformed and it became a municipality unit of the city of Stylida.
Pelasgians were thought to be a group of people that came from the north, entered into Peloponnesus and inhabited the lands around the east of Mediterranean and also Sicily, Lampedusa, etc.
They were the ancient dwellers of the Aegean Sea. There were also accounts saying that a huge portion of Greece was occupied by the Pelasgians before it was Hellenized pointing to the Ionians of the 5th century BC. But the languages or dialects they used were referred to as barbaric by the later Greeks.
Modern day excavations in the ancient cities inhabited by the Pelasgians such as Thessaly, Attica, and Lemnos reveal the things believed to have belonged to the Pelasgians.
There are also ruins of a rural community thought to be inhabited by the Larista Kremaste that was settled around 4th or 5th centuries BC up until the early Byzantine period. The boundary walls were still standing and there were mosaics believed to be belonging to an ancient Christian basilica unearthed just along the shoreline. It was known as the city of Gardiki up until 1927 when its name was changed to Pelasgia. The name Pelasgia was inspired from the accounts of Homer when he talked about an ancient nation called Pelasgians that occupied the area during prehistoric times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelasgia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelasgians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelasgia,_Phthiotis
http://www.paleothea.com/Myths/Eurynome.html
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/pelasgians.html
http://www.pelasgians.org/website6/34_01.htm
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Pelasgic
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