THE EARLY AGE OF GREECE VOL.I by W.Ridgeway 1901

THE HOMERIC DIALECT. 683
spite of conquests, remained a chief element in the population
of all Greece, whilst in Arcadia and Attica it had never been
subjugated. This race, both in Peloponnesus and upper
Greece, was known to the ancients as Pelasgian, and traditions
are not wanting which show that portions of this people had
from time to time gone forth from the mainland of Greece and
settled in all those regions, both in the east and west, where
Mycenean remains have come to light.
We therefore concluded that to the Pelasgian race must
be ascribed the culture revealed at Mycenae and on similar
sites.
Again, a comparison of the culture of the Mycenean period
with the descriptions of the dress and equipment of the
Achoans of the Homeric poems demonstrated wide and essential
differences, such as the disposal of the dead, the use of
iron, hauberks, helmets, and greaves of bronze, and round
shields. From this we inferred that the Homeric poems
belong to a latoi* period than that of the acropolis graves
of Mycenae, or in other words, whilst the Mycenean age was
that of Bi'ouze, the Homeric period
is the fully developed
li-oii
Age. l>ut, as the Acheans are desciibed as xanthochrous,
the difference in culture is due, not merely to difference in
time, ])ut to the fact of foi'eign conrpiest.
This led us to search for the region fi-om which the
Achcuiis had c()uie, and we then found not only that the
litcrar\- tradition pointed to Hpirus as the })art of (Ii'eece
where the\' had fii'st settled, but that the culture of the
arlv Iron Age of IJosuia, (Jai-iiiola., Styria, Sal/.buig and
U])per Italy revealed armour, wea))ons, and ornaments exactly
corresponding
to those d'/scribcd in Hoinei'.
Mui'eoNtr, we found that a faii'-haii'ed i-ace gi'eatei- in
stature than the nielaiiochrous Aegean ])eo])le
had there lircn
domiciled i''>v
long ages, and that fresh l)i)dies et' tall, t'air-han-ed
pcnplc fmni the shoi'es df the .\