Aeolians, << ee OH lee uhnz, >> were a group of ancient Greeks who once lived in a large part of east-central Greece. Around 1000 B.C., other Greeks known as Dorians may have invaded Aeolian territory, and many Aeolians moved to the nearby islands of Lesbos and Tenedos and to the western coast of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). The coastal district where they settled was known as Aeolis. Some of the Aeolians probably organized themselves into a loose confederacy. The island of Lesbos became a minor trading center and the home of some renowned poets, the most famous of whom included Alcaeus and Sappho.
See also Achaeans ; Dorians ; Greece, Ancient (History) ; Ionians ; Sappho .
