Aeolic Greek in the context of "Homer"

The Macedonians (Ancient Greek: Μακεδόνες, Makedónes) were an ancient tribe that lived on the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios in the northeastern part of mainland Greece. Essentially an ancient Greek people, they gradually expanded from their homeland along the Haliacmon valley on the northern edge of the Greek world, absorbing or driving out neighbouring non-Greek tribes, primarily Thracian and Illyrian. They spoke Ancient Macedonian, which is usually classified by scholars as a dialect of Northwest Doric Greek, and occasionally as a distinct sister language of Greek or an Aeolic Greek dialect. However, the prestige language of Macedon during the Classical era was Attic Greek, replaced by Koine Greek during the Hellenistic era. Their religious beliefs mirrored those of other Greeks, following the main deities of the Greek pantheon, although the Macedonians continued Archaic burial practices that had ceased in other parts of Greece after the 6th century BC. Aside from the monarchy, the core of Macedonian society was its nobility. Similar to the aristocracy of neighboring Thessaly, their wealth was largely built on herding horses and cattle.

Although composed of various clans, the kingdom of Macedonia, established around the 7th century BC, is mostly associated with the Argead dynasty and the tribe named after it. The dynasty, also known as the Temenid dynasty, was allegedly founded by Perdiccas I, descendant of the legendary Temenus of Argos, while the region of Macedon derived its name from Makedon, a figure of Greek mythology. Traditionally ruled by independent families, the Macedonians seem to have accepted Argead rule by the time of Alexander I (r. 498 – 454 BC). Under Philip II (r. 359 – 336 BC), the Macedonians are credited with numerous military innovations, which enlarged their territory and increased their control over other areas extending into Thrace. This consolidation of territory allowed for the exploits of Alexander the Great (r. 336 – 323 BC), the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire, the establishment of the diadochi successor states, and the inauguration of the Hellenistic period in West Asia, Greece, and the broader Mediterranean world. The Macedonians were eventually conquered by the Roman Republic, which dismantled the Macedonian monarchy at the end of the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) and established the Roman province of Macedonia after the Fourth Macedonian War (150–148 BC).

Homeric Greek is the form of the Greek language that was used in the Iliad, Odyssey, and Homeric Hymns. It is a literary dialect of Ancient Greek consisting mainly of an archaic form of Ionic, with some Aeolic forms, a few from Arcadocypriot, and a written form influenced by Attic. It was later named Epic Greek because it was used as the language of epic poetry, typically in dactylic hexameter, by poets such as Hesiod and Theognis of Megara. Some compositions in Epic Greek date from as late as the 5th century [AD], and it only fell out of use by the end of classical antiquity.

Thessaly (/ˈθɛsəli/ THESS-ə-lee; Greek: Θεσσαλία, romanized: Thessalía [θesaˈli.a]; ancient Thessalian: Πετθαλία, Petthalía) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia (Ancient Greek: Αἰολία, Aiolía), and appears in Homer's Odyssey.

Thessaly became part of the modern Greek state in 1881, after four and a half centuries of Ottoman rule. Since 1987 it has formed one of the country's 13 regions and is further (since the Kallikratis reform of 2011) sub-divided into five regional units and 25 municipalities. The capital of the region is Larissa. Thessaly lies in northern central Greece and borders the regions of Macedonia to the north, Epirus to the west, Central Greece to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the east. The Thessaly region also includes the Sporades islands.

Thessaly or Thessalia (Attic Greek: Θεσσαλία, Thessalía or Θετταλία, Thettalía) was one of the traditional regions of Ancient Greece. During the Mycenaean period, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, a name that continued to be used for one of the major tribes of Greece, the Aeolians, and their dialect of Greek, Aeolic.

The Thessalian League (Thessalian Aeolic: Κοινὸν τοῦν Πετθαλοῦν, Koinòn toûn Petthaloûn; Attic: Κοινὸν τῶν Θετταλῶν, Koinòn tôn Thettalôn; Ionic and Koine Greek: Κοινὸν τῶν Θεσσαλῶν, Koinòn tôn Thessalôn) was a koinon or loose confederacy of feudal-like poleis and tribes in ancient Thessaly, located in the Thessalian plain in Greece. The seat of the Thessalian League was Larissa.

The Aeolians (/iːˈoʊliənz/; Greek: Αἰολεῖς, Aioleis) were one of the four major tribes into which Greeks divided themselves in the ancient period (along with the Achaeans, Dorians and Ionians). They originated in the eastern parts of the Greek mainland, notably in Thessaly and Boeotia. By c. 1100 BC, the Aeolians began their early settlements on the west coast of Anatolia, known as Aeolis, comprising the territory between Troas and Ionia, as well as on the Aegean islands of Lesbos and Tenedos. A second round of Aeolian settlements took place during the 7th century. They spoke Aeolic, a dialect of Ancient Greek most famously known for its use by poets like Sappho and Alcaeus from Lesbos, and Corinna from Boeotia.

The Ionians (/aɪˈoʊniənz/; Greek: Ἴωνες, Íōnes, singular Ἴων, Íōn) were one of the traditional four major tribes of Ancient Greece, alongside the Dorians, Aeolians, and Achaeans. The Ionian dialect was one of the three major linguistic divisions of the Hellenic world, together with the Dorian and Aeolian dialects.

When referring to populations, "Ionian" defines several groups in Classical Greece. In its narrowest sense, the term referred to the region of Ionia in Asia Minor. In a broader sense, it could be used to describe all speakers of the Ionic dialect, which in addition to those in Ionia proper also included the Greek populations of Euboea, the Cyclades, and many cities founded by Ionian colonists. Finally, in the broadest sense it could be used to describe all those who spoke languages of the East Greek group, which included Attic.