The Ionians (/aoninz/; Greek: , nes, singular ,

n) were one of the four major tribes that the Greeks

considered themselves to be divided into during the ancient
period; the other three being the Dorians, Aeolians, and
Achaeans.[1] 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 the narrowest sense it
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 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.
The foundation myth which was current in the Classical
period suggested that the Ionians were named after Ion, son
of Xuthus, who lived in the north Peloponnesian region of
Aegilaus. When the Dorians invaded the Peloponnese they
expelled the Achaeans from the Argolid and Lacedaemonia.
The displaced Achaeans moved into Aegilaus (thereafter
known as Achaea), in turn expelling the Ionians from the
Aegilaus.[2] The Ionians moved to Attica and mingled with the
local population of Attica, and many later emigrated to the
coast of Asia Minor founding the historical region of Ionia.
Unlike the austere and militaristic Dorians, the Ionians are
renowned for their love of philosophy, art, democracy, and
pleasure - Ionian traits that were most famously expressed
by the Athenians.[3]

Name of the Ionians

Unlike "Aeolians" and "Dorians", "Ionians" appears in the
languages of different civilizations around the eastern
Mediterranean and as far east as the Indian subcontinent.
They are not the earliest Greeks to appear in the records;
that distinction belongs to the Danaans and the Achaeans.
The trail of the Ionians begins in the Mycenaean Greek
records of Crete. They also appear in Assyrian,

Etymology[edit]
The etymology of the word /o is uncertain.[26] Both
Frisk and Beekes isolate an unknown root, *Ia-, pronounced
*ya-.[27] There are, however, some theories:
From an unknown early name of an eastern Mediterranean
island population represented by Ha-nebu, an ancient
Egyptian name for the people living there.[28]
From ancient Egyptian 'iwn "pillar, tree trunk" extended
into iwnt "bow" (of wood?) and 'Iwntyw "bowmen,
archers."[29] This derivation is analogous on the one hand
to the possible derivation of Dorians and on the other
fits the Egyptian concept of "nine bows" with reference
to the Sea Peoples.
From a Proto-Indo-European onomatopoeic root *wi- or
*woi- expressing a shout uttered by persons running to
the assistance of others; according to Pokorny,
*Iawones would mean "devotees of Apollo", based on
the cry i pain uttered in his worship.[30]
From a Proto-Indo-European root *uiH-, meaning "power."[31]

Ionian language
In a landmark article of 1964[32] Vladimir Georgiev
summarized the relationship of the three main historical
dialects and gave an estimate of their chronology as follows.
Prior to the 20th century BC, three dialects of Greek existed:
Iawonic, Iawolic and Doric (Georgiev's names). Iawonic was
spoken in Attica, Euboea, East Boeotia and the
Peloponnesus.[further explanation needed]
In the 16th century BC, a new koin was formed from
Iawonic and Iawolic: the Mycenaean Greek language. It
persisted until about 1200, when it became the major source
of Arcado-Cyprian, with some Doric influence. The Ionians
taking up the tradition of epic poetry created Homeric
Greek. Ionian descends from Iawonic.

Pre-Ionic Ionians[edit]
The literary evidence of the Ionians leads back to mainland
Greece in Mycenaean times before there was an Ionia. The
classical sources seem determined that they were to be
called Ionians along with other names even then. This
cannot be documented with inscriptional evidence, and yet
the literary evidence, which is manifestly at least partially
legendary, seems to reflect a general verbal tradition.

Classical Ionia
During the 6th century BC, Ionian coastal towns, such as
Miletus and Ephesus, became the focus of a revolution in
traditional thinking about Nature. Instead of explaining
natural phenomena by recourse to traditional religion/myth,
the cultural climate was such that men began to form
hypotheses about the natural world based on ideas gained
from both personal experience and deep reflection. These
menThales and his successorswere called physiologoi,
those who discoursed on Nature. They were skeptical of
religious explanations for natural phenomena and instead
sought purely mechanical and physical explanations. They
are credited as being of critical importance to the
development of the 'scientific attitude' towards the study of
Nature.