Editing Pelasgians (section)

== Language ==
{{see also|Pre-Greek substrate}}
In the absence of certain knowledge about the identity (or identities) of the Pelasgians, various theories have been proposed. Some of the more prevalent theories supported by scholarship are presented below. Since Greek is classified as an [[Indo-European language]], the major question of concern is whether Pelasgian was an Indo-European language.

=== Reception ===
The theory that Pelasgian was an Indo-European language, which "fascinated scholars" and concentrated research during the second part of the 20th century, has since been critiqued; an emerging consensus among modern linguists is that the [[Stratum (linguistics)|substrate language]] spoken in the southern [[Balkans]] was [[Pre–Indo-European languages|non-Indo-European]].{{Sfn|Beekes|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bomIBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 1]}} García-Ramón remarked that {{qi|the attempt to determine phonological rules for an Indo-European pre-Greek language ('Pelasgian') [...] is considered a complete failure today}},{{Sfn|García-Ramón|2004|pp=999–1000}} while Beekes (2018) notes that {{qi|one of the demerits of Georgiev's Pelasgian theory was that it drew attention away from the Pre-Greek material itself}}, concluding that {{qi|the search for Pelasgian was an expensive and useless distraction.}}{{Sfn|Beekes|2018|loc="109. Pelasgian", pp. 1873–1874}} However, Biliana Mihaylova finds no contradiction between {{qi|the idea of [an] Indo-European Pre-Greek substratum}} and {{qi|the possibility of the existence of an earlier non-Indo-European layer in Greece}} given certain Pre-Greek words possessing Indo-European {{qi|pattern[s] of word formation.}}{{Sfn|Mihaylova|2012|pp=80–81}}

=== Pelasgian as Indo-European ===
==== Greek ====
[[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]] argued that the Pelasgians spoke [[Greek language|Greek]] based on the fact that areas traditionally inhabited by the "Pelasgi" (i.e. Arcadia and Attica) only spoke Greek and the few surviving Pelasgian words and inscriptions (i.e., Lamina Borgiana,<ref>An inscription discovered in Calabria in 1785 and preserved in Cardinal Borgia's collection at Velletri, discussed in Luigi Lanza, ''Saggio di lingua Latina e altri antichi d'Italia'', vol. I, 2nd ed. Florence 1824.</ref> Herodotus 2.52.1) betray Greek linguistic features despite the classical identification of Pelasgian as a [[barbarian]] language.<ref>{{harvnb|Lytton|1837|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=-E4EAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA5 5–8]}}.</ref> According to Thomas Harrison of [[Saint Andrews University]], the Greek etymology of Pelasgian terms mentioned in Herodotus such as ''θεοί'' (derived from ''θέντες'') indicates that the {{qi|Pelasgians spoke a language at least 'akin to' Greek}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Harrison|1998|pp=25–26: "Herodotus' account, for example, of the adoption by the Pelasgians of the names of the gods (2.52.1) suggests a much closer relationship between the Pelasgian and Greek languages. Before they heard the names of the gods, the Pelasgians (assuming, interestingly, the existence of a number of gods) called them simply θεοί, on the grounds that they had 'established (θέντες) all affairs in their order'. This etymology, advanced apparently in all seriousness, seems to suggest that the Pelasgians spoke a language at least 'akin to' Greek."}}</ref> According to French classical scholar [[Pierre Henri Larcher]], if this linguistic affiliation is true, then it proves that the Pelasgians and the Greeks were the same people.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Larcher |first=Pierre-Henri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdzfAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA54 |title=Notes on Herodotus: Historical and Critical Comments on the History of Herodotus, with a Chronological Table |date=1844 |publisher=Whittaker |pages=54 |language=en |quote=If this affiliation of language be admitted, then the Pelasgians and Greeks were of the same race.}}</ref>

==== Anatolian ====
In western Anatolia, many [[toponym]]s with a "-ss-" [[suffix]] derive from the adjectival suffix also seen in [[cuneiform]] [[Luwian language|Luwian]] and some [[Palaic language|Palaic]]; the classic example is [[Bronze Age]] [[Tarhuntassa]] (loosely meaning "City of the Storm God Tarhunta"), and later [[Parnassus]] possibly related to the Luwian word ''parna-'' or "house". These elements have led to a second theory that Pelasgian was to some degree an [[Anatolian language]], or that it had areal influences from Anatolian languages.{{Sfn|Finkelberg|2006}}

==== Thracian ====
[[Vladimir I. Georgiev]], a Bulgarian linguist, asserted that the Pelasgians spoke an Indo-European language and were, more specifically, related to the [[Thracians]].{{Sfn|Georgiev|1961}}{{pn|date=December 2022}}{{Sfn|Georgiev|1977}}{{pn|date=December 2022}} Georgiev also proposed, relying on a sound-shift model, that ''pelasgoi'' was a cognate of a [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root and Greek Πέλαγος ''pelagos'' "sea".{{cn|date=December 2022}}

Georgiev also suggested that the Pelasgians were a sub-group of the Bronze Age [[Sea People]]s and identifiable in Egyptian inscriptions as the [[exonym]] PRŚT or PLŚT.{{cn|date=July 2024}} However, this Egyptian name has more often been read as [[Peleset]], a cognate of a Hebrew exonym, פלשת ''Peleshet'' (Pəlešeth) – that is, the Biblical [[Philistines]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Killebrew |first=Ann E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VtAmmwapfVAC |title=Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity: An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, and Early Israel, 1300–1100 B.C.E. |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |year=2005 |isbn=1-58983-097-0 |location=[[Atlanta]] |page=202}}</ref>

==== Albanian ====
{{See also|Origins of the Albanians#Obsolete hypotheses|Albanian nationalism|}}
In 1854, an [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]n diplomat and [[Albanian language]] specialist, [[Johann Georg von Hahn]], identified the Pelasgian language with [[Proto-Albanian]].{{Sfn|Hahn|1854|loc=IV. Sind Die Albanesen Autochthonen?, pp. 211–279}} This theory is not supported by any scientific evidence, and is seen as a myth by modern scholars.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mackridge |first=Peter |date=2007–2008 |title=Aspects of language and identity in the Greek peninsula since the eighteenth century |magazine=[[The Newsletter of the Society Farsharotu]] |publisher=[[Society Farsharotu]] |pages=16–17 |volume=XXI & XXII |issue=1 & 2 |quote=Soon after this the "Pelasgian theory" was formulated, according to which the Greek and Albanian languages were claimed to have a common origin in Pelasgian, while the Albanians themselves are Pelasgians and hence come from the same ethnological stock as the Greeks. The "Pelasgian theory" began to take shape in the 1850s and 1860s and became widespread in the 1870s. ... Needless to say, there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support any of these theories.}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Schwandner-Sievers|Fischer|2002}}; Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers and [[Bernd Jürgen Fischer]], editors of ''Albanian Identities: Myth and History'', present papers resulting from the London Conference held in 1999 entitled "The Role of Myth in the History and Development of Albania." The "Pelasgian" myth of Albanians as the most ancient community in southeastern Europe is among those explored in Noel Malcolm's essay, "Myths of Albanian National Identity: Some Key Elements, As Expressed in the Works of Albanian Writers in America in the Early Twentieth Century". The introductory essay by Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers establishes the context of the "Pelasgian Albanian" mythos, applicable to Eastern Europe generally, in terms of the longing for a stable identity in a rapidly opening society.</ref>

==== Undiscovered Indo-European ====
Albert Joris Van Windekens (1915–1989) offered rules for an unattested hypothetical Indo-European Pelasgian language, selecting vocabulary for which there was no Greek etymology among the names of places, heroes, animals, plants, garments, artifacts and social organization.{{Sfn|Van Windekens|1952}}{{Sfn|Van Windekens|1960}} His 1952 essay ''Le Pélasgique'' was skeptically received.<ref>As, for example, in Gordon Messing's extended review, criticizing point-by-point, in ''Language'' '''30'''.1 (January–March 1954), pp. 104–108.</ref>

=== Pelasgian as pre-Indo-European ===
==== Unknown origin ====
{{main article|Dorian invasion#Kretschmer's external Greeks}}
One theory uses the name "Pelasgian" to describe the inhabitants of the lands around the [[Aegean Sea]] before the arrival of [[Proto-Greek]] speakers, as well as traditionally identified enclaves of descendants that still existed in classical Greece. The theory derives from the original concepts of the [[philology|philologist]] [[Paul Kretschmer]], whose views prevailed throughout the first half of the 20th century and are still given some credibility today.

Though [[Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff|Wilamowitz-Moellendorff]] wrote them off as mythical, the results of archaeological excavations at [[Çatalhöyük]] by [[James Mellaart]] and Fritz Schachermeyr led them to conclude that the Pelasgians had migrated from Asia Minor to the Aegean basin in the [[4th millennium BC]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schachermeyr|1976}}; {{harvnb|Mellaart|1965–1966}}; {{harvnb|Mellaart|1975|loc="Southeastern Europe: The Aegean and the Southern Balkans"}}.</ref> In this theory, a number of possible non-Indo-European linguistic and cultural features are attributed to the Pelasgians:
* Groups of apparently non-Indo-European loan words in the [[Greek language]], borrowed in its prehistoric development.
* Non-Greek and possibly non-Indo-European roots for many Greek toponyms in the region, containing the consonantal strings "-'''nth'''-" (e.g.,{{nbs}}[[Corinth]], [[Probalinthos]], [[Zakynthos]], [[Amarynthos]]), or its equivalent "-ns-" (e.g.,{{nbs}}[[Tiryns]]); "-'''tt'''-", e.g.,{{nbs}}in the peninsula of [[Attica]], Mounts [[Hymettus]] and [[Penteli|Brilettus/Brilessus]], [[Lycabettus]] Hill, the [[deme]] of Gargettus, etc.; or its equivalent "-'''ss'''-": [[Larissa]], Mount [[Parnassus]], the river names [[Cephissus (Athenian plain)|Kephissos]] and [[Ilissos]], the Cretan cities of [[Amnisos|Amnis(s)os]] and [[Tylissos]] etc. These strings also appear in other non-Greek, presumably substratally inherited nouns such as ''asáminthos'' (bathtub), ''ápsinthos'' ([[absinth]]), ''terébinthos'' ([[Pistacia terebinthus|terebinth]]), etc. Other placenames with no apparent Indo-European etymology include ''Athēnai'' ([[Athens]]), ''Mykēnai'' ([[Mycene]]), [[Messene|Messēnē]], ''Kyllēnē'' ([[Kastro-Kyllini|Cyllene]]), [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]], [[Mytilene]], etc. (note the common '''-ēnai/ēnē''' ending); also [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]], [[Delphi]], [[Lindos]], [[Rhamnus (Greek archaeological site)|Rhamnus]], and others.<ref>{{harvnb|Beekes|2009}}.</ref>
* Certain [[mythology|mythological]] stories or deities that seem to have no parallels in the mythologies of other Indo-European peoples (e.{{nbs}}g., the Olympians [[Athena]], [[Dionysus]], [[Apollo]], [[Artemis]], and [[Aphrodite]], whose origins seem [[Anatolia]]n{{Clarification needed|reason=Anatolian peoples are mostly Indo-European, so why would Anatolian connections indicate a non-Indo-European origin?|date=June 2024}} or [[Levant]]ine).{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}
* Non-Greek inscriptions in the Mediterranean, such as the [[Lemnos stele]].

The historian [[George Grote]] summarizes the theory as follows:{{Sfn|Grote|1862|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=iikrVUCRZeMC&pg=PA43 43–44]}}
{{quote|There are, indeed, various names affirmed to designate the ante-Hellenic inhabitants of many parts of Greece{{snd}}the Pelasgi, the [[Leleges]], the [[Curetes (tribe)|Curetes]], the [[Caucones|Kaukones]], the [[Aonia|Aones]], the Temmikes, the [[Hyas|Hyantes]], the [[Telchines]], the Boeotian [[Thrace|Thracians]], the Teleboae, the Ephyri, the [[Phlegyas|Phlegyae]], &c. These are names belonging to legendary, not to historical Greece{{snd}}extracted out of a variety of conflicting legends by the [[logographer (history)|logographers]] and subsequent historians, who strung together out of them a supposed history of the past, at a time when the conditions of historical evidence were very little understood. That these names designated real nations may be true but here our knowledge ends.}}

The poet and mythologist [[Robert Graves]] asserts that certain elements of that mythology originate with the native Pelasgian people (namely the parts related to his concept of the [[White Goddess]], an [[archetype|archetypical]] [[Goddess|Earth Goddess]]) drawing additional support for his conclusion from his interpretations of other ancient literature: Irish, [[Literature of Wales (Welsh language)|Welsh]], Greek, [[Bible|Biblical]], [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]], and [[Middle Ages|medieval]] writings.<ref>{{harvnb|Graves|1990|loc=Volume 1}}. Graves also imaginatively reconstructs a "[[Pelasgian creation myth]]", which involves a creatrix "[[Eurynome]]" and a serpent "[[Ophion]]".</ref>

==== Minoan ====
According to the Russian historian and linguist [[Igor M. Diakonoff]], the Pelasgians may have been related to the [[Minoan civilization|Minoans]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Diakonoff |first=I. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JU8pegs94uoC&pg=PA317 |title=Early Antiquity |date=28 June 2013 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-14467-2 |page=317 |language=en}}</ref> A number of scholars consider Minoan to be essentially the same language as Pelasgian.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Millar |first=R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGKJDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |title=Authority and Identity: A Sociolinguistic History of Europe before the Modern Age |date=21 July 2010 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-230-28203-2 |page=39 |language=en |quote=In the Greek islands and possibly also the Peloponnese were speakers of a language scholars sometimes call Minoan, after the great civilization associated with Crete in the second millennium BCE, or Eteo-Cretan. It is probably the language of the Minoan A script, which has largely escaped deciphering. A number of scholars consider this to be essentially the same language as Pelasgian.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Budin |first=Stephanie Lynn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HzeJbz7ybAMC&pg=PA404 |title=The Ancient Greeks: An Introduction |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-537984-6 |pages=404 |language=en}}</ref>

==== Ibero-Caucasian ====
Some [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] scholars (including R. V. Gordeziani, M. G. Abdushelishvili and Z. Gamsakhurdia) connect the Pelasgians with the [[Caucasian Iberians|Ibero-Caucasian]] peoples of the prehistoric [[Caucasus]], known to the Greeks as [[Colchians]] and [[Caucasian Iberians|Iberians]].{{Sfn|Gordeziani|1985}}{{Sfn|Kaigi|1969|loc=M. G. Abdushelishvili, "The Genesis of the Aboriginal Population of the Caucasus in the Light of Anthropological Data"}} According to [[Stephen F. Jones]], these scholars portray Georgia as a source of spirituality in the Greek world by {{qi|manipulating Greek and Roman sources in a highly dubious manner}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Stephen F. |author-link=Stephen F. Jones |title=Memory, History and Opposition: Under State Socialism |date=1994 |publisher=[[School for Advanced Research|School of American Research Press]] |isbn=978-0-85255-902-4 |editor-last=Watson |editor-first=Rubie S. |page=163 |language=en |chapter=Old Ghosts and New Chains: Ethnicity and Memory in the Georgian Republic |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m6h-5l2anLgC&pg=PA163}}</ref>