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For the micronation of Molossia, see Republic of Molossia

Tribes of Epirus in antiquity

The Molossians (Greek: Μολοσσοί Molossoi) were an ancient Greek^[1] tribe that settled Epirus during Mycenaean times. On their northeast frontier they had the Chaonians and to their southern frontier the kingdom of the Thesprotians, to their north were the Illyrians. The Molossians were part of the League of Epirus until they were annexed into the Roman Empire and 150,000 of its inhabitants were enslaved.

According to the Greek myth, they were the descendants of Molossus, one of the three sons of Neoptolemus, son of Achilles and Deidamea. Following the sack of Troy, Neoptolemus and his armies settled in Epirus where they joined the local population.

Molossus inherited the kingdom of Epirus after the death of Helenus, son of Priam and Hecuba of Troy, who had married his erstwhile sister-in-law Andromache after Neoptolemus' death.

Plutarch tells us that according to some historians their first king was Phaethon, one of those who came into Epirus with Pelasgus. Plutarch also says, that Deucalion and Pyrrha, having set up the worship of Zeus at Dodona, settled there among the Molossians.^[2]

Strabo tells us that the Molossians, along with the Chaonians and Thesprotians, were the most famous among the fourteen tribes of Epirus, who once ruled over the whole Region - the Chaonians earlier and later the Thesprotians and Molossians. Plutarch^[3] tells us that the Thesprotians, the Chaonians and the Molossians were the three principal clusters of Greek-speaking^[4] tribes that had emerged from Epirus and were the most powerful among all other tribes.

The Molossians were also renowned for their vicious hounds, which were used by shepherds to guard their flocks. This is where the canine breed Molossoid, native to Greece, got its name. Virgil tells us that in ancient Greece the heavier Molossian dogs were often used by the Greeks and Romans for hunting (canis venaticus) and to watch over the house and livestock (canis pastoralis). "Never, with them on guard," says Virgil, "need you fear for your stalls a midnight thief, or onslaught of wolves, or Iberian brigands at your back."

Strabo records that the Thesprotians, Molossians, and Macedonians referred to old men as pelioi and old women as peliai (<PIE *pel-, 'grey'). Cf. Ancient Greek peleia, "pigeon", so-called because of its dusky grey color. Ancient Greek pelos meant "grey".^[5]

The most famed member of the Molossian dynasty was Pyrrhus, who became famous for his Pyrrhic victory over the Romans. According to Plutarch Pyrrhus was the son of Aeacides of Epirus and a Greek lady from Thessaly named Phthia, the daughter of a war hero in the Lamian War. Pyrrhus was a second cousin of Alexander the Great.

• Chaonians
• Chaonia
• Thesprotians
• Olympias
• Pyrrhus