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| | Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar |
 | | Corresponding to the chief divisions of the Greeks into Aeolians, Dorians, and Ionians (a division unknown to Homer), three groups of dialects are commonly distinguished: Aeolic, Doric, and Ionic, of which Attic is a sister dialect. |
 | | Doric: spoken in the Peloponnesus (except Arcadia and Elis), in several of the islands of the Aegean (Crete, Melos, Thera, Rhodes, etc.), in parts of Sicily and Southern Italy. |
 | | Aeolic: in the Lesbian lyric poets Alcacus and Sappho (600 B.C. Numerous Aeolicisms appear in epic poetry, and some in tragedy. |
| www.ccel.org /s/smyth/grammar/html/smyth_front_matter_uni.htm (1757 words) |
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