prevailing dialects were Eolic and Doric. The Illyrians followed the Greeks, mixing with them in the border-lands, and occupied most of northern and north-western Greece. The Illyrian language was Aryan, like the Greek. The Teutons came from the North and East. The old inhabitants preponderated on the shores and islands of the Mediterranean and of the Bay of Biscay, etc. The prevailing languages are Romanic. The Teutons preponderated in central Europe, Scandinavia and most of the British Islands. The prevailing languages are Teutonic. The Slavs followed the Teutons, mixing with them in the border lands, and occupied a large part of eastern Europe. The prevailing languages are Slavonic. Of the lands in which the old inhabitants preponderated, Attica, next to central Greece, corresponds to France next to central Europe. Euboea, Creta and other islands in the Egean to Italy and the islands in the Mediterranean. Corinthia, Sicyonia, Megaris, etc., between the Egean Sea and the Gulf of Corinth to Spain and Portugal between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Messenia corresponds in position to Ireland. Of the lands in which the invaders preponderated, Laconia, from its isolated position, corresponds to England and central Greece to Germany and central Europe, Thessalia and Epirus to Scandinavia, and Macedonia to Russia. The eastern shores of the Egean formed the borderland of the Old World as the Balkan peninsula forms that of the New. Although the shape of Europe is like that of Greece in general outline, it is very different in detail. Scandinavia is like Thessalia in some respects and like Epirus in others. The cities around the Isthmus of Corinth are, like Spain, between two seas, but not, like Spain, in contact with Asia or Africa. The topography of corresponding regions is not alike in every Laconia, although it is isolated like England, has no such sea-coast. If we can find how the history of each region differs from that of Greece and Europe in general, we may perhaps learn how much is due to such environment. case. The next step is to compare the general sequence of events in Greek and European history so as to classify them chronologically. |