On the Ancient HELLENES. 135 



" ground with their feet unwajhed. But whether we ought to 

 " call them Helli, as Pindarus does, or Selli, as they imagine 

 " the name ftands in Homer, the ambiguity of the orthogra- 

 " phy does not fuffer us to determine. Philochorus tells us, 

 " that the diftrict about Dodona, as well as that of Eubaea, was 

 " called He llopia : For Hesiod fpeaks thus: There is a certain 

 " place called Hellopia, diver/if ed with dales and meads. Here, in 

 " the utmojl corner, is built the city of far-famed Dodona.' 1 '' From 

 the concluding part of this quotation, it appears, that the coun- 

 try about Dodona was called Hellopia, as well as Hellas, which 

 are indeed names nearly of the fame import, as we hope to 

 make appear in the fequel. With refpect to the difference of 

 the terms Helli and Selli, we may obferve, that the confonants 

 h and s being both afpirates, are often ufed promifcuoufly in 

 different dialects, and that of confequence the Helli of Pindar 

 and the Selli of Homer were one and the fame people. 



From the above quotation it plainly appears, that the original 

 Hellas was a city in the neighbourhood of Dodona ; that the 

 diftrict where it flood was called Hellopia ; that the inhabitants 

 were called Helli and Selli; and that thefewere the minifters of the 

 temple there eflablifhed. The Theffalian Hellenes were a colo- 

 ny of the Dodoneans, who emigrated from that canton at a 

 very early period. The Pelafgi were at that time mafters both 

 of Theffaly and Epire. Under their protection the Helli erect- 

 ed the oracle of Dodona *. With them a numerous body of 

 thofe people found a fanctuary when expelled from Theffaly by 

 Deucalion and the Curetes j~ . It was then natural enough for 

 the fuperfluous numbers of the Epirotic Helli or Hellenes to 

 emigrate to Phthiotis in Theffaly, and to colonize a part of 

 that country, efpecially as it was fituated at no great diftance 

 from their native feat, and was then in the pofleffion of thefe 



very 



* Herod. Lib. ii. cap. 52. 



f Dion. Halic. Antiq. Rom. Lib.i. p. 13. Edit Steph. 



