Page:A general history for colleges and high schools (Myers, 1890).djvu/108

90 original inhabitants of the country. They were preceded by a people whom they called Pelasgians. Who these folk were is a matter of debate. Some think that the Pelasgians and Hellenes were kindred tribes, but that the Hellenes, possessing superior qualities, gradually acquired ascendency over the Pelasgians and finally absorbed them.

The Pelasgians were somewhat advanced beyond the savage state. They cultivated the ground, and protected their cities with walls. Remnants of their rude but massive masonry still encumber in places the soil of Greece.

The Hellenes.—The Hellenes were divided into four tribes; namely, the Ionians, the Dorians, the Achæans, and the Æolians.