Los dorios: su migración y su dialecto

Abstract

The author does not share Chadwick’s views about the presence of a «lower class» Proto-Dorian population in Mycenaean Peloponnesus. Archaeological data appear to be no obstacle against the traditional view of a post-Mycenaean Dorian migration from Northern to Southern Greece. Tradition and Myth are to be credited as reliable sources: the «Return of the Heraclidae» is in fact a true account for how and when the Dorian occupied Southern Greece. The so-called «différences dialectales» in Mycenaean cannot be interpreted as evidence of a proto-Doric speaking population: the «special» Mycenaean is by no means proto-Doric; between Mycenaean (and closely related dialects) and (proto-)Doric there are many early and late differences and divergent developments. It turns out quite difficult to believe that Mycenaean and Proto-Dorian met in the Peloponnesus. Differences should have been eliminated and, instead of two divergent developments, there should be expected a common development and only one. The author thinks that the τι > σι isogloss provides a decisive factor to invalidate Chadwick’s views.