Achaeans (Homer)

Achaeans (Homer)

The Achaeans (Ancient Greek: Ἀχαιοί, Akhaioí) is one of the collective names used for the Greeks in Homer's Iliad (used 598 times) and Odyssey. The other names are the Danaans (Δαναοί, Danaoi used 138 times in the Iliad), Argives (Ἀργεῖοι, Argeioi used 182 times in the Iliad) while Hellenes (Ἕλληνες, Hellenes) was used only once. In the historical period, the Achaeans were the inhabitants of the region of Achaea, a region in the north central part of the Peloponnese. The city states of this region later formed a confederation known as the Achaean League which was influential during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.

Read more about Achaeans (Homer):  Homeric Versus Later Use, Hittite Documents, Egyptian Sources, Greek Mythology