According to the archaeological findings and the historical sources, in the area of Greece there were many tribes with different names, usually from the region in which they resided: Dorians, Aeolians, Fokies, Lokroi, Epirotic, Macedonians, Aeolians, Arcadians, Ionians. The evolutionary process had begun from the prehistoric times, when groups of people were crossing the sea from Crete and Asia Minor to mainland Greece and the Aegean islands. When the population of a group exceeded approximately the 100 members, the younger and bolder went further because in the group all people should know each other; it was necessary in order for society to function with graces and exchanges. The new group did not break the relationship with the previous one, they mated with them, exchanged products, cooperated to hunt large animals or to protect themselves from foreign invaders. Many groups together, with family and friendly ties, formed eventually a tribe.
Until the Trojan War, the various Greek tribes had not attempted anything together. As Thucydides wrote: "The weakness of the old days is proved by the fact that before the Trojan War nothing was done jointly in Greece”. After that war, a common name for all Greek tribes began to imprint national unity and to emphasize the contrast with the barbarian world. The word " Hellenes" emerged as the national name of those who were civilized, spoke Greek dialects, were organized around a sanctuary and worshiped the twelve Gods of Olympus. Hellas was originally the name of an area near Dodoni. Many centuries later, the Hellenes became known to the Romans as Graeci, from which the names of Greek(English), Grec (French) and Grieche (German) came.
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