Genos
Encyclopedia
Genos (plural gene (γένη), "clan") was the ancient Greek
term for kind; race; family; birth; origin which identified themselves as a unit, referred to by a single name (see also Sanskrit "Gana
"). Most gene seem to have been composed of noble families—Herodotus uses the term to denote noble families—and much of early Greek politics seems to have involved struggles between gene. Gene are best attested at Athens
, where writers from Herodotus to Aristotle dealt with them.
Early modern historians postulated that gene had been the basic organizational group of the Dorian and Ionian tribes that settled Greece during the Greek Dark Ages
, but more recent scholarship has reached the conclusion that gene arose later as certain families staked a claim to noble lineage. In time, some, but not necessarily all, gene came to be associated with hereditary priestly functions.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
term for kind; race; family; birth; origin which identified themselves as a unit, referred to by a single name (see also Sanskrit "Gana
Gana
The word ' , in Sanskrit, means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, series, class" . It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims".In Hinduism, the s are attendants of Shiva...
"). Most gene seem to have been composed of noble families—Herodotus uses the term to denote noble families—and much of early Greek politics seems to have involved struggles between gene. Gene are best attested at Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, where writers from Herodotus to Aristotle dealt with them.
Early modern historians postulated that gene had been the basic organizational group of the Dorian and Ionian tribes that settled Greece during the Greek Dark Ages
Greek Dark Ages
The Greek Dark Age or Ages also known as Geometric or Homeric Age are terms which have regularly been used to refer to the period of Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean Palatial civilization around 1200 BC, to the first signs of the Greek city-states in the 9th...
, but more recent scholarship has reached the conclusion that gene arose later as certain families staked a claim to noble lineage. In time, some, but not necessarily all, gene came to be associated with hereditary priestly functions.