Pelasios

Pelasios is a Greek name and an ethnonym associated with the Pelasgians, the pre-Hellenic inhabitants of the Aegean region. In ancient Greek literature, Pelasios is used both as an ethnonym for these peoples and as an eponymous figure in myth, sometimes described as a patriarch from whom the Pelasgians derived their name. In some mythological accounts, Pelasios (or Pelasgos) is presented as a founder or ancestral ancestor of the Pelasgians, with varying genealogies across authors.

The term Pelasgians appears prominently in classical sources such as Herodotus, Thucydides, and various geographers, who describe them as living in parts of Greece and the Aegean before or during early Hellenic settlement. The geographic range attributed to the Pelasgians ranges from Thessaly and the central Greek regions to coastal areas of the Aegean; however, the exact extent and interpretation of these reports are debated. In archaeology and early Greek studies, "Pelasgian" is used as a cultural label for certain prehistoric or proto-Greek traditions, especially in art, pottery, and architecture, though this labeling is often contested and not a precise historical ethnicity.

In modern usage, Pelasios serves as a masculine given name in Greece, reflecting the historical and mythological associations of the term. The word remains primarily of historical and literary interest, illustrating how ancient Greek authors described the pre-Hellenic past and its legacies in later Greek culture.