Taulantiies.

Atlantis.(English)Atlantidou(old Greek),Atlantida(Latin)
Atlandtokde(Illyrian).
Lets talk about it.
Taulantiies.

The lost land that have intrigued and inspired so many people through centuries. Where is it ,did it really exist or was just a fiction. We will see about that later. But first of all I want to talk about a place called Durresi in Albania.
It is the most ancient city in the whole country. They said it was founded by Corcyrians and Corinthians 2700 years a go.A colony called Epidamnos.Then called by Romans Dyrrachiom.Well that is the official statement of the most important archeologist and historians of modern times. Durresi was founded by Greeks. OK. Lets talk about this. There is a bad perception about the term founded and colonized so I will try it to explain it. Founded means that a certain place or country was discovered and than populated by certain group of people in order of creating a new ethnic or nation group which later will be known as a new state or country. Colonizing is rather then other definition .A certain group of people taking the initiative of invading other lands in order of creating new dominions over others by oppressing them and then exploiting the resources of other unfortunate nations or ethnic groups.
Well that’s what happened with Epidamnos.(modern Durres).
This area was populated by ethnic groups different from Greeks such as Pelasgians and then Illyrians so many centuries a go before Greeks .The most known of them a certain ethnic group called Taulantii .The area was supposed to be called Taulantia.It is well known that in 350b.c the Taulantiies rebelled against Greeks and thanks to a well known leader Glaucus they kicked out Corcyrians and Corinthians out of Epidamnos.Glaucus proclaimed himself as king of Taulantiies.Let me remind you that Epidamnos was colonized around the 6th and 7th century b.c. So that it will be almost 3.5th centuries of occupations .Now that will be quite impossible that during this period a new nations or ethnic group can be borne or organize himself in such a manner that after 300 years of occupations they can have the chance of kicking out their masters or the invaders.
Unless this group was created many centuries a go .But someone will say “so what” the Taulantiies are the descendents of the old Corkyrians or Corinthians who fought against they mother nations in order to create a knew nations like the Americans did with England. Sure “you can be absolutely right “ I’ll say to you. But there is a catch .There is no Greek legacy at all in this area besides of that left by the invaders or colonizers. Sure that we can find tones of statutes made in Ancient Greece or Greeks scripts all over that area or ruins of Corinthians or Corcyrians style. But you will find so few Greeks elements in one of the most important criteria of the definitions of one nation or ethnic group. And that is my dear friend :the language. Americans(Latinos too) even after 500 years of the “discovery” of America speak the language of their mother nations. Such as English, Spanish or Portuguese.
But Taulantiies did not speak at all Greek. Their modern descendent do not speak at all too. They speak Albanian. The direct descendent language of Pellasgian-illyrian language.
So Greeks learned Illyrians. Well that’s another catch. It will be like an American of 17th centery learning native american language besides trying to exterminate them in order to steal their land.
Well someone did that in the movie “Dancing with wolves”, But you know that’s just a movie.
So in few words the Taulantiies were the native people of the area around Epidamnos and after 300 years of occupations they kicked out the invaders just at the precise moment when Plato was creating his dialogues. That is such a pretty coincidence isn’t it.