The
Dorians (; ,
Dorieis, singular ,
Dorieus) were one of the four major ethnic groups among which the
Hellenes (or Greeks) of
Classical Greece considered themselves divided (along with the
Aeolians,
Achaeans and
Ionians). They are almost always referred to as just "the Dorians", as they are in the earliest literary mention of them in
Odyssey, where they already can be found inhabiting the island of
Crete.