8-1 DORIANS Migrations During the Dark Age of Ancient Greece

Migrations During the Dark Age of Ancient Greece

the Dorian Invasion

According to the great Archaic Age poet and mythographer Hesiod, there was a steady decline from an original Age of Gold, to Silver, Bronze, Heroic, and finally, the then current Age of Iron. The Dorian migration occurred during the Heroic Age. The Greeks claimed heroes as founders for all their most important cities. Perseus, for instance, was founder of Mycenae, in the Peloponnesus; Theseus was the heroic founder of Athens. In the ancient version of events, the Dorian Invasion meant the Heraclides, descendants of Hercules of Heracles (and Perseus), swept southward to reclaim land rightfully theirs. They attacked all the areas and cities of the Peloponnesus, except Arcadia. They accomplished their conquest of the area within 3 generations.

The Dorian people are traditionally acknowledged as the conquerors of the Peloponnese (in the period 1100-1000 Bc).   the Dorians were thought to have gained their name from Doris, a small district in central Greece. According to this tradition, the sons of Heracles, the Heraclidae, were driven from their homeland in the Peloponnese by Eurystheus of Mycenae. The Heraclidae took refuge with Aegimius, the king of Doris. Several generations later, the Heraclid brothers Temenus, Aristodemus, and Cresphontes led the "Dorians" back in a successful invasion of the Peloponnese and thus recovered their heritage.