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Smaller history of Greece From the earliest times to the Roman conquest (Large Print Edition)
Smaller history of Greece From the earliest times to the Roman conquest - Large Print Edition Author:William Smith Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: formed a single state, and its different towns recognized Athens as their capital and the source of supreme power; but this is an exception to the general rule. ... more »Thebes was ever vainly seeking a similar supremacy in Boeotia. NYMPH OLYMPIA EAGLE IN WREATH Coin of Elis CHAPTER IV EARLY HISTORY OF PELOPOXNESUS AND SPARTA The Legend of the Dorian Invasion—The history of Peloponnesus begins with the invasion by the Dorians. These people had no share in the glories of the Heroic age ; their name does not occur in the Iliad, and they are only once mentioned in the Odyssey ; but they were destined to form in historical times one of the most important elements of the Greek nation. Issuing from their mountain district between Thessaly, Locris, and Phocis, they overran the greater part of Peloponnesus, destroyed the ancient Achaean monarchies, and expelled or reduced to subjection the original inhabitants of the land, of which they became the undisputed masters. This brief statement contains all that we know for certain respecting this celebrated event, which the ancient writers placed eighty years after the Trojan war (1104 B.c.). The legendary account of the conquest of Peloponnesus ran as follows: The Dorians were led by the Heraclidae, or descendants of the mighty hero Heracles. Hence this migration is called the Return of the Heraclidae. The children of Heracles had long been fugitives upon the face of the earth. They had made more than one attempt to regain possession of the dominions in Peloponnesus, which rightfully belonged to their great sire,but hitherto without success. In their last attempt Hyllus, the son of Heracles, had perished in single combat with Echemus of Tegea; and the Heraclidae had become bound by a solemn compact to renounce their enterprise for a h...« less