Chapter 47 - Genealogy of Locrians

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Create:2023.5.26, Update:2025.8.2

1 Introduction
In 1750 BC, a great flood occurred in the upper reaches of the Cephisus River, north of Mount Parnassus.
The Ectenes, led by Ogygus, migrated downstream of the Cephisus River and settled southeast of Lake Copais. [1]
In 1580 BC, a group of Ectenes, led by the grandfather of Hellen's father, Deucalion, migrated north from Boeotia due to pressure from other tribes, including the Hyantes. Deucalion founded Pyrrha (later Melitaea) near the source of the Enipeus River, which flows from the south into the Peneius River in northern Thessaly. [2]
Deucalion had two sons, Hellen and Amphictyon. [3]
Hellen ruled Phthiotis, and the people of that region were called Hellenes or Hellas. [4]
Hellen had three sons: Aeolus, Xuthus, and Dorus. [5]
In 1460 BC, Dorus moved from Melitaea down the Enipeus River, north of its confluence with the Peneius River. The region became known as Doris, and its inhabitants as Dorians. [6]
In 1420 BC, a large group led by Cadmus traveled south from Thracia and invaded Thessaly. Dorus, who lived in Doris, led the Dorians south and settled between Mount Oeta and Mount Parnassus. [7]
The region became known as Doris. [8]

2 Deucalion, son of Dorus
Although only one son, Tectamus, is known of Dorus, son of Hellen, he likely also had a son named Deucalion. This likely refers to Deucalion, the father of those who expelled the Pelasgians from Thessaly in 1390 BC. [9]
In 1415 BC, Deucalion migrated from Doris, between Mount Oeta and Mount Parnassus, to the eastern coast and settled near the Gulf of Opus. [10]
Deucalion was the first Greek to live in Locris and the progenitor of the Locrians.
Deucalion had four sons: Marathonius, Amphictyon, Pronous, and Orestheus, and two daughters: Protogenia and Thyia. [11]
In 1413 BC, Protogenia married Aeolus, son of Hippotes, who lived in Arne, Thessaly, from near the Gulf of Opus. [12]
In 1387 BC, Thyia married Aeolus, son of Hippotes, who lived in Arne, Thessaly, from near the Gulf of Opus. [13]

3 Marathonius, son of Deucalion
In 1407 BC, Marathonius sided with Argos in the war against Sicyon and married Chrysorthe, daughter of Orthopolis of Sicyon. [14]
Marathonius is included in the list of kings of Sicyon given by the 2nd-century BC chronicler Castor. [15]
However, this was because Marathonius was the son-in-law of Orthopolis, king of Sicyon. The actual kings of Sicyon were descendants of Sisyphus, son of Aeolus. [16]

4 Amphictyon, son of Deucalion
In 1410 BC, Amphictyon migrated northwest from the Gulf of Opus to the coast near Thermopylae and founded Antheia (or Anthela). [17]
Amphictyon married Chthonopatra and had two sons, Itonus and Aetolus. [18]

4.1 Itonus, son of Amphictyon
4.1.1 Foundation of Itonus
In 1392 BC, Itonus migrated from Antheia to the west coast of the Pagasetic Gulf in Thessaly and founded Itonus. [19]
Shorterly before, Athamas, son of Aeolus, had founded Halus near Itonus. [20]
Itonus was the son of Amphictyon, son of Deucalion, son of Dorus, brother of Athamas's father, Aeolus. Thus, Athamas was a cousin of Itonus' grandfather.

4.1.2 Melanippe, wife of Itonus
In 1391 BC, Itonus married Melanippe, daughter of Aeolus, from Arne, located on the Curius River, about 60 km west-northwest of Itonus. [21]
In 1390 BC, a massive tsunami struck the coastal town of the Pelasgians in Thessaly, washing away Halus, located on the shores of the Pagasetic Gulf. [22]
Itonus escaped the tsunami but was attacked by the Pelasgians, who had lost their homes. Melanippe, Itonus' wife, was taken as booty by the Pelasgian Dius. [23]
Melanippe was taken to the Italian peninsula via Dodona with the Pelasgians led by Dius. [24]
Melanippe was taken to Metapontium in the southern part of the Italian peninsula, where he had two sons, Boeotus and Aeolus. [25]
Examples of sons born to daughters taken prisoner of war include:
Tydeus, son of Oeneus and Periboea; Tlepolemus, son of Heracles and Astyoche; Cleodaeus, son of Hyllus and Iole; Amphilochus, son of Alcmaeon and Manto; and Thestius, son of Pleuron and Xanthippe. [26]

4.1.3 Expulsion of the Pelasgians
Amphictyon, father of Itonus, rallied his people to expel the Pelasgians from Thessaly.
The participating tribes were as follows.[27]
The Dorians, led by Amphictyon, son of Deucalion.
The Magnesians near Mount Pelion, led by Deimachus, son of Hypseus, son of Aeolus.
The Phthiotians, led by Aeolus, father of Melanippe.
The Ionians, led by the sons of Ion, son of Xuthus, son of Hellen.
The Phocians living around Delphi.
The Locrians living in the depression between Thermopylae and Opus.
The Malians, Dolopes, Perrhaiboi, and Aenianians in Thessaly.
These tribes were later organized into the Amphictyons by Acrisius of Argos. [28]
The Pelasgians, driven out by Amphictyon, son of Deucalion, migrated from Thessaly to various places. [29]
The Pelasgians migrated to Thessaly from Argos in 1560 BC, led by the family of Larisa, daughter of Pelasgus, and lived there for 170 years.

4.2 Physcius, son of Aetolus, son of Amphictyon
Aetolus, son of Amphictyon, had a son, Physcius. [30]
Physcius married Maera, daughter of Proetus, and had two children: a son, Locrus, and a daughter, Thebe. [31]
In 1370 BC, Physcius founded Physcus in Locris. [32]
Physcus was likely located near the Asopus River near Thermopylae. [33]
Physcius' daughter, Thebe, was the daughter of the river god Asopus. [34]

4.2.1 Thebe, daughter of Physcius
In 1332 BC, Thebe married Zethus, son of Eleuther, who lived in Eutresis, Boeotia. Zethus and Thebe had a son, Neis. [35]
In 1325 BC, Zethus and his twin brother Amphion attacked Cadmeia, ruled by Lycus, the guardian of Laius, the son of Labdacus, and captured the city. [36]
Amphion's family subsequently died of plague, and Thebe lost Zethus and Neis. [37]
The city that Zethus founded below Cadmeia was called Thebes, after Thebe. The Neistan gate of Thebes was named after Neis, the son of Thebe. [38]
The Proetidian gate was named after Proetus, the father of Maera, the mother of Thebe. [39]

4.2.2 Locrus, son of Physcius
Locrus lived in Physcus and married Cambyse (or Cabye, Protogeneia), and had a son, Opus. [40]
In 1325 BC, Locrus, along with his brothers-in-law, Amphion and Zethus, invaded Thebes. [41]
After this expedition, some Locrians migrated to Boeotia. Aristotle reports that Leleges ruled Boeotia. [42]
In honor of Locrus, the region where Locrus lived came to be called Locris, and the people there were called Locrians. [43]

4.2.3 Opus, son of Locrus
In 1262 BC, Opus migrated from Physcus to the area between Thermopylae and the Strait of Euripus, where he founded Opus and had a son, Cynus. [44]
Opus recruited residents from all over the country, and people migrated from Argos, Thebes, Arcadia, and Pisa. Among them, Opus most respected Menoetius, the son of Actor, who had migrated from Phthia, and appointed him his successor. [45]

4.2.4 The Birth of Leleges
There is a legend that the Leleges (or Lelegians) were called Locrians after Locrus. [46]
However, it seems likely that the people of Locris were called Leleges only after the founding of Opus.
In addition to the Dorians, Opus was also inhabited by the Argives, Thebans, Arcadians, and Myrmidons. They were called Leleges, a name given to people who were mixed race and did not belong to any particular tribe. [47]

4.2.5 Cynus, son of Opus
In 1260 BC, Cynus migrated from Opus to the Gulf of Opus and founded Cynus. [48]
In 1260 BC, Cynus' daughter, Larymna, married to a town near the mouth of the Cephisus River from Cynus. The town was named after her. [49]
Larymna originally belonged to Opus, but as Thebes gained power, it became part of Boeotia. [50]

4.2.6 Hodoedocus, son of Cynus
Cynus' son, Hodoedocus (or Odoedocus), succeeded Cynus, and was succeeded by his son, Ileus. [51]
In 1250 BC, Ileus' brother, Oileus (or Oeleus), migrated westward from Cynus to the interior and founded Narycus. [52]
In 1245 BC, Ileus and Oileus' half-brother, Calliarus, founded a town named after himself near Cynus. [53]

4.2.7 Trojan War Era
Ajax (or Aias), son of Oileus and Eriopis, succeeded his father and lived in Narycus, leading the Locrians in an expedition against Troy. [54]
In 1220 BC, Ajax's half-brother, Medon, murdered his stepmother Eriopis's brothers and emigrated from Narycus to Phylace in Thessaly. [55]
Medon then led the Magnesians in an expedition against Troy. [56]

5 Pronos, son of Deucalion
In 1390 BC, Pronos, along with his brother Amphictyon, expelled the Pelasgians from Thessaly and settled there. [57]
Dotus, son of Neonus, son of Hellen, son of Pronos, gave his name to Dotion, located on the Dotium Plain in Thessaly. [58]
The Dotium Plain, vacated by the Pelasgians, was replaced by the Perrhaiboi and Aenianians, who lived near the Peneus River. [59]
Pronous lived in Phthia, founded by Phthius, son of Larisa, daughter of Pelasgus, who had migrated to Thessaly from Argos. [60]

5.1 Neonus, son of Hellen, son of Pronous
Neonus succeeded Phthia and married Eurymedusa, daughter of Cletor (or Clitor), and had two sons, Dotus and Myrmidon. [61]
Myrmidon's descendants are described in "Genealogy of Myrmidons."

5.2 Hippocoon, son of Hellen, son of Pronous
Hyginus, an early 1st-century AD writer, writed Hippocoon as the father of Nestor's father, Neleus. However, Neleus's father was Cretheus, son of Aeolus, and Hippocoon was the former husband of Cretheus' wife, Tyro. [62]
Hippocoon and Tyro's son, Amythaon, lived in Pylus in Thessaly before migrating to Eleia. [63]
Pylus was located in Thessaliotis, near Crannon, which was founded by the Pelasgian Crannon. [64]
Pylus was founded after the Pelasgians were expelled from Thessaly in 1390 BC. Hippocoon is believed to have founded Pylus in 1340 BC. [65]

5.3 Amythaon, son of Hippocoon
In 1303 BC, Amythaon migrated from Thessaly to Eleia and founded Pylus. [66]
In 1292 BC, Amythaon's sons, Melampus and Bias, migrated south of Eleia and founded Lepreatic Pylus. [67]
In 1290 BC, Melampus and Bias migrated to Argos. [68]
In 1275 BC, Hyettus, likely the son of Bias, migrated from Argos to Boeotia and founded Hyettus. [69]
In 1247 BC, Melampus migrated to Megara. [70]
In 1204 BC, Melampus' descendant, Alcmaeon, migrated to Acarnania and founded Argos-Amphilochicum. [71]

5.4 Pheres, son of Hippocoon
In 1303 BC, Pheres, son of Hippocoon, migrated from Phyllus to near Iolcus and founded Pherae. [72]

5.5 Aeson, son of Hippocoon
In 1300 BC, Aeson, son of Hippocoon, migrated from Phyllus to near the Pagasetic Gulf and founded Aesonis. [73]
In 1247 BC, Jason, son of Aeson, migrated from Aesonis to Corinth. [74]
In 1237 BC, Jason migrated from Corinth to Corcyra. [75]

6 Orestheus, son of Deucalion
In 1405 BC, Orestheus migrated from near the Gulf of Opus to the Ozolian city of Locris. [76]
Since Oineus, the son of Phytius, the son of Orestheus, lived in Amphissa, it is assumed that Orestheus's place of residence was Amphissa. [77]
Orestheus had a son, Phytius.

6.1 Oineus, son of Phytius, son of Orestheus
In 1356 BC, Oineus, son of Phytius, married Amphissa, daughter of Macareus, who lived in Lesbos, and had a son, Aetolus. [78]
The town where Aetolus lived was called Amphissa after his mother. [79]

6.2 Andraemon, son of Aetolus, son of Oineus
In 1266 BC, Andraemon, son of Aetolus, married Protogenia, daughter of Calydon, and had a son, Oxylus. [80]

6.3 Andraemon, son of Oxylus, son of Andraemon
In 1222 BC, Andraemon, son of Oxylus, married Gorges (or Gorge), daughter of Oeneus, from Calydon, and had a son, Thoas. [81]
Andraemon's father-in-law, Oeneus, was exiled from Aetolia. [82]
In 1202 BC, Andraemon, together with Tydeus' son Diomedes, recaptured Aetolia. [83]
Andraemon ruled over Ozolian Locris and Aetolia, and many Locrians migrated to Aetolia. [84]

6.4 Thoas, son of Andraemon
In 1202 BC, Thoas migrated from Amphissa to Calydon to rule Aetolia. [85]
Thoas led the Aetolians on an expedition to Troy. [86]

6.5 Oxylus, son of Haemon, son of Thoas
Oxylus served as a guide for the Heracleidae on their return to Peloponnesus. [87]
In 1105 BC, Oxylus led the Aetolians to Elis. [88]
The people who migrated with Oxylus were descendants of those who migrated from Elis to Aetolia with Aetolus, son of Endymion.
In 29 BC, when Rome attempted to relocate the people of Aetolia to Nicopolis, most of them migrated to Amphissa. [89]

7 Spread of Locrians Settlements
In 1415 BC, the Locrians were born near the Gulf of Opus.
In 1410 BC, the Locrians, who lived near the Gulf of Opus, migrated to the area near Thermopylae and founded Antheia.
In 1405 BC, the Locrians who lived near the Gulf of Opus migrated to Ozolian Locris and founded Amphissa.
In 1392 BC, the Locrians who lived near Thermopylae migrated to the west coast of the Pagasetic Gulf in Thessaly and founded Itonus.
In 1390 BC, the Locrians who lived near Thermopylae migrated to Phthia in Thessaly.
In 1340 BC, the Locrians who lived in Phthia migrated nearby and founded Pylus.
In 1303 BC, the Locrians who lived in Pylus in Thessaly migrated to Eleia and founded Pylus.
In 1292 BC, the Locrians who lived in Pylus migrated south of Eleia and founded Lepreatic Pylus.
In 1290 BC, the Locrians who lived in Lepreatic Pylus migrated to Argos.
In 1275 BC, the Locrians who lived in Argos migrated to Boeotia and founded Hyettus.
In 1262 BC, the Locrians who lived near Thermopylae migrated to the Gulf of Opus and founded Opus.
In 1250 BC, the Locrians who lived in Opus migrated inland between Opus and Thermopylae and founded Narycus.
In 1247 BC, the Locrians who lived in Argos migrated to Megara.
The Locrians who lived in Pylus migrated to Corcyra via Corinth.
Later, the Myrmidones were born from the Locrians who settled in Phthia.

8 Greek Dark Ages
The Locrians lived in Epicnemidian Locris and Ozolian Locris.
The Locrians also lived in Boeotia, Acarnania, and Corcyra.

End