1 Motivation for writing
Based on the names of people appearing in ancient Greek historical materials, I created a relationship diagram of people by connecting marital relationships and parent-child relationships. As I was creating the correlation diagram, questions arose, and I decided to investigate more closely to resolve them.
Why did Phoenix, son of Amyntor, choose Peleus as his place of exile? [1]
Why was Minos from Crete able to marry Pasiphae who lived far away? [2]
Why did Nestor bring back the remains of Machaon, who died in Troy? [3]
Why did Melanthus, exiled by the Heracleidae, choose Athens as his destination? [4]
I researched and considered many questions, and when the questions were resolved, I began writing in order to write them down.
2 Motivation for creating the correlation diagram
Before starting to create a relationship map of the Bronze Age figures, I created a relationship map of the Hellenistic world centered on Alexander the Great. At that time, I thought that Cadmus, the ancestor of Thebes, and Heracles, the paternal ancestor of Alexander the Great, and Aeacus, the maternal ancestor of Alexander, were mythical characters. In fact, in historical sources, many names of gods from Greek mythology and river deities of mother rivers from various parts of Greece appear as the names of fathers.
The motivation for creating the correlation diagram was that I wanted to know when Heracles, the ancestor of Alexander the Great, actually existed and whether he actually existed.
3 Impressions while creating the correlation diagram
In ancient historical materials, expressions such as ''how many generations ago a certain person'' or ''60 years after the occupation of Troy'' appear, but I am surprised at how accurate these are when I am creating a correlation chart.
Acusilaus, a 6th century BC mythologist, wrote his Treatise on Genealogy based on bronze tablets. [Five]
However, the genealogy of the Greeks before Cadmus brought the Phoenician letters to Greece has also been accurately reported. [6]
Before I started creating it, I thought the genealogy would not be connected, but over 3,000 people are now connected. In many cases, the relationship was unclear and only a guess at the beginning of the project, but gradually became a certainty. Also, there are many cases where the guess is incorrect and leads to an unexpected person.
For example, the Oenomaus of Pisa is mentioned in many historical sources, but its origins remain unclear. Initially, it was assumed that Oenomaus was a member of the Aeolis family that had expanded their influence from Thessaly and was a relative of Pisus, son of Perieres, who founded Pisa. However, by connecting the characters in a consistent manner, it was discovered that there was an Oenomaus with the same name, who was thought to be Oenomaus' grandfather. Oenomaus turned out to be a Pelasgian who came from Argos, passed through Arcadia, and settled in Pisa.
Also, most of the men of the ruling class who appear in the genealogies of ancient Greeks took the daughters of the ruling class as their wives. Looking at it the other way around, people whose names appear in historical documents are often connected to some person in their genealogy.
4 Things to keep in mind when creating a person relationship diagram
4.1 Determine if they are the same person
In books about ancient Greece, such as the 2nd century AD geographer Pausanias's ''Description of Greece,'' many human names appear, but sometimes they are names of gods. In addition, if the father's name is attached to the name, it is possible to differentiate between the two to some extent. However, in order to determine whether they are the same person, it is necessary to compare their hometowns and accomplishments.
In ancient historical sources, people from different eras are often confused because they have the same name.
4.1.1 Confusion due to same name in the same race
There were four famous Aeolus that preceded the Trojan War, and are often confused with each other.
1) Aeolus, son of Hellen, who gave Aeolis his name [7]
2) Aeolus, son of Hippotes, who lived in Arne and sent many sons to various places [8]
3) Aeolus, son of Melanippe, who founded Lipara near the Italian peninsula [9]
4) Aeolus, grandfather of Ormenus who founded Ormenion in Thessaly [10]
4.1.2 Confusion due to the same name in the same genealogy
1) Oenomaus, father of Leucippus who appears in the Daphne legend [11]
2) Oenomaus, who lived in Pisa and was contemporary with Pelops [12]
The former was the grandfather of the latter and lived in Arcadia.
4.1.3 Confusion due to father's same name
There are cases of confusion because not only the person himself but also his father's name is the same.
An example is Amphictyon, son of Deucalion.
1) Amphictyon was son-in-law of Cranaus, king of Athens [13]
2) Amphictyon expelled the Pelasgians from Thessaly [14]
There is also an example of Lycaon, son of Pelasgus.
1) Lycaon, son of Pelasgus who gave the name to the Pelasgians [15]
2) Lycaon, son of Pelasgus who migrated from Argos to Arcadia [16]
4.1.4 Other confusions
1) Minos, son of Europa who remarried Asterius, son of Tectamus [17]
2) Minos of Crete, contemporary with Aegeus, king of Athens [18]
The latter, a descendant of the former, is said by many poets, including Herodotus, to be Minos, the son of Europa. [19]
4.2 Select the most reasonable option from multiple candidates
The names of his wife and mother are often reported under different names in multiple sources.
4.2.1 If there is an alias
An example of the same person being called by different names is the daughter of Aeolus, son of Hippotes, and the mother of Boeotus.
1) Melanippe, daughter of Aeolus [20]
2) Arne, daughter of Aeolus [21]
3) Antiopa, daughter of Aeolus [22]
4.2.2 Incorrect case
However, there are many cases where it differs from the others, either because it is based on incorrect folklore or because the author misunderstood.
For example, there are two versions of Amphion, the father of Chloris, the wife of Cretheus' son Neleus.
1) Son of Antiope of Thebes [23]
2) Son of Iasius of Orchomenus [24]
Amphion, of Thebes, is a famous person with many legends about him, but about Amphion, the son of Iasius, only his genealogy is known. It is no wonder that it is misrepresented.
Considering both theories, we find that Neleus' wife's father was Amphion of Orchomenus.
5 How to draw a correlation diagram
Husband and wife is placed side by side, connected by a double line, and their children are placed one step below.
In other words, the top of the vertical axis is the oldest era, and as you move down the axis, the era is new.
Therefore, people who are on the same level are, in principle, contemporaries.
5.1 Criteria for the vertical axis (age) of correlation diagrams
5.1.1 List of reign periods of the Kings of Athens
Eusebius, a historian from the early 4th century AD, quotes the name and length of his reign from the writings of Castor, a chronicler of Rhodes in the 2nd century BC, in his Chronicle.
The only one that can be dated is Aeschylus, son of Agamestor the 29th. The first Olympiad was held in the 12th year of his reign. The first Olympiad is said to be in 776 BC, so Aeschylus's 23-year reign was from 787 BC to 764 BC. [25]
Based on the reign of Aeschylus, the list of reigns up to Cecrops, the first king of Athens, is completed.
5.1.2 21 years difference in total governance period
Castor tells us that the total period of the reign, beginning with the first Cecrops and ending with the fifteenth Thymoetes, son of Oxyntes, was 450 years. [26]
However, the total number of years each king reigned was 429 years, 21 years less. This difference, which was discovered in the process of creating a personality chart, is thought to be due to the fact that the last Thymoetes reigned for 29 years, not 8 years.
In other words, it would make sense if the 16th King of Athens, Melanthus, ascended the throne 21 years later, in 1111 BC, rather than in 1132 BC.
The final return of the Heracleidae is reported by Castor, the 2nd century BC grammarian Apollodorus of Athens, and the 5th century BC historian Thucydides to have occurred 80 years after the fall of Troy. [27]
If I calculate from the year of the fall of Troy, 1186 BC, which is obtained by creating a person correlation chart, ''80 years after the fall of Troy'' will be 1106 BC, which generally matches, although there is a 5-year difference.
Probably 1132 BC was the year Melanthus became king for the first time, the year he became king of Messenians, and the year of the accession of the Kings of Athenians is estimated to be 1111 BC.
The 5-year error may have been due to the difference in whether the year of the Heracleidae return, "80 years after the fall of Troy," was the year they crossed over to Peloponnesus or the year Tisamenus emigrated from Sparta to Achaia. [28]
5.2 How to determine the vertical axis (age) of the correlation diagram
5.2.1 Number of years in one generation
Herodotus calculates 3 generations as 100 years, but I assumed 25 years for males and 20 years for females. [29]
5.2.2 Age of fatherhood
Generally, the ages ranged from 17 to 70.
Examples of fatherhood at an advanced age include Lysimachus, a warlord of Alexander the Great, Erginus, king of Orchomenus, who fought and lost to Heracles, and Anchises, son of Capys, who emigrated from Troy to Sicily. [30]
5.2.3 Age of motherhood
Generally, the ages ranged from 16 to 45.
Thus, if there was an age difference of more than 30 years between her children, the mothers were presumed to be different.
For example, the twin sons of Tyndareus of Sparta, Castor and Polydeuces, and the mother of the daughter Helen.
Legend has it that it is Leda. However, the age difference between the siblings is more than 30 years.
Castor's mother was Leda, but Helen's mother seems to be a different woman. [31]
5.2.4 Age difference between husband and wife
In general, the husband was older than the wife.
However, there is also the example of Antigonus's son Demetrius who although still young, married the much older Phila, daughter of Antipater, and had a son, Antigonus Gonatas. [32]
5.3 How to determine the horizontal axis (contemporary connections) of a correlation diagram
Other than husbands and wives and siblings, the following people who participated in specific events were recognized as contemporaries.
5.3.1 Contemporaneous recognition through participation in the same event
The following many participants to an event were identified as contemporaries.
1) Expedition of the Argonauts (1248 BC)
2) Calydonian boar hunt (BC1246)
3) Attack of Thebes by 7 generals (1215 BC)
4) Epigoni's attack on Thebes (1205 BC)
5) Trojan War (1188-1186 BC)
6) Final return of Heracleidae to Peloponnesus (1112-1104 BC)
However, upon closer inspection, some people are suspected of participating in the event.
5.3.2 Contemporaneous recognition due to other events
In addition to being ''contemporaries'' [33], ''during his reign was the flood of Deucalion''[34], ''banished.''[35], and ''exiled''[36]. Events such as ''battled'' [37] identify both men as being from the same era.
However, there are some that appear to be errors in tradition, such as the following example.
1) Pandion (son of Erichthonius) of Athens and Labdacus of Thebes fought over the border. [38]
If I draw a correlation diagram, Labdacus (1375-1337 BC) was born after the death of Pandion, the fifth king of Athens (reigned 1442-1402 BC). If Pandion was right and Labdacus was wrong, it was the time of Cadmus. However, I do not believe that at that time there existed any boundary issues between Athens and Thebes.
2) Lamedon of Sicyon fought with the sons of Achaeus. [39]
If I draw a correlation chart, the birth age difference between Lamedon and the sons of Achaeus who appear in the genealogy of King Sicyon is more than 70 years. If the battle is true, Lamedon seems to be a different person.
6 Main historical materials used as reference for creating correlation diagrams
1) “Iliad” and “Odyssey” by Homer, a bard of the 8th century BC
2) “Histories” by Herodotus, a historian of the 5th century BC
3) “Fabulae” by Hyginus, a writer of the 1st century BC
4) “Roman Antiquities” by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a historian of the 1st century BC
5) “Bibliotheca historica” by Diodorus Siculus, a historian of the 1st century BC
6) “Geographica” by Strabo, a geographer of the early 1st century AD
7) “Description of Greece” by Pausanias, a geographer of the 2nd century AD
8) “Bibliotheca” by Pseudo-Apollodorus, a grammarian around the 2nd century AD
9) “Deipnosophistae” by Athenaeus, a grammarian of the 2nd century AD
10) “Parallel Lives” and “Moralia” by Plutarch, a writer of the 2nd century AD
11) “Chronography” by Eusebius, a historian of the 4th century AD
7 Thoughts after completing the writing
From the middle of the 18th century BC to the middle of the 12th century BC, more than 3,000 genealogies have been handed down to the present day, mainly of those who led the ancient Greeks for 600 years. The genealogy can then be used to identify the events recorded in historical documents on a year-by-year basis to create a chronology.
There were many ancient civilizations in the world, but only the ancient Greeks were able to create such genealogies and chronologies at this time.
It seems to me that this was made possible by a single ancient Greek genius or person who had a passion for collecting genealogies. (I believe that person is Orpheus who wrote The Genealogical Theory.)
And it seems to be the result of the many epic poets who wrote many epic poems based on the genealogies he recorded and passed them on to future generations.
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