1 Introduction
In 1580 BC, Hellen's father Deucalion's grandfather moved north from Boeotia under pressure from the Hyantes and others. Deucalion founded Pyrrha (later Melitaea), named after his wife, on the upper reaches of the Enipeus River, which flows from the south into the Peneius River in northern Thessaly. [1]
Deucalion had two sons, Amphictyon and Hellen. [2]
Hellen ruled Phthiotis, and the people there were called Hellenes or Hellas. [3]
Hellen had three sons, Aeolus, Xuthus, and Dorus. [4]
The descendants of Hellen grew in power, and Aeolus became the progenitor of Aeolis and Dorus the progenitor of Dorians. Xuthus had two sons, Achaeus and Ion. Achaeus became the progenitor of the Achaeans, and Ion became the progenitor of the Ionians. [5]
When Hellen died, Aeolus joined with Dorus to banish Xuthus. [6]
In 1470 BC, Xuthus went to Athens, where his uncle Amphictyon had once ruled as king, and married Creusa, daughter of Erichthonius, the fourth king of Athens. Xuthus built four towns in the northeastern part of Attica, gathering inhabitants from surrounding areas: Oenoe, Marathon, Probalinthus, and Tricorynthus. [7]
After the death of Erichthonius in 1442 BC, Xuthus migrated to the northeastern part of the Peloponnesus peninsula, to a coastal region called Aegialus (later part of Achaia), where he died. [8]
2 Xuthus, son of Hellen
When Xuthus migrated from Attica to northeastern Peloponnesus in 1442 BC, there were two towns there.
2.1 Aegialea (later Sicyon)
Aegialea was founded in 1750 BC by Aezeius (or Aegialeus), son of Inachus. [9]
2.2 Hyperesia (later Aegeira)
Hyperetus, son of Lycaon, son of Aezeius, migrated to a place about 40 km west-northwest of Aegialea and founded Hyperesia. [10]
Hyperesia is estimated to have been founded around 1680 BC.
Hyperesia later became known as Aegeira. [11]
2.3 Settlement of Xuthus
Aegialus, where Xuthus settled, is a local name and its exact location is unknown.
However, the settlement of Xuthus appears to have been between the two towns existing at the time, Aegialea and Hyperesia.
About 160 years after Xuthus settled there, a town was founded, named after Gonussa, the daughter of Erechtheus, the sixth king of Athens. [12]
Descendants of people who migrated from Attica with Xuthus probably lived there during the time of Gonussa.
3 Progenitor Ion
Ion was the son of Xuthus, son of Hellen, and Creusa, daughter of Erichthonius, the fourth king of Athens. [13]
In 1442 BC, Ion, along with his father Xuthus, emigrated from Attica to Primorye in the northern part of the Peloponnesus peninsula, then called Aegialus. [14]
In 1440 BC, Ion married Helice, daughter of Selinus, king of the Aegialians. [15]
Selinus was a descendant of Hyperetus, the founder of Hyperesia, and was likely the king of Hyperesia. The inhabitants of Hyperesia were therefore called Aegialians, as well as Aegialea (later Sicyon). [16]
Ion succeeded Selinus, lived in Hyperesia, and became king of the Aegialians. [17]
In 1430 BC, Ion founded Helice, about 21 km west-northwest of Hyperesia. [18]
The people ruled by Ion son of Xuthus became known as the Ionians. [19]
3.1 Ion's brother Achaeus
In 1435 BC, Ion's brother Achaeus returned to Thessaly, where his father Xuthus had previously been exiled. [20]
In 1420 BC, Achaeus returned from Thessaly to his original settlement. [21]
In 1408 BC, two sons of Achaeus, Archander and Architeles, married the daughters of Danaus from Argos and then migrated to Argos. [22]
Achaeus remained in the settlement of Xuthus between Aegialea and Hyperesia.
3.2 Battle with Eumolpus
In 1415 BC, a large group led by Eumolpus invaded Attica. [23]
The Athenians took refuge near Tanagra in eastern Boeotia, where the Gephyraeans (a branch of the Phoenicians) had migrated with Cadmus. [24]
Pandion, the fifth king of Athens, enlisted the help of his sister Creusa's son Ion, who was recommended by the Athenians to become the Polemarch and fight Eumolpus and bring about a truce. [25]
3.3 Emigration to Attica
Ion lived in Potami, in the eastern coastal region of Attica, and was also involved in Athenian politics. Ion divided his people into four parts and named his tribes after his four sons. He also divided them into four groups according to occupation: farmers, craftsmen, priests, and guards. [26]
Ion died in Attica and was buried in Potami, without returning to Aegialus. [27]
4 Ionians of Achaia
4.1 Descendants of Ion
Ion had four sons, Geleon, Aegicores, Argades, and Hoples. [28]
The Athenians were divided into four tribes, named after Ion's four sons, and their names remained in use for 900 years until they were changed in the 6th century BC. [29]
Ion also had a daughter, Bura, and a little east of Helice was Bura, named after her. [30]
4.2 Descendants of Ion remaining in Aegialus
In addition to his four sons who lived in Attica, Ion had other sons who appear to have inherited the domain of Aegialus.
The territory of his sons is thought to have been the following:
1) The land west of Sicyon, settled by Xuthus and inherited by his son Achaeus. (later the easternmost land of Achaia)
2) Hyperesia, which Ion inherited from Selinus.
3) Helice, founded by Ion.
4.3 Lineage of the Ionians of Achaia
After Ion's name, the inhabitants of Aegialus were called Ionians instead of Aegialians. [31]
However, if the hero Ion had not appeared and the name Ionians had not been given, it would have been called Lelegians (or Leleges).
In other words, the Ionians were a hybrid race of Aegialians under the descendants of Inachus and those under Xuthus, son of Hellen, a descendant of Ogygus.
4.4 Emigration to Lesbos
In 1389 BC, some Ionians migrated to Pelasgia (later Lesbos), joining an emigrant band led by Macareus, son of Aeolus, son of Hippotes, of Olenus. In addition to the Ionians, the Macareus emigrants also included Aeolis and Pelasgians. [32]
4.5 Emigration to Athens
In 1104 BC, Tisamenus, son of Orestes, who surrendered Sparta to the Heracleidae, led the Achaeans to the northern part of the Peloponnesus peninsula. Tisamenus offered to live with the Ionians, but they refused and a battle broke out. Tisamenus was killed, but the Ionians were cornered and besieged at Helice. [33]
In 1102 BC, the Ionians signed a truce with the Achaeans and fled to Athens.
Melanthus, king of Athens, accepted the Ionians and cohabited with them. Melanthus accepted them as a force against the Dorians rather than as a favor to his own people. [34]
5 Ionians of Attica and Megara
5.1 Migration from Attica to Aegina
During the Eumolpus invasion in 1415 BC, the inhabitants of Oenoe, one of the Tetrapolis in northeastern Attica, migrated to an island in the Saronic Gulf opposite Epidaurus. [35]
It is believed that the island was also damaged by the Aegean Sea tsunami that occurred in 1420 BC, resulting in fewer inhabitants, and the island became known as Oenoe (later Aegina). [36]
The inhabitants of Oenoe were people who migrated from Thessaly, led by Xuthus, son of Hellen. [37]
5.1.1 Emigration from Aegina to Epidaurus
In 1285 BC, Aeacus, son of Actor, migrated from Phthia in Thessaly to the island of Oenoe, which became known as Aegina. [38]
The Ionians, originally from Aegina, migrated to Epidaurus, led by the descendants of Ion, son of Xuthus. [39]
Strabo states that the Ionians who traveled with the Heracleidae lived together with the Carians of Epidaurus, which seems to have happened at this time. [40]
5.2 Emigration from Attica to Epidaurus
The Heracleidae expedition also included the Ionians of Tetrapolis in Attica, who, after a successful return, settled in Epidaurus of Argolis. [41]
In 1102 BC, Pityreus, a descendant of Ion, son of Xuthus, who had previously ruled Epidaurus, led the population to move to Athens. [42]
In 1095 BC, Procles, son of Pityreus, led most of the original inhabitants of Epidaurus to migrate from Athens to Samos. [43]
5.3 Emigration from Megara to Attica
In 1074 BC, Dorians, alarmed by the growing population of Athens, invaded Athens before Codrus, son of Melanthus, could regain his father's old territory, which had been taken by Dorians. [44]
However, the Dorians failed in their invasion and on their way back, they drove out the Ionians from Megara, which was then part of Athens territory, and built Megara. [45]
Some of the Ionians forced out of Megara settled in Brauron on Attica's east coast. At Brauron there was a statue of the Artemis, associated with Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, whose tomb was at Megara. [46]
5.4 Emigration from Attica to Euboea
The towns of Attica, which had become overpopulated by accepting so many immigrants, sent a group of immigrants to Euboea.
In 1085 BC, three sons of Xuthus, Cothus, Aeclus, and Ellops, founded the towns of Chalcis, Eretria, and Ellopia, respectively. Ellops also captured surrounding towns such as Histiaea. [47]
5.4.1 Emigration from Euboea to Chios
In 1075 BC, Amphiclus, believed to be the brother of Xuthus' son Ellops, led a group of immigrants from Euboea to the island of Chios, which was already settled by the Abantes. [48]
Xuthus was a Phoenician, and his ancestors were Gephyraeans who migrated to Boeotia with Cadmus and settled around Tanagra.
Pausanias thought it strange that Hector, a descendant of Amphiclus, was able to join the Ionian League, but it was because it was the Ionians who immigrated to the island of Chios with Amphiclus. [49]
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