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According to the most prevalent view today, the name 'Dorians' refers to the inhabitants
of Doris. They had formed a short while before the end of the Mycenaean period, and consisted of
a tribal group living in the middle of Central Greece led by the
Heraclidae, Macedonians who had emigrated to the same area and various other
population elements as denoted by the name 'Pamphyloi' held by one of the three Dorian tribes.
This must have been formed to flank the forces of the Heraclidae on
the eve of their great sortie in anticipation of their part in the distribution of booty. |
 The
Dorian invasion of the Peloponnese during the second half of the 12th century BC,
had the character of a military operation -the main objective being the capture of previously
strong Mycenaean centres. The weakening of these centres in combination with the
supremacy in numbers and the natural vehemence of the invaders, initially resulted in the
surrender of Mycenae and Tiryns and the settlement of the Dorians in Argos,
the northernmost part of the Eurotas valley, the plain of Pamissos, and Corinthia.
The Dorians who moved into the Peloponnese formed four separate bodies with independent
leaders. Those led by Temenus captured Argos, whilst those led by
Aristodemos, Cresphontes and Aletes captured Sparta, Messenia and Corinth respectively.
Along with them, a number of Aetolians entered the Peloponnese and settled
in Elis. |
| With the arrival and settlement of the Dorians in the largest part of the Peloponnese,
many of the older inhabitants of the conquered areas were forced, in their turn, to emigrate
-a fact that resulted in successive movements of populations. Many Achaeans from the Argolid
and Laconia left for Aigialeia and asked the Ionians who had settled in that
area to accept them as neighbours. Since their request was not granted,
they fought, were victorious and conquered the area that was later called Achaia. |