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 from Boeotia to Thessaly due to oppression by other tribes, including the Hyantes. Deucalion founded Pyrrha (later Melitaea) at the headwaters of the Enipeus River, which flows from the south into the Peneius River in northern Thessaly. [2]

Deucalion had two sons, Amphictyon and Hellen. [3]

Hellen ruled over Phthiotis, and the people living there were called Hellenes (or Hellas). [4]

2 Xuthus, son of Hellen

Hellen had three sons: Aeolus, Xuthus, and Dorus. [5]

Hellen's descendants grew in power, with Aeolus becoming the progenitor of the Aeolians and Dorus becoming the progenitor of the Dorians.

Xuthus had two sons: Achaeus and Ion. Achaeus became the progenitor of the Achaeans and Ion became the progenitor of the Ionians. [6]

2.1 Migration of Xuthus

After Hellen's death in 1470 BC, Aeolus and Dorus exiled Xuthus from Melitaea. [7]

Xuthus went to Athens, where his uncle Amphictyon had once reigned as king, and married Creusa, daughter of Erichthonius, the fourth king of Athens. Xuthus founded Tetrapolis (Oenoe, Marathon, Probalinthus, and Tricorynthus) in northeastern Attica, drawing on a population from the surrounding areas.[8]

In 1442 BC, Xuthus moved to Aegialus (later part of Achaia), northeastern of the Peloponnesus.[9]

2.2 Xuthus's Settlement

Aegialus is the name of a region, and the exact location of Xuthus's settlement is unknown.

When Xuthus migrated from Attica to Aegialus, Aegialeia and Hyperesia (later Aegeira) existed northeast of the Peloponnesus.

Aegialeia was founded in 1750 BC by Aegialeus (or Aezeius), son of Inachus. [10]

Hyperesia was founded in 1450 BC by Hyperetus, son of Lycaon. [11]

Xuthus's settlement is believed to have been between Aegialeia and Hyperesia. [12]

About 160 years after Xuthus's settlement, a town named after Gonussa, the daughter of Erechtheus, the sixth king of Athens, was founded there. [13]

During the time of Gonussa, the descendants of those who migrated from Attica with Xuthus likely lived in the area.

3 Progenitor Ion

Ion was the son of Xuthus, son of Hellen, and Creusa, daughter of Erichthonius, the fourth king of Athens. [14]

In 1442 BC, Ion migrated with his father Xuthus from Attica to Aegialus, north of the Peloponnesus. [15]

In 1440 BC, Ion married Helice, daughter of Selinus, king of the Aegialians. [16]

Selinus is presumed to be the son of Hyperetus, the founder of Hyperesia.

Ion succeeded Selinus as king of Hyperesia and became king of the Aegialians. [17]

In 1430 BC, Ion founded Helice, located northwest of Hyperesia. [18]

The people living in the region under Ion's rule came to be called Ionians. [19]

3.1 Achaeus, Brother of Ion

In 1435 BC, Ion's brother Achaeus emigrated to Melitaea in Thessaly, where his father, Xuthus, had been exiled. [20]

In 1420 BC, Achaeus returned to Aegialus from Thessaly. [21]

In 1408 BC, Achaeus's two sons, Archander and Architeles, married the daughters of Danaus from Argos and subsequently emigrated to Argos. [22]

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) who had migrated with Cadmus inhabited. [24]

Pandion, the fifth king of Athens, sought the help of Ion, the son of his sister Creusa. Ion was nominated by the Athenians as Polemarch, fought against Eumolpus, and negotiated a truce. [25]

3.3 Migration to Attica

Ion lived in Potami, eastern Attica, and was involved in Athenian politics. He divided the population into four tribes and named them after his four sons. He divided the Athenians into four groups based on their occupations: farmers, artisans, priests, and guards. [26]

Ion died in Attica and was buried in Potami. [27]

4 Ionians of Achaia

4.1 Ion's Children

Ion had four sons: Geleon, Aegicores, Argades, and Hoples. [28]

The Athenians were divided into four tribes named after Ion's four sons, and the tribal names were used for 900 years until they were changed in the 6th century BC. [29]

Ion also had a daughter, Bura, whose name was given to her, a town named after her, located a little east of Helice. [30]

4.2 Descendants of Ion remaining in Aegialus

In addition to his four sons who lived in Attica, Ion had other sons who likely inherited the territory of Aegialus.

Their territories likely included the following areas:

1) The land west of Sicyon, where Xuthus settled and his son Achaeus inherited it.

2) Hyperesia, which Ion inherited from Selinus.

3) Helice, founded by Ion.

4.3 Migration to Lesbos

In 1389 BC, the Ionians of Aegialus emigrated to Pelasgia (later Lesbos) in a colony led by Macareus, son of Aeolus, son of Hippotes, of Olenus. Macareus's colony included not only Ionians but also Aeolis and Pelasgians. [31]

4.4 Migration to Athens

In 1104 BC, Tisamenus, son of Orestes, who had surrendered Sparta to the Heracleidae, led the Achaeans to the northern Peloponnesus. Tisamenus offered to live with the indigenous Ionians, but they refused, leading to war. The Ionians were cornered by the Achaeans and besieged at Helice. [32]

In 1102 BC, the Ionians signed a truce with the Achaeans and fled to Athens. Melanthus, king of Athens, welcomed the Ionians. Melanthus accepted the Ionians not out of kindness to his people, but as a military force against the Dorians. [33]

5 Ionians of Attica and Megara

5.1 Migration from Attica to Aegina

During the invasion of Eumolpus in 1415 BC, the inhabitants of Oenoe, a Tetrapolis in northeastern Attica, migrated to an island in the Saronic Gulf near Epidaurus. [34]

The island came to be called Oenoe (later Aegina). [35]

The inhabitants of Oenoe in Attica were migrants from Thessaly, led by Xuthus, son of Hellen. [36]

5.1.1 Migration from Aegina to Epidaurus

In 1287 BC, Aeacus, son of Actor, migrated from Dia in Thessaly to Oenoe, and the island came to be called Aegina. [37]

The Ionians, originally from Aegina, migrated to Epidaurus under the leadership of the descendants of Ion, son of Xuthus. [38]

5.2 Migration from Attica to Epidaurus

Ionians from Tetrapolis in Attica also participated in the Heracleidae expedition.

In 1102 BC, Deiphontes, son of Antimachus, led Dorians from Argos and occupied Epidaurus. [39]

Deiphontes settled the Ionians, who had participated in the expedition from Tetrapolis, to Epidaurus. [40]

5.2.1 Migration from Epidaurus to Athens

In 1102 BC, the Ionians who had lived in Epidaurus, which Deiphontes had occupied, migrated to Athens under the leadership of Pityreus, a descendant of Ion, son of Xuthus. [41]

In 1095 BC, Procles, son of Pityreus, led the Ionians who had migrated from Epidaurus to Athens to settle in Samos. [42]

5.3 Migration from Attica to Euboea

Attica, which had become overpopulated after accepting the Ionians whose lands had been seized by the Dorians, sent a migration to Euboea.

In 1085 BC, Xuthus' three sons, Cothus, Aeclus, and Ellops, founded Chalcis, Eretria, and Ellopia in Euboea, respectively. Ellops also captured the surrounding areas, including Histiaea. [43]

The Ionians changed their name to Chalcidians and Eretrians.

5.3.1 Migration from Euboea to Chios

In 1075 BC, Amphiculus, likely the brother of Xuthus' son Ellops, led a migration from Histiaea to Chios. [44]

Xuthus was ethnically Phoenician, his ancestors being Gephyraeans who had migrated to Boeotia with Cadmus and settled around Tanagra.

Pausanias writes that he does not understand why Hector, a descendant of Amphiculus, was able to join the Ionian League. Hector was able to do so because they were the Ionians who had migrated to Chios with Amphiculus. [45]

5.4 Migration from Megara to Attica

In 1074 BC, the Dorians, alarmed by the growing population of Athens, invaded the city. [46]

The Dorians failed in their attempt to capture Athens, but on their way back, they expelled the Ionians from Megara, which was then part of Athens' territory, and founded the city. [47]

The Ionians, driven from Megara, settled in Brauron on the east coast of Attica.

Philaeus, son of Ajax, had previously emigrated from Megara to Brauron. [48]

6 Colonization to Asia Minor

In 1073 BC, Neileus, son of Codrus, led a group of immigrants from Athens to Miletus in Asia Minor. [49]

Colonization of Asia Minor continued for the next 30 years, with many towns being founded.

These towns were not only inhabited by Ionians, but also by Abantes, Minyans, and Cadmeians. [50]

Also included were the Dryopians, the Phocians (excluding the Delphians), the Molossians, the Arcadians, and the Dorians, newcomers to Epidaurus. [51]

The region of their towns was called Ionia, and they held a common festival at Panionium near Priene. [52]

7 Spread of Ionian Settlements

In 1430 BC, the Ionians were born in Helice, north of the Peloponnesus.

In 1415 BC, the Ionians who lived in Helice, led by Ion, migrated to Attica.

In 1389 BC, the Ionians who lived in the north of the Peloponnesus migrated to Lesbos.

In 1102 BC, the Ionians who lived in the north of the Peloponnesus, driven by the Achaeans, migrated to Athens.

In 1102 BC, the Ionians who lived in Epidaurus in Argolis, driven by the Dorians, migrated to Athens.

In 1102 BC, the Ionians who lived in Attica migrated to Epidaurus.

In 1095 BC, the Ionians who lived in Athens migrated to Samos.

In 1085 BC, the Ionians who lived in Athens migrated to Euboea.

In 1075 BC, the Ionians who lived in Euboea migrated to Chios.

In 1074 BC, the Ionians who lived in Megara migrated to Attica.

Between 1073 and 1043 BC, Ionians migrated from Athens to Ionia in Asia Minor.

8 Greek Dark Ages

The majority of Ionians lived in Ionia in Asia Minor.

Ionians also lived in Attica, Epidaurus, and Euboea.

End