1 Outbreak of great famine
In 1560 BC, during the time of Iasus, son of Triopas, son of Phorbas, son of Criasus, son of Argus, son of Niobe, there was a large migration of Pelasgians living in Argos. During this period, there is no evidence of other races invading Argos from folklore. It is thought that the cause of migration was a long-term food shortage caused by climate change, rather than a temporary phenomenon such as river flooding caused by torrential rains.
In recent years, tree ring research on dead trees has confirmed that a large volcanic eruption occurred on Thera Island (present-day Santorini Island) around 1560 BC. It is estimated that this volcanic eruption caused climate change. [1]
Shortly before this, Triopas, son of Phorbas, who ruled Argos, had sent a colony to Rhodes. [2]
Already by then, the land of Argos appears to have been insufficient to support its inhabitants.
During the reign of Iasus, who succeeded Triopas, most of the population migrated from Argos to various locations in four major groups.
2 Emigration to Lycia and Egypt
The first group was led by Iasus, who ruled Argos. Iasus sailed from the Peloponnesus peninsula with a group of immigrants, including his brother Xanthus and his young daughter Io. Along the way, Xanthus separated from Iasus and landed and colonized Lycia. Iasus's emigrants continued their voyage and settled in Egypt. [3]
2.1 Emigration of Xanthus to Lycia
Xanthus colonized some of his settlers near the Lycia's river (later Xanthus) and then sailed further north to find better land.
Cyrnus, who was accompanying Xanthus, founded Cyrnus on the opposite shore of Rhodes, and Xanthus himself colonized an uninhabited island called Issa. [4]
The island of Issa was called Pelasgia, after the Pelasgians to whom Xanthus belonged. Later, Lesbos, the son of Lapithes of Thessaly, settled on the island and became called Lesbos after him. [5]
The Pelasgians of Lesbos then migrated from the island to the mainland and settled around the Hermus River south of Cyme in what would become Ionia, becoming a major force during the Trojan War. [6]
2.2 Emigration of Iasus and his daughter Io to Egypt
Iasus' daughter Io married Telegonus, who lived in Sais of Egypt. [7]
Io's son Epaphus expanded his power and founded Memphis above the forks of the NileDelta. [8]
Cranaus, the second king of Athens, was also a son of Io. [9]
The Athenians before the return of the Heracleidae to Peloponnesus are said to have been the Pelasgians. This was because Cranaus relocated to Athens, taking with him the Pelasgians who had emigrated to Egypt with Iasus and Io. [10]
3 Emigration to Arcadia
The second group was led by Pelasgus, son of Agenor, brother of Iasus. They migrated to the foothills of Mt. Lycaeus (present-day Mt. Lykaion, 1,421 m above sea level), about 70 km west-southwest of Argos. Pelasgus is said to have discovered edible oak nuts and taught them to others. It is thought that edible oak nuts were abundant around Mount Lycaeus. [11]
The summit of Lycaeus overlooks most of the Peloponnesus peninsula, and there is an altar at the summit where human sacrifices were performed. [12]
Also, the Parrhasians who joined Apis when he fought against Telchin, the son of Aegialeus of Aegialeia, migrated to the southern region of Arcadia. [14]
The Caryatii tribe, which was in Aegialeia and opposed to Apis, also migrated to Tegea in Arcadia, so it is assumed that the famine affected the entire Argolis region. [15]
Lycaon, son of Pelasgus, gathered together the people who had lived apart and founded Lycosura at the foot of Mount Lycaeus. [16]
Another son of Pelasgus, Temenus, lived at the foot of Mount Cyllene in northern Arcadia, near what would become Stymphalus. [17]
Lycaon had many sons, including his eldest son Nyctimus, each of whom founded towns in different parts of Arcadia. [18]
The descendants of Pelasgus who migrated to Arcadia remained unchanged in the central part of the Peloponnesus peninsula, but by the Trojan War there had been five overseas migrations:
3.1 Emigration to Samothrace
In 1430 BC, a prolonged flood occurred in the region of Arcadia, and Dardanus, son of Electra, daughter of Orchomenus, son of Lycaon, was also affected. Dardanus lived in the Methydrium, founded by his grandfather Orchomenus. The Methydrium was located on a small hill between the Maloetas and Mylaon rivers, which flow at an altitude of about 1,000 m. [19]
Dardanus left half of the population to one of his sons, Deimas, and Dardanus himself led the remaining population on a journey to find a new world. Dardanus migrated north through the Aegean Sea to Samothrace, which lies off the coast of Melas Gulf, just before the Straits of Hellespontos. [20]
Dardanus' mother's sister Alcyone also joined Dardanus' emigrant party, along with her husband Megassares, her two sons, Hyperenor, Hyrieus, and his daughter Pharnace. [21]
Dardanus then migrated from Samothrace to the Troas region in the northwest of the Anatolian peninsula and became the founder of the kingdom of Troy.
Megassares joined a group of Cadmus immigrants who stopped at Samothrace, resettled Boeotia, and founded Hyria. [22]
Megassares' two sons, Hyrieus and Hyperenor, became the second most powerful Sparti after Cadmus. [23]
3.2 Emigration to Crete
In 1430 BC, Arcadia's Tegea suffered from severe food shortages, and the three sons of Lycaon's son Tegeates, Cydon, Gortys, and Archedius, migrated to Crete. They were due to the same cause as the migration of Dardanus, and all the way they were together. [24]
Cydon, son of Tegeates, founded Cydonia in the northwest of Crete, Gortys founded Gortyna in the center of the island, and Archedius founded Catreus. [25]
3.3 Emigration to Paros
In 1430 BC, Parus, son of Parrhasius, son of Lycaon, migrated from Parrhasia in Arcadia to Paros, an island south of Delos. Parus also traveled part way with Dardanus and the sons of Tegeates. [26]
3.4 Emigration to Ceos
In 1390 BC, Aristaeus, son of Archander, son of Achaeus, and Cyrene, daughter of Hypseus, migrated to the island of Ceos, off the coast of Cape Sunium in Attica. [27]
Aristaeus's emigrant party included the Parrhasians, descendants of Lycaon. [28]
3.5 Emigration to Italy
In 1240 BC, a battle broke out in Pallantium (near present-day Palantio), located about 8 km west of Tegea in Arcadia, and the defeated Evander, son of Themis, set out on a journey to find a new world. It is also said that Evander committed a crime and his entire family was exiled. [29]
Evander belonged to the venerable Parrhasians, who had existed since the founding of Argos. The Parrhasians were a descendant of Lycaon, son of Pelasgus, who had spread their settlements from Argos into Arcadia. [30]
The Evander emigrants descended from the southern region of Arcadia along the Alpheius River, which flows through Eleia and empties into the Ionian Gulf. Coincidentally, Heracles' battle against Augeas of Elis and Neleus of Pylus had ended, and the people who had nowhere else to go were camping in Olympia. [31]
Evander invited the Epeans of Dyme in Achaia and the Arcadians of Pheneus to join his emigrants. [32]
The Evander emigrants set sail from Cyllene, the outer port of Elis, sailed clockwise around the Italian peninsula, up the Tiber River in the center of the peninsula, and landed in what would become Rome. [33]
Evander settlers settled near a hill called Velia (later Palatium). [34]
4 Emigration to Thessaly
In 1560 BC, a group led by the family of Larisa, daughter of Pelasgus, son of Triopas, migrated to northern Thessaly. [35]
The name of Acropolis, west of Argos, and the town of Thessaly, near the river Peneius, are named after Larisa. Larisa lived in Argos, and it is believed that she later moved to Thessaly with her sons. [36]
The people who migrated from Argos with Larisa were the Pelasgians, who settled in the area between Larisa and the southeast coast near the Peneius River in northern Thessaly. [37]
Thereafter, the lands inhabited by Larisa's three sons, Achaeus, Phthius, and Pelasgus, came to be called Achaia, Phthiotis, and Pelasgiotis, respectively. [38]
During the time of Larisa's son Pelasgus, a great earthquake occurred with its epicenter north of Thessaly.
The mountains called Tempe split open to form the Tempe Valley, and the water from the swamp drained into the Peneius River, which dried up and became a plain. It is said that Pelasgus, whose territory expanded with the creation of a plain, held a festival and was overjoyed. [39]
Around the same time, people living near the source of the Enipeus River, which flows east-west into the Peneius River in northern Thessaly, suffered from severe flooding.
The Deucalion family, who lived in Melitaea at the headwaters of the Enipeus River, was also affected. Deucalion's eldest son, Hellen, founded a town called Hellas near the opposite bank of the Enipeus River, but because it was lower than Melitaea, the land was flooded and the inhabitants fled to Melitaea. [40]
This great flood occurred in 1511 BC, when Cecrops, the first king of Athens, was replaced by Cranaus, the second king of Athens. [41]
This is an event called the flood in the time of Deucalion.
5 Emigration to Megara
In 1560 BC, Crotopus, son of Pelasgus, son of Triopas, migrated to the foothills of Geraneia in Megara and founded Tripodiskion. [42]
Pausanias tells us that in the time of Gelanor, the son of Sthenelas, the son of Crotopus, Danaus came from Egypt to Argos and usurped the kingship from Gelanor. [43]
There appears to be a gap of two generations between Crotopus and Sthenelas, but the descendants of Crotopus seem to have returned to Argos. There was a tomb of Crotopus in Argos. [44]
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