1 Introduction
The first Greeks to inhabit Aetolia were those who migrated there from Elis, led by Aetolus, son of Endymion. When they migrated, Aetolia was inhabited by the Curetes. [1]
Strabo reports that some Hyantes, chased by Cadmus, migrated from Boeotia to Aetolia. [2]
Curetes is presumed to have been Hyantes with a name change.
The marriage of Pleuron, son of Aetolus, to a Curetes woman was the cause of a long conflict in Aetolia.
2 Age of Aetolus, son of Endymion
2.1 Emigration from Elis
In 1320 BC, Aetolus, son of Endymion of Elis in Eleia, led the Epeans across the sea north from the Peloponnesus peninsula. [3]
Aetolus was chased from Elis by Salmoneus of Salmone. [4]
Aetolus was king of Elis, but his successor was Eleius, son of his sister Eurycyda. [5]
It is assumed that Eleius' father was Alector (or Alexinus), son of Salmoneus. [6]
So, it seems that there was a power struggle in Elis, and Salmoneus, who wanted to put his grandson on the throne, expelled Aetolus and his supporters from Elis.
2.2 Founding of Pleuron
Aetolus settled at the foot of Mount Curium, between the rivers Achelous and Euenus, and founded Pleuron. [7]
The land was called the Curetian country, and the indigenous people were the Curetes. [8]
Aetolus fought against the Curetes and won, but was unable to drive them far. [9]
The region Aetolus settled in was named after him, Aetolia, and the people who lived there became known as Aetolians. [10]
2.3 Wife of Aetolus
Before Aetolus emigrated, he had married Pronoe, daughter of Phorbas, and they had two sons, Pleuron and Calydon. [11]
Pronoe, the wife of Aetolus, was the daughter of Phorbas, son of Lapithus (or Lapithes). [12]
Lapithus was the progenitor of the Lapiths and the son of Aeolus, the son of Hippotes, the son of Mimas.
Aetolus was the son of Endymion, the son of Aethlius, the son of Aeolus, the son of Hippotes, the son of Mimas.
In other words, Aetolus and Pronoe were second cousins.
3 Age of Pleuron, son of Aetolus
3.1 Marriage of Pleuron
Pleuron married Xanthippe (or Demonice), daughter of Dorus the Curetes, and succeeded her father, and lived in Pleuron. [13]
Xanthippe appears to have been a prisoner of war, which was common in this era, but looking at the relationship between the descendants of Aetolus and Curetes, it seems that the marriage was for peace between the two parties.
3.2 Founding of Calydon
Pleuron's brother Calydon moved about 12 km east-southeast of Pleuron and founded Calydon.
The Epeans (Aeolis), who migrated from Elis with Aetolus, lived in Pleuron, adjacent to the settlement of Curetes. However, they were gradually oppressed by the Curetes and moved to Calydon. [14]
3.3 Marriage from Eleia
In 1301 BC, the alarmed Calydon took as his wife Aeolia, the daughter of Amythaon of Pylus, who became ruler of Eleia in place of Salmoneus, who had driven his father Aetolus from Elis. [15]
It is assumed that many Aeolis migrated from Elis to Calydon, accompanying Aeolia.
Aeolia was the daughter of Amythaon, the son of Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus, the brother of Aethlius, the father of Endymion, the father of Aetolus, the father of Calydon. So, Aeolia was Calydon's third cousin.
4 Age of Thestius, son of Pleuron
4.1 Father of Diomedes' grandfather Oeneus
4.1.1 The legendary father of Oeneus
According to tradition, the father of Oeneus is said to be:
Homer is Portheus, father of Agrius and Melas. [16]
Hyginus is Parthaon. [17]
Apollodoros is Parthaon, son of Agenor, son of Pleuron. [18]
Antoninus Liberalis is Portheus. [19]
Pausanias is Porthaon. [20]
4.1.2 Another Oeneus
Pausanias records the tradition of Mothone of Messenia, that when Oeneus returned to Diomedes after the capture of Troy, his illegitimate daughter Mothone was born. [21]
However, Oeneus' grandson Diomedes was married before going to Troy, and Oeneus after the Trojan War is old enough to have his great-grandson. It is hard to believe that a daughter was born to the elderly Oeneus. [22]
Additionally, Homer writes in the Catalogue of Ships that Oeneus is already dead. [23]
Taking these traditions together, it seems true that Parthaon, son of Agenor, son of Pleuron, had a son named Oeneus, but he seems to be a different person from Diomedes' grandfather.
4.1.3 Estimated father of Oeneus
According to the Mothone tradition, Parthaon's son Oeneus was a contemporary of Diomedes, and Diomedes' grandfather Oeneus was a contemporary of Parthaon's son Oeneus' grandfather Agenor.
Diomedes' grandfather Oeneus is therefore presumed to have been the son of Pleuron or of Pleuron's brother Calydon.
It is also said that a quarrel arose between the Curetes and the Calydonians, and Meleager, the son of Oeneus, killed the sons of Thestius, the son of Pleuron. [24]
This means that Oeneus, the ruler of Calydon, is not of Curetes blood.
Therefore, the father of Diomedes' grandfather Oeneus was not Pleuron, son of Aetolus, but Calydon, son of Aetolus.
Pleuron, son of Aetolus, married Xanthippe, daughter of Dorus the Curetes, and his sons Agenor and Thestius were Curetes. [25]
4.1.4 Marriage of Oeneus
In 1267 BC, Oeneus took Althaea, daughter of Thestius of Pleuron, as his wife. [26]
4.2 Father of Thestius
As for Thestius, the father of Leda, the wife of Tyndareus, son of Oebalus, Pausanias alone tells us that he was Agenor, son of Pleuron. [27]
However, Agenor seems not to be Thestius' father for the following reasons.
If Thestius' father is Agenor, Agenor's son Porthaon becomes Thestius' brother. [28]
In the story of the Calydonian Boar Hunt, nine of Thestius's eleven sons are named, but Porthaon's five sons are not.
The story mentions the sons of Oeneus, son of Calydon, son of Aetolus, so Thestius was a contemporary of Oeneus.
Thestius was the ruler of Pleuron who was at war with Calydon, and it is assumed that Thestius' father was Calydon's brother Pleuron. [29]
4.3 Marriage to Ozolian Locris
In 1266 BC, Calydon's daughter Protogenia married Andraemon, son of Aetolus, who lived in Amphissa. [30]
It is assumed that Calydon tried to recruit the neighboring Ozolian Locrians to his side in order to counter Pleuron.
4.4 Founding of Olenus
In 1265 BC, Hipponous, son of Dexamenus, migrated from Olenus in Achaia to Aetolia and founded Olenus. [31]
Pleuron, near that town, was the birthplace of Molione, the wife of Actor, the brother of Dexamenus, the father of Hipponous. [32]
4.5 Emigration from Sparta
In 1265 BC, Tyndareus, son of Oebalus, migrated from Sparta to Pleuron. [33]
Pleuron is located far away from Sparta, and there are no known intermarriage relationships between the two.
Iphiclus, son of Thestius, was the son of Leucippe the Lacedaemonian, [34]
Leucippe is thought to be the daughter of Oebalus, and it is assumed that Tyndareus immigrated to Thestius with the help of her sister, who had married her. [35]
4.6 Emigration from Messenia
Tyndareus went to Arene in Messenia before going to Aetolia. Idas, the son of Aphareus, who lived in Arene, was a contemporary of Tyndareus, and the two emigrated together. [36]
Idas' mother Arene was Tyndareus' sister, and Idas was Tyndareus' nephew.
Idas married Marpessa, daughter of Evenus of Pleuron. [37]
According to legend, Idas took Marpessa and was chased by Evenus, but Evenus could not catch Idas and threw himself into the river, which became known as Evenus. [38]
The Evenus River flows from Pleuron beyond Calydon, and Idas may have fled from Pleuron to Calydon.
Later, the daughter of Idas married Meleager, son of Oeneus of Calydon. [39]
4.7 Emigration from Argos
The Hyettus affair at Argos led to a conflict between Melampus' two sons, Abas and Mantius. [40]
In 1264 BC, Mantius, son of Melampus, was chased from Argos by Abas and fled to Calydon, the marriage of his aunt Aeolia. [41]
Oecleus, son of Mantius, married Hypermnestra, daughter of Thestius of Pleuron, and they had a son, Amphiaraus. [42]
5 Age of Oeneus, son of Calydon
5.1 Marriage of Idas' daughter
In 1247 BC, Cleopatra (or Halcyone), daughter of Idas, married Meleager, son of Oeneus of Calydon. [43]
5.2 Emigration to Argos
In 1247 BC, Mantius, son of Melampus, returned from Calydon to Argos with his son Oecles and his grandson Amphiaraus. [44]
After this, a battle begins in Aetolia between Calydon and Pleuron.
The disappearance of Mantius' son Oecles and his wife Hypermnestra, who were related to the two towns, seems to have reignited the conflict between the two towns.
It is also said that Marpessa, Idas' wife from Pleuron, committed suicide, which may have something to do with the cause of the battle. [45]
5.3 Battle of Calydon and Pleuron
The conflict between settlers and indigenous peoples that began in 1246 BC, during the time of Aetolus's settlement, became a battle that has been passed down to future generations. The fierce battle between the Aetolians and the Curetes lasted for six days. [46]
5.3.1 Story of the Calydonian boar hunt
The story of the Calydonian boar hunt features many of the heroes who took part in the Argonauts' expeditions. [47]
Bacchylides, one of the nine poets of ancient Greece, also tells of the battle between the Curetes and the Aetolians. However, heroes do not appear in his poems. In the 5th century BC, the story is thought to have survived before many heroes were added. [48]
5.3.2 Participants in the battle
Tyndareus, son of Oebalus, and Idas, son of Aphareus, also took part in this battle.
Tyndareus was on the side of Pleuron, Idas on the side of Calydon. Later, Tyndareus and Idas moved the battle to Peloponnesus, and it became a battle between Messenia and Laconia. [49]
5.3.3 Destruction of Olenus
Oeneus of Calydon attacked Olenus of Aetolia, captured it, and took Periboea, daughter of Hipponous, prisoner. [50]
Strabo notes that Aeolis was the one who destroyed Olenus. [51]
Oeneus belongs to the Aetolians, a branch of the Epeans, a branch of the Aeolis, and the Aeolis that Strabo mentions are also like Oeneus.
However, the name of Olenus of Aetolia appears in Homer's Catalogue of Ships, so Oeneus is not the destroyer. [52]
The destroyer of Olenus is presumed to be Aeolis of Calydon and Pleuron, mentioned by Thucydides. [53]
5.3.4 Victory or defeat in battle
Oeneus of Calydon was victorious and took control of Pleuron and Curetes.
Eight years later, Heracles pleased Oeneus by reclaiming Paracheloitis near the mouth of the Achelous River. [54]
Oeneus' rule at this time extended westward from Calydon, far beyond the settlements of Pleuron and Curetes, to the river Achelous, which bordered Acarnania. [55]
The name of the river Achelous came after the time of Alcmaeon, son of Amphiaraus, and in the time of Heracles it was called the river Thestius. [56]
5.4 Emigration to Messenia
In 1245 BC, Aphareus' son Idas returned from Calydon to Arene in Messenia and succeeded his father. [57]
5.5 Emigration from Arcadia
In 1238 BC, Heracles, son of Amphitryon, migrated from Pheneus in Arcadia to Calydon. [58]
Shortly before this, Heracles had been at war with Elis, and Oecles, son of Mantius, who led the Argives, had also taken part in the battle. [59]
It is assumed that Heracles was introduced to Oeneus of Calydon by Oecles.
Oecles' wife Hypermnestra was the daughter of Thestius, and Oeneus was the husband of her sister Althaea. In other words, Oeneus was Oecles' brother-in-law.
Melampus, the father of Mantius, the father of Oecles, was also the brother of Aeolia, the wife of Calydon, the father of Oeneus. So Oeneus was also the son of Oecles' grandfather's brother-in-law.
5.6 Battle with Achelous
In 1238 BC, Heracles defeated Achelous, who attacked Calydon. [60]
Achelous' wife was Melpomene (or Sterope), daughter of Parthaon, son of Agenor, son of Pleuron. So, it seems like Pleuron attacked Calydon.
But Melpomene was a second cousin of the sons of Molione, daughter of Molus, son of Pleuron. In other words, the target of Achelous' attack may have been Heracles himself, who killed the sons of Molione. [61]
5.7 Expedition to Thesprotia
In 1237 BC, the Calydonians led an expedition into Thesprotia and captured Ephyra, led by Heracles. [62]
There was no conflict of interest between Calydon and the distant Ephyra, and the Calydonians participated in Heracles' expeditions.
5.8 Emigration to Sparta
In 1237 BC, Tyndareus migrated from Aetolia to Sparta. Legend has it that Heracles recalled Tyndareus to Sparta after his battle with Hippocoon. [63]
However, Tyndareus returned to Sparta because Hippocoon and Icarius were gone, and there was no one to succeed Oebalus.
Tyndareus' two sons, Castor and Polydeuces, who were born and raised in Aetolia, also migrated to Sparta. Many legends tell of Dioscuri joining the expeditions of the Argonauts from Sparta. However, if Dioscuri really joined the expedition, it was not from Sparta, but from Pleuron.
5.9 Emigration to Trachis
In 1235 BC, Heracles migrated from Calydon to Trachis. [64]
Legend has it that Heracles decided to leave Calydon after he accidentally killed the child of a relative of Oeneus. [65]
However, this relocation of Heracles seems to have been influenced by the will of Eurystheus of Mycenae, who feared that Heracles would further expand his influence in Calydon. It is presumed that it was Amphiaraus, son of Oecles, who was born in Calydon and lived in Argos, who conveyed Eurystheus' intentions to Oeneus. Oeneus and Oecles were stepbrothers through their respective wives. [66]
5.10 Exile to Argos
In 1226 BC, Tydeus, son of Oeneus, went into exile to Adrastus, son of Talaus, in Argos. [67]
Oeneus' mother Aeolia was the sister of Bias, father of Talaus, father of Adrastus, and Tydeus was Adrastus' second cousin.
Tydeus married Deipyla, daughter of Adrastus, and they had a son, Diomedes. [68]
5.11 Marriage to Amphissa
In 1222 BC, Gorges (or Gorge), daughter of Oeneus of Calydon, married Andraemon (or Andrawmon) of Amphissa in Ozolian Locris. [69]
The husband of Oeneus' sister Protogenia was Andraemon, son of Aetolus, who lived in Amphissa. [70]
Andraemon and Gorges had a son, Thoas. [71]
5.12 Exile to Argos
In 1202 BC, Oeneus was driven from Calydon by the sons of Agrius and exiled to Diomedes of Argos. [72]
Oeneus' son-in-law Heracles had already died, but in Amphissa was his son-in-law Andraemon. At that time, the Argives had captured Thebes, and the fame of Argos seems to have reached Oeneus. Oeneus was in exile, his son Tydeus already dead and relying on his grandson Diomedes.
5.13 Diomedes' Expedition
In 1202 BC, Diomedes, son of Tydeus, son of Oeneus, went on an expedition to Aetolia to avenge Oeneus's exile from Calydon. [73]
5.13.1 Expedition Participants
Different traditions say that Diomedes' companions in the expedition were either Alcmaeon, son of Amphiaraus, or Sthenelus, son of Capaneus. [74]
Alcmaeon's mother, Hypermnestra, was the daughter of Thestius of Pleuron, and it is unlikely that Alcmaeon participated in battles against his kin. [75]
Sthenelus was a close friend of Diomedes, and it is believed that Sthenelus assisted Diomedes in his expeditions. [76]
Also participating in the expedition was Andraemon of Amphissa in Ozolian Locris.
Andraemon was the husband of Gorges, the daughter of Oeneus, and the brother-in-law of Tydeus, the father of Diomedes. [77]
After the battle, Diomedes left Aetolia in charge of Andraemon. [78]
There is also a legend that Oeneus accompanied him on this expedition and returned to Argos again. [79]
However, if that were the case, the expedition to bring Oeneus home would be meaningless. Oeneus had died before this, and Diomedes is presumed to have gone on an expedition to avenge Oeneus.
5.13.2 Descendants of Thestius
The descendants of Thestius, defeated by Diomedes, migrated inland from Pleuron and founded Thestia and Agrinium. [80]
The two towns belonged to the Eurytanians, who have the largest population of the Aetolians. [81]
Thucydides describes the Eurytanians as the most primitive of the Aetolians, speaking an esoteric language and eating raw meat. [82]
The two towns existed when Philip, King of Macedonia, attacked the Aetolians in 218 BC. [83]
5.14 Marriage to Acarnania
In 1202 BC, Callirhoe, daughter of Achelous and Melpomene (or Sterope), married from Pleuron to Argos-Amphilochicum in Acarnania. [84]
Hypermnestra, the wife of Oecles, the father of Amphiaraus, the father of Alcmaeon, was a cousin of Parthaon, the father of Melpomene, the mother of Callirhoe.
6 Age of Thoas, son of Andraemon
6.1 Trojan War Era
Andraemon and Gorge's son Thoas led the Aetolians in the expedition to Troy. [85]
It is likely that Thoas' force also included the people of Ozolian Locris, including Amphissa, but Homer does not mention Amphissa.
It is assumed that Thoas migrated from Amphissa to Calydon, taking many Aeolis with him to rule the Aetolians. [86]
It is believed that Amphissa had a small population in the Trojan War Era, and it is assumed that the original author of the Iliad was aware of the actual situation at that time.
6.2 Emigration to Italy
In 1184 BC, Diomedes, son of Tydeus, migrated from Argos to Aetolia. Diomedes then led the Aetolians to migrate to the eastern coast of the Italian peninsula and founded Argyrippe. [87]
Diomedes married Euippe, daughter of Daunius (or Daunus), king of the Daunians, and they had two sons, Diomedes and Amphinomus. [88]
Diomedes also founded Arpi and Beneventum. [89]
The Aetolians, who migrated with Diomedes, founded Brundisium in the southeastern part of the Italian peninsula. [90]
7 Age of Haemon, son of Thoas
7.1 Emigration from Italy
After the death of Diomedes in 1150 BC, his son Amphinomus emigrated from the Italian peninsula to Aetolia. [91]
It is assumed that Haemon, son of Thoas, accepted Amphinomus and married his son to Amphinomus' daughter Thyrie.
Cycnus, son of Thyrie, lived near Pleuron. [92]
7.2 Emigration to Argos
In 1120 BC, Erginus, possibly the son of Amphinomus, moved to Argos, the hometown of his grandfather Diomedes. [93]
In 1107 BC, Erginus aided Temenus by stealing the statue of Palladium, the city's patron god, from Argos during the Heracleidae's siege of the city. [94]
Erginus and Temenus were related through their common ancestor Oeneus of Calydon.
7.3 Emigration to Elis
In 1105 BC, Oxylus, son of Haemon, son of Thoas, led the Aetolians in migrating from Aetolia to Elis. [95]
Those who remained in Calydon and Pleuron were the Aeolis, who had migrated from Amphissa, and the Aetolians, who had migrated from the Italian peninsula with Diomedes's son Amphinomus after the death of Diomedes.
8 Age after Heracleidae's return
Afterwards a conflict arose between the Aeolis and the Aetolians, and the descendants of Diomedes migrated to the west side of the Achelous River, to Acarnania.
Acarnania was inhabited by people who had emigrated from Thebes after being defeated by Epigoni, creating Astacus. Also, people who migrated from Argos founded and lived in Argos-Amphilochicum near the Ambracian Bay. [96]
The descendants of Diomedes called themselves Oeniadae and became part of the Acarnanians rather than the Aetolians. [97]
The inhabitants of Calydon and Pleuron called themselves Aeolis to distinguish themselves from other Aetolians. [98]
9 Peloponnesian War Era
9.1 Offensive and defensive battle of Oeniadae
In 459 BC, during a war with the Spartans, the Messenians, holed up on Mount Ithome, were chased by the Lacedaemonians and moved to Naupactus in the Ozolian Locris. [99]
Naupactus was acquired by the Athenians, who drove out the Ozolian Locrians, due to their hatred of the Spartans, and offered it to the Messenians. [100]
The Messenians of Naupactus, seeking to repay the Athenians' favor, laid siege to the Oeniadae, which were hostile to the Athenians, and, after a truce, evacuated the inhabitants. [101]
Driven from their homes, the Oeniadae, with the help of other Acarnanians, laid siege to the town and recaptured it eight months later.
In 455 BC, Pericles of Athens recruited the Acarnanians, except for the Oeniadae, and the following year he besieged Oeniadae with the Aetolians, but was unable to capture it. [102]
In 424 BC, the Athenians formed the Acarnanian League with the addition of the Oeniadae. [103]
9.2 Inhabitants of Calydon
In 405 BC, the Spartans defeated the Athenians at the Battle of Aegospotami and expelled the Messenians from Naupactus. [104]
In 389 BC, the Achaeans of Calydon, oppressed by the Athenians allied with the Acarnanians and Boeotians, reportedly requested the aid of the Spartans. [105]
It is likely that the Spartans who expelled the Messenians from Naupactus also expelled the inhabitants of Calydon and gave it to the Achaeans. [106]
It is assumed that Andraemon, or Aeolis who migrated from Amphissa to Aetolia with Thoas, son of Andraemon, was expelled by the Spartans in 405 BC.
However, it appears that many of their residents continued to live there.
In 29 BC, when the Roman emperor Augustus tried to evict the Aetolians from their settlements and relocate them to the new city in preparation for the construction of Nicopolis, most of the inhabitants fled to Amphissa. [107]
10 Subsequent Oeniadae
In 331 BC, Oeniadae was attacked by the Aetolians, who destroyed the town and expelled its inhabitants. [108]
These Aetolians are presumed to be Curetes who live on the east side of the Achelous River, that is, in Aetolia. Among the names of Aetolians tribes of the Roman period enumerated by Strabon is Curetes. [109]
This attack by the Curetes appears to have been in response to the rebellion against Macedonia led by Agis III of Sparta. [110]
In 324 BC, Alexander the Great issued the decree for the recall of the exiles, which was strongly opposed by the Aetolians, who had expelled the Oeniadae and made them their own territory. Together with the Athenians, who distributed Samos among the citizens, they became the spearhead of the anti-Macedonian movement. [111]
The name Oeniadae seems to have remained in the Roman period, but details about its inhabitants are unknown. [112]
The Battle of Curetes, which began with the settlement of Aetolus of Elis in 1320 BC, lasted for nearly 1,000 years. In the end, it was a victory for the Curetes, who continued to live on the same land until the end.
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