Return of the Heraclidae
conceptThe mythological return of Heracles' descendants to the Peloponnese, used by the Dorian Greeks to justify their conquest of Mycenaean territories.
The Myth
After Heracles' death and apotheosis, his children — the Heraclidae — were persecuted by Eurystheus of Mycenae. They found refuge in Athens under King Theseus (or his sons), and Eurystheus was killed in battle. The Heraclidae attempted to return to the Peloponnese but were driven back by plague — the Oracle at Delphi told them to wait for "the third harvest." Interpreting this as three years, they attacked too early and were defeated. The oracle meant the third generation. Temenus, Cresphontes, and Aristodemus — great-grandsons of Heracles — finally led the successful invasion, aided by the Dorian people. They divided the Peloponnese by lot: Temenus received Argos, Cresphontes took Messenia, and the sons of Aristodemus inherited Sparta. This myth served as charter mythology for the Dorian Greeks, justifying their historical conquest of the Peloponnese around 1100 BC as a "return" rather than an invasion.
Children
Temenus, Cresphontes, Aristodemus
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Return of the Heraclidae is one of history's most effective propaganda myths. The Dorian invasion that destroyed Mycenaean civilisation around 1100 BC was reframed as the "rightful return" of Heracles' heirs — turning conquest into restoration. Every colonial power since has used the same trick: the British "returned" civilisation to India, and Zionists framed settlement as "return." The Heraclidae myth wrote the playbook for legitimising conquest through ancestral claim.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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