Sicyon, till a very late period, had little influence in the affairs of Greece ; and its early history is as uninteresting as it is uncertain. Łgialeus is mentioned as its first king ; but the list of his successors rests on no authority, and is not worthy of being transcribed. It seems to have been soon eclipsed by the neighbouring state of Corinth, which was noted, even in the days of Homer, for its commercial wealth. Among its early princes are numbered Sisyphus, Glaucus, and Bellerophon, whose exploits present a sub ject for poetry rather than materials for history. But the city of Argos, if not actually the oldest in Greece, was the first that acquired political eminence ; and was found ed by Inachns, or by his son Phoroneus, who is consider ed as having been the contemporary and brother of /Egi aleus, the first king of Sicyon. Io, the daughter of one of the Argive princes, having been carried away to Egypt, her descendant Danaus, afterwards arriving at Argos, claimed the sovereignty, and extending his power over the whole of Peloponnesus, the inhabitants (called Pelasgi before his arrival) received from him the name of Danai. . Perseus, one of his descendants, and the first Grecian who is celebrated as a warrior, founded the city of Mycenm, which became for some time the capital of Argolis ; but soon afterwards lost its pre-eminence. Con temporary with Perseus was Pelops, son of Tantalus, king of Phrygia, who, being driven from his native land by un successful war, came with immense treasures into Greece; and, being accompanied by a band of Achaians from Thes saly, established himself in Laconia. Marrying Hippo dameia, daughter of the chief of Pisa, he succeeded to the sovereignty of that territory ; and, by his numerous family connections, as well as able conduct, acquired so much influence throughout the peninsula, that it derived from him the name of Peloponnesus. His daughter Asty dameia was united in marriage with Sthenelus, the son of Perseus ; and their son Eurystheus was the prince so often mentioned in Grecian fable as the rival and persecutor of his kinsman Hercules. Pursuing the children and adhe rents of that deceased hero into Attica, he was slain in battle, and succeeded in the sovereignty of Argos by his uncle Atreus, who uniting in his person the claims of both the houses of Perseus and Pelops, extended his authority over all Peloponnesus, and transmitted the Argian sceptre in its greatest glory to his or grandson Agamemnon. Lacedemon, or Sparta, concerning the origin of which there is no certain memorial, had now become distinguish ed under its sovereign Tyndareus, whose sons Castor and Pollux died in the prime of fife, and whose daughters, Clytemnestra and Helen, were given in marriage to Aga memnon and his brother Menelaus. Through these prin cesses, the domains of Tyndareus fell to the two sons of Atreus; and Menelaus was invested with the immediate command of the Lacedemonian territory.
Of the provinces without the peninsula, Thessaly (next to Crete, the most ancient scene of Grecian story,) first be came celebrated for the wisdom of its princes, who extend ed their sway at an early period as far as the Corinthian Isthmus. In that country, famous for its horses, the Centaurs were first known, who are supposed to have been a hand of foreign adventurers of superior attainments to the more of their time. From a poi t in Thessaly, sailed the expedition of the Argonauts under Jason, who may be considered as merely the leader of one of the most considerable piratical expeditions which had hitherto been undertaken. Breotia, though a country ori
ginally subject to earthquakes and inundations, yet, from its great fertility, attracted at an early period the attention of adventurers ; and a Phenician colony under Cadmus is understood to have founded its principal city of Thebes. The numerous fabulous stories relating to its history, comprehending the adventures of Bacchus, Amphion, Am phitryon, Hercules, Laius, (E.dipus, Eteocles, and Poly nices, serve at least to prove that it must soon have be come a flourishing and powerful state ; and the war, which it sustained against seven united potentates, the subject of the Thebaid by Statius, presents the first instance ot a po litical league, and a regular warfare, recorded in the an nals of Greece. IF.tolia, though not inferior to the ad joining countries in early civilization, and though suffi ciently celebrated in the histories of its heroes Tydeus, Meleager, and others, yet, from the dangers of its seas, being much excluded from the intercourse of more civiliz ed nations, made little comparative progress in political improvement, and fur several centuries, even after the Trojan war, had little communication with the rest of Greece. Phocis, Doris, and Locris, also afford no mate rials for history at this early period ; and the only remain ing state, whose origin is worthy of being narrated from tradition, is that of Attica. The first king of this country is said by some to have been Ogyges, whose name, how ever, is not mentioned by the older Greek historians, and who is conjectured at the utmost to have been only the leader of a band of Bceotians, who, having been driven from their own country.by an inundation, had taken refuge in the adjoining districts of Attica. The first, at least, who introduced regular government and the arts of civili zation among the Athenians, was Cecrops, the leader of a colony from Egypt, who introduced the worship of the goddess Athena, or Minerva ; and thus gave a name, if not also a beginning, to the city of Athens. He is considered as the founder of the celebrated court of Areopagus ; and, in consequence of his wise institutions, aided by the natu ral security of the country from invasion, strangers were attracted, population increased, and civilization made more rapid progress than in any other province of Greece. Of his successors, little is recorded even by tradition, till the time of ?kens, contemporary with Minus, King of Crete, and the lather of the renowned Theseus, whose romantic history hears no inconsiderable resemblance to that of the Gothic knight-errants, and w hose wise measures as king of Athens laid the foundation of its future greatness. By the united influence of persuasion and authority, he con solidated, in one well-regulated government, the indepen dent districts in Attica, and endeavoured to secure the sta bility of his improvements. by procuring the approbation of the Delphic oracle. Though well entitled, by his poli Lical regulations, to be ranked among the most illustrious patriots of ancient times, he is nevertheless represented, in his future history, as having forfeited the esteem of his subjects, and having at last died in exile. After him the eovercignty of Attica was held by Menestheus, a descend ant of the royal family, and the leader of the Athenian troops in the Trojan war.