HERACLIDS

[Greek heroic] The descendants of Heracles. After his death, his children were driven from the Peloponnesus and fled to Attica. The great-grandsons of Heracles' eldest son Hyllus succeeded in conquering the Peloponnesus and divided it amongst each other. This event, also known as the 'return of the Heraclids', points to the migration of the Dorians, and served to give the power of the Dorians over the Peloponnesus a 'historical' basis. Besides the Dorians, the Lydian and of Macedonian kings regarded themselves also as Heraclids.