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Hebrides

The Hebrides (Innse Gall, ; Suðreyjar) are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrides.

These islands have a long history of occupation (dating back to the Mesolithic period), and the culture of the inhabitants has been successively influenced by the cultures of Celtic-speaking, Norse-speaking, and English-speaking peoples. This diversity is reflected in the various names given to the islands, which are derived from the different languages that have been spoken there at various points in their history.

The Hebrides are where much of Scottish Gaelic literature and Gaelic music has historically originated. Today, the economy of the islands is dependent on crofting, fishing, tourism, the oil industry, and renewable energy. The Hebrides have less biodiversity than mainland Scotland, but a significant number of seals and seabirds.

The islands have a combined area of 7285 km2, and,, a combined population of around 45,000.

Geology, geography and climate

The Hebrides have a diverse geology, ranging in age from Precambrian strata that are amongst the oldest rocks in Europe, to Paleogene igneous intrusions. Raised shore platforms in the Hebrides have been identified as strandflats, possibly formed during the Pliocene period and later modified by the Quaternary glaciations.

The Hebrides can be divided into two main groups, separated from one another by the Minch to the north and the Sea of the Hebrides to the south. The Inner Hebrides lie closer to mainland Scotland and include Islay, Jura, Skye, Mull, Raasay, Staffa and the Small Isles. There are 36 inhabited islands in this group. The Outer Hebrides form a chain of more than 100 islands and small skerries located about 70 km west of mainland Scotland. Among them, 15 are inhabited. The main inhabited islands include Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra.

A complication is that there are various descriptions of the scope of the Hebrides. The Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland describes the Inner Hebrides as lying "east of the Minch". This definition would encompass all offshore islands, including those that lie in the sea lochs, such as Eilean Bàn and Eilean Donan, which might not ordinarily be described as "Hebridean". However, no formal definition exists.

In the past, the Outer Hebrides were often referred to as the Long Isle (An t-Eilean Fada). Today, they are also sometimes known as the Western Isles, although this phrase can also be used to refer to the Hebrides in general.

The Hebrides have a cool, temperate climate that is remarkably mild and steady for such a northerly latitude, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. In the Outer Hebrides, the average temperature is 6 °C (44 °F) in January and 14 °C (57 °F) in the summer. The average annual rainfall in Lewis is 1100 mm, and there are between 1,100 and 1,200 hours of sunshine per annum (13%). The summer days are relatively long, and May through August is the driest period.

Etymology
The earliest surviving written references to the islands were made circa 77 AD by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History: He states that there are 30 Hebudes, and makes a separate reference to Dumna, which Watson (1926) concluded refers unequivocally to the Outer Hebrides. About 80 years after Pliny the Elder, in 140–150 AD, Ptolemy (drawing on accounts of the naval expeditions of Agricola) writes that there are five Ebudes (possibly meaning the Inner Hebrides) and Dumna. Later texts in classical Latin, by writers such as Solinus, use the forms Hebudes and Hæbudes.

The name Ebudes (used by Ptolemy) may be pre-Celtic. Ptolemy calls Islay "Epidion", and the use of the letter "p" suggests a Brythonic or Pictish tribal name, Epidii, because the root is not Gaelic. Woolf (2012) has suggested that Ebudes may be "an Irish attempt to reproduce the word Epidii phonetically, rather than by translating it", and that the tribe's name may come from the root epos, meaning "horse". Watson (1926) also notes a possible relationship between Ebudes and the ancient Irish Ulaid tribal name Ibdaig, and also the personal name of a king Iubdán (recorded in the Silva Gadelica).

The names of other individual islands reflect their complex linguistic history. The majority are Norse or Gaelic, but the roots of several other names for Hebrides islands may have a pre-Celtic origin. Adomnán, a 7th-century abbot of Iona, records Colonsay as Colosus and Tiree as Ethica, and both of these may be pre-Celtic names. The etymology of Skye is complex and may also include a pre-Celtic root. Lewis is Ljoðhús in Old Norse. Various suggestions have been made as to possible meanings of the name in Norse (for example, "song house"), but the name is not of Gaelic origin, and the Norse provenance is questionable.

The earliest comprehensive written list of Hebridean island names was compiled by Donald Monro in 1549. This list also provides the earliest written reference to the names of some of the islands.

The derivations of all the inhabited islands of the Hebrides and some of the larger uninhabited ones are listed below.

Outer Hebrides
Lewis and Harris is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest of the British Isles, after Great Britain and Ireland. It incorporates Lewis in the north and Harris in the south, both of which are frequently referred to as individual islands, although they are joined by a land border. The island does not have a single common name in either English or Gaelic and is referred to as "Lewis and Harris", "Lewis with Harris", "Harris with Lewis" etc. For this reason it is treated as two separate islands below. The derivation of Lewis may be pre-Celtic (see above) and the origin of Harris is no less problematic. In the Ravenna Cosmography, Erimon may refer to Harris (or possibly the Outer Hebrides as a whole). This word may derive from the ἐρῆμος (erimos "desert". The origin of Uist (Ívist) is similarly unclear.

Inner Hebrides
There are various examples of earlier names for Inner Hebridean islands that were Gaelic, but these names have since been completely replaced. For example, Adomnán records Sainea, Elena, Ommon and Oideacha in the Inner Hebrides. These names presumably passed out of usage in the Norse era, and the locations of the islands they refer to are not clear. As an example of the complexity: Rona may originally have had a Celtic name, then later a similar-sounding Norse name, and then still later a name that was essentially Gaelic again, but with a Norse "øy" or "ey" ending. (See Rona, below.)

Uninhabited islands
The names of uninhabited islands follow the same general patterns as the inhabited islands. (See the list, below, of the ten largest islands in the Hebrides and their outliers.)

The etymology of the name "St Kilda", a small archipelago west of the Outer Hebrides, and the name of its main island, "Hirta," is very complex. No saint is known by the name of Kilda, so various other theories have been proposed for the word's origin, which dates from the late 16th century. Haswell-Smith (2004) notes that the full name "St Kilda" first appears on a Dutch map dated 1666, and that it may derive from the Norse phrase sunt kelda ("sweet wellwater") or from a mistaken Dutch assumption that the spring Tobar Childa was dedicated to a saint. (Tobar Childa is a tautological placename, consisting of the Gaelic and Norse words for well, i.e., "well well"). Similarly unclear is the origin of the Gaelic for "Hirta", Hiort, Hirt, or Irt a name for the island that long pre-dates the name "St Kilda". Watson (1926) suggests that it may derive from the Old Irish word hirt ("death"), possibly a reference to the often lethally dangerous surrounding sea. Maclean (1977) notes that an Icelandic saga about an early 13th-century voyage to Ireland refers to "the islands of Hirtir", which means "stags" in Norse, and suggests that the outline of the island of Hirta resembles the shape of a stag, speculating that therefore the name "Hirta" may be a reference to the island's shape.

The etymology of the names of small islands may be no less complex and elusive. In relation to Dubh Artach, Robert Louis Stevenson believed that "black and dismal" was one translation of the name, noting that "as usual, in Gaelic, it is not the only one."

Prehistory
The Hebrides were settled during the Mesolithic era around 6500 BC or earlier, after the climatic conditions improved enough to sustain human settlement. Occupation at a site on Rùm is dated to 8590 ±95 uncorrected radiocarbon years BP, which is amongst the oldest evidence of occupation in Scotland. There are many examples of structures from the Neolithic period, the finest example being the standing stones at Callanish, dating to the 3rd millennium BC. Cladh Hallan, a Bronze Age settlement on South Uist is the only site in the UK where prehistoric mummies have been found.

Celtic era
In 55 BC, the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote that there was an island called Hyperborea (which means "beyond the North Wind"), where a round temple stood from which the moon appeared only a little distance above the earth every 19 years. This may have been a reference to the stone circle at Callanish.

A traveller called Demetrius of Tarsus related to Plutarch the tale of an expedition to the west coast of Scotland in or shortly before 83 AD. He stated it was a gloomy journey amongst uninhabited islands, but he had visited one which was the retreat of holy men. He mentioned neither the druids nor the name of the island.

The first written records of native life begin in the 6th century AD, when the founding of the kingdom of Dál Riata took place. This encompassed roughly what is now Argyll and Bute and Lochaber in Scotland and County Antrim in Ireland. The figure of Columba looms large in any history of Dál Riata, and his founding of a monastery on Iona ensured that the kingdom would be of great importance in the spread of Christianity in northern Britain. However, Iona was far from unique. Lismore in the territory of the Cenél Loairn, was sufficiently important for the death of its abbots to be recorded with some frequency and many smaller sites, such as on Eigg, Hinba, and Tiree, are known from the annals.

North of Dál Riata, the Inner and Outer Hebrides were nominally under Pictish control, although the historical record is sparse. Hunter (2000) states that in relation to King Bridei I of the Picts in the sixth century: "As for Shetland, Orkney, Skye and the Western Isles, their inhabitants, most of whom appear to have been Pictish in culture and speech at this time, are likely to have regarded Bridei as a fairly distant presence."

Norwegian control

Viking raids began on Scottish shores towards the end of the 8th century, and the Hebrides came under Norse control and settlement during the ensuing decades, especially following the success of Harald Fairhair at the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872. In the Western Isles Ketill Flatnose may have been the dominant figure of the mid 9th century, by which time he had amassed a substantial island realm and made a variety of alliances with other Norse leaders. These princelings nominally owed allegiance to the Norwegian crown, although in practice the latter's control was fairly limited. Norse control of the Hebrides was formalised in 1098 when Edgar of Scotland formally signed the islands over to Magnus III of Norway. The Scottish acceptance of Magnus III as King of the Isles came after the Norwegian king had conquered Orkney, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man in a swift campaign earlier the same year, directed against the local Norwegian leaders of the various island petty kingdoms. By capturing the islands Magnus imposed a more direct royal control, although at a price. His skald Bjorn Cripplehand recorded that in Lewis "fire played high in the heaven" as "flame spouted from the houses" and that in the Uists "the king dyed his sword red in blood".

The Hebrides were now part of the Kingdom of the Isles, whose rulers were themselves vassals of the Kings of Norway. This situation lasted until the partitioning of the Western Isles in 1156, at which time the Outer Hebrides remained under Norwegian control while the Inner Hebrides broke out under Somerled, the Norse-Gael kinsman of the Manx royal house.

Following the ill-fated 1263 expedition of Haakon IV of Norway, the Outer Hebrides and the Isle of Man were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland as a result of the 1266 Treaty of Perth. Although their contribution to the islands can still be found in personal and place names, the archaeological record of the Norse period is very limited. The best known find is the Lewis chessmen, which date from the mid 12th century.

Scottish control
As the Norse era drew to a close, the Norse-speaking princes were gradually replaced by Gaelic-speaking clan chiefs including the MacLeods of Lewis and Harris, Clan Donald and MacNeil of Barra. This transition did little to relieve the islands of internecine strife although by the early 14th century the MacDonald Lords of the Isles, based on Islay, were in theory these chiefs' feudal superiors and managed to exert some control.

The Lords of the Isles ruled the Inner Hebrides as well as part of the Western Highlands as subjects of the King of Scots until John MacDonald, fourth Lord of the Isles, squandered the family's powerful position. A rebellion by his nephew, Alexander of Lochalsh provoked an exasperated James IV to forfeit the family's lands in 1493.

In 1598, King James VI authorised some "Gentleman Adventurers" from Fife to civilise the "most barbarous Isle of Lewis". Initially successful, the colonists were driven out by local forces commanded by Murdoch and Neil MacLeod, who based their forces on Bearasaigh in Loch Ròg. The colonists tried again in 1605 with the same result, but a third attempt in 1607 was more successful and in due course Stornoway became a Burgh of Barony. By this time, Lewis was held by the Mackenzies of Kintail (later the Earls of Seaforth), who pursued a more enlightened approach, investing in fishing in particular. The Seaforths' royalist inclinations led to Lewis becoming garrisoned during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by Cromwell's troops, who destroyed the old castle in Stornoway.

Early British era
With the implementation of the Treaty of Union in 1707, the Hebrides became part of the new Kingdom of Great Britain, but the clans' loyalties to a distant monarch were not strong. A considerable number of islesmen "came out" in support of the Jacobite Earl of Mar in the 1715 and again in the 1745 rising including Macleod of Dunvegan and MacLea of Lismore. The aftermath of the decisive Battle of Culloden, which effectively ended Jacobite hopes of a Stuart restoration, was widely felt. The British government's strategy was to estrange the clan chiefs from their kinsmen and turn their descendants into English-speaking landlords whose main concern was the revenues their estates brought rather than the welfare of those who lived on them. This may have brought peace to the islands, but in the following century it came at a terrible price. In the wake of the rebellion, the clan system was broken up and islands of the Hebrides became a series of landed estates.

The early 19th century was a time of improvement and population growth. Roads and quays were built; the slate industry became a significant employer on Easdale and surrounding islands; and the construction of the Crinan and Caledonian canals and other engineering works such as Clachan Bridge improved transport and access. However, in the mid-19th century, the inhabitants of many parts of the Hebrides were devastated by the Clearances, which destroyed communities throughout the Highlands and Islands as the human populations were evicted and replaced with sheep farms. The position was exacerbated by the failure of the islands' kelp industry that thrived from the 18th century until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and large scale emigration became endemic.

As Iain Mac Fhearchair, a Gaelic poet from South Uist, wrote for his countrymen who were obliged to leave the Hebrides in the late 18th century, emigration was the only alternative to "sinking into slavery" as the Gaels had been unfairly dispossessed by rapacious landlords. In the 1880s, the "Battle of the Braes" involved a demonstration against unfair land regulation and eviction, stimulating the calling of the Napier Commission. Disturbances continued until the passing of the 1886 Crofters' Act.

Language
The residents of the Hebrides have spoken a variety of different languages during the long period of human occupation.

It is assumed that Pictish must once have predominated in the northern Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. The Scottish Gaelic language arrived from Ireland due to the growing influence of the kingdom of Dál Riata from the 6th century AD onwards, and became the dominant language of the southern Hebrides at that time. For a few centuries, the military might of the Gall-Ghàidheil meant that Old Norse was prevalent in the Hebrides. North of Ardnamurchan, the place names that existed prior to the 9th century have been all but obliterated. The Old Norse name for the Hebrides during the Viking occupation was Suðreyjar, which means "Southern Isles"; in contrast to the Norðreyjar, or "Northern Isles" of Orkney and Shetland.

South of Ardnamurchan, Gaelic place names are more common, and after the 13th century, Gaelic became the main language of the entire Hebridean archipelago. Due to Scots and English being favoured in government and the educational system, the Hebrides have been in a state of diglossia since at least the 17th century. The Highland Clearances of the 19th century accelerated the language shift away from Scottish Gaelic, as did increased migration and the continuing lower status of Gaelic speakers. Nevertheless, as late as the end of the 19th century, there were significant populations of monolingual Gaelic speakers, and the Hebrides still contain the highest percentages of Gaelic speakers in Scotland. This is especially true of the Outer Hebrides, where a slim majority speak the language. The Scottish Gaelic college, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, is based on Skye and Islay.

Ironically, given the status of the Western Isles as the last Gaelic-speaking stronghold in Scotland, the Gaelic language name for the islands – Innse Gall – means "isles of the foreigners"; from the time when they were under Norse colonisation.

Modern economy
For those who remained, new economic opportunities emerged through the export of cattle, commercial fishing and tourism. Nonetheless, emigration and military service became the choice of many and the archipelago's populations continued to dwindle throughout the late 19th century and for much of the 20th century. Lengthy periods of continuous occupation notwithstanding, many of the smaller islands were abandoned.

There were, however, continuing gradual economic improvements, among the most visible of which was the replacement of the traditional thatched blackhouse with accommodation of a more modern design and with the assistance of Highlands and Islands Enterprise many of the islands' populations have begun to increase after decades of decline. The discovery of substantial deposits of North Sea oil in 1965 and the renewables sector have contributed to a degree of economic stability in recent decades. For example, the Arnish yard has had a chequered history but has been a significant employer in both the oil and renewables industries.

The widespread immigration of mainlanders, particularly non-Gaelic speakers, has been a subject of controversy.

Agriculture practised by crofters remained popular in the 21st century in the Hebrides; crofters own a small property but often share a large common grazing area. Various types of funding are available to crofters to help supplement their incomes, including the "Basic Payment Scheme, the suckler beef support scheme, the upland sheep support scheme and the Less Favoured Area support scheme". One reliable source discussed the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme (CAGS) in March 2020: "the scheme 'pays up to £25,000 per claim in any two-year period, covering 80% of investment costs for those who are under 41 and have had their croft less than five years. Older, more established crofters can get 60% grants'."

Music
Many contemporary Gaelic musicians have roots in the Hebrides, including vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Julie Fowlis (North Uist), Catherine-Ann MacPhee (Barra), Kathleen MacInnes of the band Capercaillie (South Uist), and Ishbel MacAskill (Lewis). All of these singers have composed their own music in Scottish Gaelic, with much of their repertoire stemming from Hebridean vocal traditions, such as puirt à beul ("mouth music", similar to Irish lilting) and òrain luaidh (waulking songs). This tradition includes many songs composed by little-known or anonymous poets, well-before the 1800s, such as "Fear a' bhàta", "Ailein duinn", "Hùg air a' bhonaid mhòir" and "Alasdair mhic Cholla Ghasda". Several of Runrig's songs are inspired by the archipelago; Calum and Ruaraidh Dòmhnallach were raised on North Uist and Donnie Munro on Skye.

The fiddle and violin company Skyinbow is named-after and based in Skye. Their instruments have been played by musicians such as Mairead Nesbitt, Cora Smyth and Eileen Ivers, and have been featured in productions such as Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames, and Riverdance.

Literature
The Gaelic poet Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair spent much of his life in the Hebrides and often referred to them in his poetry, including in An Airce and Birlinn Chlann Raghnaill. The best known Gaelic poet of her era, Màiri Mhòr nan Òran (Mary MacPherson, 1821–98), embodied the spirit of the land agitation of the 1870s and 1880s. This, and her powerful evocation of the Hebrides—she was from Skye—has made her among the most enduring Gaelic poets. Allan MacDonald (1859–1905), who spent his adult life on Eriskay and South Uist, composed hymns and verse in honour of the Blessed Virgin, the Christ Child, and the Eucharist. In his secular poetry, MacDonald praised the beauty of Eriskay and its people. In his verse drama, Parlamaid nan Cailleach (The Old Wives' Parliament), he lampooned the gossiping of his female parishioners and local marriage customs.

In the 20th century, Murdo Macfarlane of Lewis wrote Cànan nan Gàidheal, a well-known poem about the Gaelic revival in the Outer Hebrides. Sorley MacLean, the most respected 20th-century Gaelic writer, was born and raised on Raasay, where he set his best known poem, Hallaig, about the devastating effect of the Highland Clearances. Aonghas Phàdraig Caimbeul, raised on South Uist and described by MacLean as "one of the few really significant living poets in Scotland, writing in any language" (West Highland Free Press, October 1992) wrote the Scottish Gaelic-language novel An Oidhche Mus do Sheòl Sinn which was voted in the Top Ten of the 100 Best-Ever Books from Scotland.

Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse is set on the Isle of Skye, part of the Inner Hebrides.

Film

 * The area around the Inaccessible Pinnacle of Sgurr Dearg of Skye provided the setting for the Scottish Gaelic feature film Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle (2006). The script was written by the actor, novelist, and poet Aonghas Phàdraig Chaimbeul, who also starred in the movie.
 * An Drochaid, an hour-long documentary in Scottish Gaelic, was made for BBC Alba documenting the battle to remove tolls from the Skye bridge.
 * The 1973 film, The Wicker Man, is set on the fictional Hebridean island of Summerisle. The filming itself took place in Galloway and Skye
 * I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) is set on and was filmed on locations on Mull and the whirlpool in the Gulf of Corryvreckan.

Video games

 * The 2012 exploration adventure game Dear Esther by developer The Chinese Room is set on an unnamed island in the Hebrides.
 * The Hebrides are featured in the 2021 video game Battlefield 2042 as the setting of the multiplayer map Redacted, which was introduced into the game in October 2023.

Influence on visitors

 * J.M. Barrie's Marie Rose contains references to Harris inspired by a holiday visit to Amhuinnsuidhe Castle and he wrote a screenplay for the 1924 film adaptation of Peter Pan whilst on Eilean Shona.
 * The Hebrides, also known as Fingal's Cave, is a famous overture composed by Felix Mendelssohn while residing on these islands, while Granville Bantock composed the Hebridean Symphony.
 * Enya's song "Ebudæ" from Shepherd Moons is named after the Hebrides (see below).
 * The 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man is set on the fictional Hebridean island of Summerisle.
 * The 2011 British romantic comedy The Decoy Bride is set on the fictional Hebrides island of Hegg.

Natural history
In some respects the Hebrides lack biodiversity in comparison to mainland Britain; for example, there are only half as many mammalian species. However, these islands provide breeding grounds for many important seabird species including the world's largest colony of northern gannets. Avian life includes the corncrake, red-throated diver, rock dove, kittiwake, tystie, Atlantic puffin, goldeneye, golden eagle and white-tailed sea eagle. The latter was re-introduced to Rùm in 1975 and has successfully spread to various neighbouring islands, including Mull. There is a small population of red-billed chough concentrated on the islands of Islay and Colonsay.

Red deer are common on the hills and the grey seal and common seal are present around the coasts of Scotland. Colonies of seals are found on Oronsay and the Treshnish Isles. The rich freshwater streams contain brown trout, Atlantic salmon and water shrew. Offshore, minke whales, orcas, basking sharks, porpoises and dolphins are among the sealife that can be seen. Heather moor containing ling, bell heather, cross-leaved heath, bog myrtle and fescues is abundant and there is a diversity of Arctic and alpine plants including Alpine pearlwort and mossy cyphal.

Loch Druidibeg on South Uist is a national nature reserve owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage. The reserve covers 1,677 hectares across the whole range of local habitats. Over 200 species of flowering plants have been recorded on the reserve, some of which are nationally scarce. South Uist is considered the best place in the UK for the aquatic plant slender naiad, which is a European Protected Species.

Hedgehogs are not native to the Outer Hebrides—they were introduced in the 1970s to reduce garden pests—and their spread poses a threat to the eggs of ground nesting wading birds. In 2003, Scottish Natural Heritage undertook culls of hedgehogs in the area although these were halted in 2007 due to protests. Trapped animals were relocated to the mainland.

General references

 * Ballin Smith, B. and Banks, I. (eds) (2002) In the Shadow of the Brochs, the Iron Age in Scotland. Stroud. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2517-X
 * Ballin Smith, Beverley; Taylor, Simon; and Williams, Gareth (2007) West over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300. Leiden. Brill.
 * Benvie, Neil (2004) Scotland's Wildlife. London. Aurum Press. ISBN 1-85410-978-2
 * Buchanan, Margaret (1983) St Kilda: a Photographic Album. W. Blackwood. ISBN 0-85158-162-5
 * Buxton, Ben. (1995) Mingulay: An Island and Its People. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-874744-24-6
 * Downham, Clare "England and the Irish-Sea Zone in the Eleventh Century" in Gillingham, John (ed) (2004) Anglo-Norman Studies XXVI: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2003. Woodbridge. Boydell Press. ISBN 1-84383-072-8
 * First published in 1947 under title: Natural history in the Highlands & Islands; by F. Fraser Darling. First published under the present title 1964.
 * Gammeltoft, Peder (2010) "Shetland and Orkney Island-Names – A Dynamic Group ". Northern Lights, Northern Words. Selected Papers from the FRLSU Conference, Kirkwall 2009, edited by Robert McColl Millar.
 * "Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands". (28 November 2003) General Register Office for Scotland. Edinburgh. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
 * Gillies, Hugh Cameron (1906) The Place Names of Argyll. London. David Nutt.
 * Gregory, Donald (1881) The History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland 1493–1625. Edinburgh. Birlinn. 2008 reprint – originally published by Thomas D. Morrison. ISBN 1-904607-57-8
 * Hunter, James (2000) Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Edinburgh. Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-376-4
 * Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.
 * Lynch, Michael (ed) (2007) Oxford Companion to Scottish History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923482-0.
 * Maclean, Charles (1977) Island on the Edge of the World: the Story of St. Kilda. Edinburgh. Canongate ISBN 0-903937-41-7
 * Monro, Sir Donald (1549) A Description Of The Western Isles of Scotland. Appin Regiment/Appin Historical Society. Retrieved 3 March 2007. First published in 1774.
 * Murray, W. H. (1966) The Hebrides. London. Heinemann.
 * Murray, W.H. (1973) The Islands of Western Scotland. London. Eyre Methuen. ISBN 0-413-30380-2
 * Omand, Donald (ed.) (2006) The Argyll Book. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-480-0
 * Ordnance Survey (2009) "Get-a-map". Retrieved 1–15 August 2009.
 * Rotary Club of Stornoway (1995) The Outer Hebrides Handbook and Guide. Machynlleth. Kittiwake. ISBN 0-9511003-5-1
 * Slesser, Malcolm (1970) The Island of Skye. Edinburgh. Scottish Mountaineering Club.
 * Steel, Tom (1988) The Life and Death of St. Kilda. London. Fontana. ISBN 0-00-637340-2
 * Stevenson, Robert Louis (1995) The New Lighthouse on the Dhu Heartach Rock, Argyllshire. California. Silverado Museum. Based on an 1872 manuscript and edited by Swearingen, R.G.
 * Thompson, Francis (1968) Harris and Lewis, Outer Hebrides. Newton Abbot. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4260-6
 * Watson, W. J. (1994) The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-323-5. First published 1926.
 * Stevenson, Robert Louis (1995) The New Lighthouse on the Dhu Heartach Rock, Argyllshire. California. Silverado Museum. Based on an 1872 manuscript and edited by Swearingen, R.G.
 * Thompson, Francis (1968) Harris and Lewis, Outer Hebrides. Newton Abbot. David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4260-6
 * Watson, W. J. (1994) The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. ISBN 1-84158-323-5. First published 1926.

title: Hebrides


text:
HMS Dreadnought

Several ships and one submarine of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Dreadnought in the expectation that they would "dread nought", i.e. "fear nothing". The 1906 ship, which revolutionized battleship design, became one of the Royal Navy's most famous vessels; battleships built after her were referred to as 'dreadnoughts', and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts.

 * English ship Dreadnought (1553) was a 40-gun ship built in 1553.
 * ENGLISH SHIP Dreadnought was a 41-gun ship launched in 1573, rebuilt in 1592 and 1614, then broken up in 1648.
 * HMS Dreadnought (1654) was a 52-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1654 as the Torrington for the Commonwealth of England Navy, renamed Dreadnought at the Restoration in 1660, and lost in 1690.
 * HMS Dreadnought (1691) was a 60-gun fourth-rate ship of the line launched in 1691, rebuilt in 1706 and broken up 1748.
 * HMS Dreadnought (1723) was a 60-gun ship of the line built at Portsmouth
 * HMS Dreadnought (1742) was a 60-gun fourth rate launched in 1742 and sold 1784.
 * HMS Dreadnought (1801) was a 98-gun second rate launched in 1801, converted to a hospital ship in 1827, and broken up 1857.
 * HMS Dreadnought (1856) was a hospital ship, formerly HMS Caledonia.
 * HMS Dreadnought (1875) was a battleship launched in 1875 and hulked in 1903, then sold in 1908.
 * HMS Dreadnought (1906) was a revolutionary battleship, launched in 1906 and sold for breakup in 1921.
 * HMS Dreadnought (S101) was the UK's first nuclear-powered submarine, launched in 1960 and decommissioned in 1980.
 * HMS Dreadnought (Dreadnought-class submarine) will be the first of the UK's new Dreadnought-class submarine ballistic missile submarines.

Battle honours

 * Armada, 1588
 * Cadiz, 1596
 * Lowestoft, 1665
 * Four Days' Battle, 1666
 * Orfordness, 1666
 * Sole Bay, 1672
 * Schooneveld, 1673
 * Texel, 1673
 * Barfleur, 1692
 * Passero, 1718
 * Cape Francois, 1757
 * Trafalgar, 1805

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: HMS Dreadnought


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Hartmann Schedel

Hartmann Schedel (13 February 1440 – 28 November 1514) was a German historian, physician, humanist, and one of the first cartographers to use the printing press. He was born and died in Nuremberg. Matheolus Perusinus served as his tutor.

Schedel is best known for his writing the text for the Nuremberg Chronicle, known as Schedelsche Weltchronik (English: Schedel's World Chronicle), published in 1493 in Nuremberg. It was commissioned by Sebald Schreyer (1446–1520) and Sebastian Kammermeister (1446–1503). Maps in the Chronicle were the first ever illustrations of many cities and countries.

With the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1447, it became feasible to print books and maps for a larger customer basis. Because they had to be handwritten, books had previously been rare and very expensive.

Schedel was also a notable collector of books, art and old master prints. An album he had bound in 1504, which once contained five engravings by Jacopo de' Barbari, provides important evidence for dating de' Barbari's work.

Editions

 * Hartmann Schedel: Registrum huius operis libri cronicarum cu [cum] figuris et imagibus [imaginibus] ab inicio mudi [mundi]. [Nachdruck der Ausgabe Nürnberg, Koberger, 1493]. Ostfildern: Quantum Books, [2002?]. - CCXCIX, [51] S., ISBN 3-935293-04-6
 * Hartmann Schedel: Register des Buchs der Croniken und geschichten mit figuren und pildnussen von anbeginn der welt bis auf dise unnsere Zeit. [Durch Georgium Alten ... in diss Teutsch gebracht]. Reprint [der Ausg.] Nürnberg, Koberger, 1493, 1. Wiederdruck. München: Reprint-Verlag Kölbl, 1991. - [9], CCLXXXVI Bl., IDN: 947020551
 * Hartmann Schedel: Weltchronik. Nachdruck [der] kolorierten Gesamtausgabe von 1493. Einleitung und Kommentar von Stephan Füssel. Augsburg: Weltbild, 2004. - 680 S., ISBN 3-8289-0803-9
 * Stephan Füssel (Hg.): Schedel'sche Weltchronik. Taschen Verlag, Köln 2001. ISBN 3-8228-5725-4
 * Digitalisat der lateinischen Ausgabe (mit brasil-portugiesischer Bedien-Oberfläche)
 * Digitalisat der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek
 * Digitalisat der Beloit copy (Morse Library, Beloit College, Beloit, WI 53511, United States)
 * Holzschnitte aus einem der Exemplare der Bibliothèque nationale de France

title: Hartmann Schedel


text:
Hexameter

Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek as well as in Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad, Odyssey and Aeneid. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace's satires, Ovid's Metamorphoses, and the Hymns of Orpheus. According to Greek mythology, hexameter was invented by Phemonoe, daughter of Apollo and the first Pythia of Delphi.

Classical hexameter
In classical hexameter, the six feet follow these rules:
 * A foot can be made up of two long syllables (– –), a spondee; or a long and two short syllables, a dactyl (– υ υ).
 * The first four feet can contain either one of them.
 * The fifth is almost always a dactyl, and last must be a spondee/trochee (together forming an adonic). Exceptions can occur when a polysyllabic (especially Greek) name ends a verse.

A short syllable (υ) is a syllable with a short vowel and no consonant at the end. A long syllable (–) is a syllable that either has a long vowel, one or more consonants at the end (or a long consonant), or both. Spaces between words are not counted in syllabification, so for instance "cat" is a long syllable in isolation, but "cat attack" would be syllabified as short-short-long: "ca", "ta", "tack" (υ υ –).

Variations of the sequence from line to line, as well as the use of caesura (logical full stops within the line) are essential in avoiding what may otherwise be a monotonous sing-song effect.

Application
Although the rules seem simple, it is hard to use classical hexameter in English, because English is a stress-timed language that condenses vowels and consonants between stressed syllables, while hexameter relies on the regular timing of the phonetic sounds. Languages having the latter properties (i.e., languages that are not stress-timed) include Ancient Greek, Latin, Lithuanian and Hungarian.

While the above classical hexameter has never enjoyed much popularity in English, where the standard metre is iambic pentameter, English poems have frequently been written in iambic hexameter. There are numerous examples from the 16th century and a few from the 17th; the most prominent of these is Michael Drayton's Poly-Olbion (1612) in couplets of iambic hexameter. An example from Drayton (marking the feet):
 * Nor a | ny o | ther wold | like Cot | swold e | ver sped,
 * So rich | and fair | a vale | in for | tuning | to wed.

In the 17th century the iambic hexameter, also called alexandrine, was used as a substitution in the heroic couplet, and as one of the types of permissible lines in lyrical stanzas and the Pindaric odes of Cowley and Dryden.

Several attempts were made in the 19th century to naturalise the dactylic hexameter to English, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Arthur Hugh Clough and others, none of them particularly successful. Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote many of his poems in six-foot iambic and sprung rhythm lines. In the 20th century a loose ballad-like six-foot line with a strong medial pause was used by William Butler Yeats. The iambic six-foot line has also been used occasionally, and an accentual six-foot line has been used by translators from the Latin and many poets.

In the late 18th century the hexameter was adapted to the Lithuanian language by Kristijonas Donelaitis. His poem "Metai" (The Seasons) is considered the most successful hexameter text in Lithuanian as yet.

For dactylic hexameter poetry in Hungarian language, see Dactylic hexameter.

Albert Meyer (1893–1962, Berne, Switzerland, translated verses of Homer's Odyssey into the Swiss dialect of Berne. This dialect uses a natural form of hexameter. See http://www.edimuster.ch/baernduetsch/chaernduetsch.htm

title: Hexameter


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Timeline of Polish history

This is a timeline of Polish history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Poland and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Poland. See also the list of Polish monarchs and list of prime ministers of Poland.

Centuries: 5th·6th·7th·8th·9th·10th·11th·12th·13th·14th·15th·16th·17th·18th·19th·20th·21st·See also

Prehistory

 * La Tene Culture || ||

title: Timeline of Polish history


text:
Talk:History of Poland

Various deficiencies of this article
1. Concerning the introduction: "The first ruling dynasty, the Piasts, emerged in the 10th century AD. Duke Mieszko I is considered the de facto creator of the Polish state and is widely recognized for his adoption of Western Christianity in 966 CE. Mieszko's dominion was formally reconstituted as a medieval kingdom in 1025 by his son Bolesław I the Brave, known for military expansion under his rule. The most successful and the last Piast monarch, Casimir III the Great, presided over a period of economic prosperity and territorial aggrandizement before his death in 1370 without male heirs."

Considering that the newly established Kingdom of Poland saw several periods without any centralized power, which allowed German and Bohemian rulers to exploit the situation to their benefit, it seems warranted to mention at least in some way, in a sentence or half-sentence, that Piast rule between the 10th and 14th century was intermittent and had to be re-established several times.

2. I would also add that Boreslaw I. established Poland among the Christian realms of Europe, safe-guarding it from Western intrusions under the pretense of spreading Christianity, while adding that very aspect to his own campaigns against pagan rules.

3. The entire article doesn't produce a single match for terms like "german/germanic migration", the first match for "germanization" is found in the section dealing with the early 20th century. A quote from the German WP entry on the time around 1250:

''"This period saw increased colonisation of Polish territories by emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire. By 1250, large parts of Pomerania and Silesia had been settled with Germans and Flemings, who were brought into the country by local lords such as the Griffins in Pomerania and the Silesian Piasts. The Pomeranian nobles, as well as the Silesian princes, primarily hoped that the new settlers would bring them greater economic prosperity, better tax revenues and, above all, a faster connection to the (rural) economic-urban standards of Western Europe. Due to the number of new settlers and the personal commitment and promotion of eastern settlement by the Polish sovereigns, large parts of medieval Poland became part of the German-speaking area over the centuries and permanently lost their Slavic-Polish character. Also, some rulers, such as the Silesian Piasts, voluntarily opened themselves up to Germanism by appointing Germans to high offices in the state and in ecclesiastical structures and marrying princesses from German noble houses, which resulted in kinship ties to the German high nobility. The fact that the Griffin and the Silesian Piast were senior Polish dukes and the most powerful sovereigns in the first half of the 13th century further favoured eastern colonisation and the spread of Germanism in Silesia and beyond its borders. The deslavisation and the corresponding Germanisation took place peacefully and was not a brutal German land seizure of Polish territories - however, conflicts resulting from a lack of consideration of the interests of the local indigenous population through the process of eastern settlement between the long-established Poles and the immigrants, the majority of whom did not speak Slavic, cannot be ruled out. Only at the end of the 13th century and from the beginning of the 14th century did a contrary movement begin, whereby the cultural-economic dominance and influence of Germanism in the core provinces of Poland (Lesser and Greater Poland) was pushed back and which led to the repolonisation of wide swathes of land and many towns."''

It seems that leaving out entirely the origins of the Ethnic German minority in Poland which will become very relevant later on when it comes to Post-WWII violent expropriation, expulsions and the transfer of half a million Ethnic Germans to forced labour camps - does not add to the integrity of the article. Hisredrighthand⚔Tally-ho!⚔ 22:53, 19 March 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 10 June 2023
81.66.219.75 (talk) 15:17, 10 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Actualcpscm (talk) 18:23, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

Occupation of Ukraine and enslavement of Ukrainians as an act of genocide
The biggest layer of polish colonization history is not presented fairly. Ukrainians were deprived of their own houses, land and lives and became polish property. 81.66.219.75 (talk) 15:21, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

 * That's a weird and by no means an encyclopedic opinion. First signs of feudalism appeared in Ruthenian duchies located in Ukraine already in 11th century and serfdom achieved its somewhat final form under the Lithuanian rule. Moreover, serf was never a "property" under the Polish law. I won't even touch the subject of "depriving Ukrainians of their houses and lives" because it's so ridiculous it doesn't deserve a discussion. 87.205.67.92 (talk) 14:35, 26 September 2023 (UTC)

Edit request to correct grammar.
Change "case of successful elective king" to "case of a successful elective king" at the "First elective kings" section of Establishment. Meteorname (talk) 16:55, 16 January 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ ARandomName123 (talk)Ping me! 17:11, 16 January 2024 (UTC)

Map
I am requesting for the inclusion of this map of the Second Polish Republic in the section " Second Polish Republic (1918-1939) ".Gauhar2806 (talk) 10:59, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:History of Poland


text:
Talk:History of Poland/Gathering scientific evidence and bibliography

 * Prehistoric period
 * Historical accounts by Roman historians (the Amber Trail, Slavic and Germanic tribes)
 * Germanic chronicler Widukind of Korbea - writes about Mieszko and Wichmann in History of Saxony (??? don't know the exact title)
 * Germanic chronicler Helmold of Bosau - Chronica Slavorum - gave accounts about Polish peoples (?)
 * Herbord of Michelsberg who worked for Saint Otto (1060-1139) Vita Ottonis episcopi Babenbergens - gave accounts about Poland
 * Ibrahim ibn Jakub (or Abraham ben Jakub) was a Spanish merchant from Tortosa (Cordoba ?) who between 964-966 travelled through central and eastern Europe and wrote down his observations and accounts.
 * Early middle ages
 * Dagome Iudex
 * Late middle ages
 * Web links
 * http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/link/index-e.html
 * http://www.ukans.edu/history/VL/europe/poland.html
 * http://www.ukans.edu/~ibetext/texts/cienciala2/text.html

 * See also : History of Poland


text:
Talk:Timeline of Polish history

Untitled
I don't mean to denigrate the good work done here, and I don't necessarily think we should change this entry at all, but I think we should give a higher priority to writing in a standard prose format, with full sentences and paragraphs. Wikipedia shouldn't consist of a bunch of lists and timelines. --LMS

Well, now that we have a bunch of dates to write around (thanks, H.J. for the work), I have two questions -- first is that, if you look at the timeline, it looks like Boleslaw the Brave is crowned numerous times -- could someone please clarify? Also, before anyone starts writing stubs on the people, could we all decide on what the best English name for each is? There are so many versions of many of these names -- are we using the names with the -slaus endings, or the -slaw, or the -slav?? We need to get this part straight, so I suggest get the nomenclature part agreed first! JHK

Not my timelines, I saw it and only added a little .Boleslaw I Chrobry is the Great and a later Boleslaw (II or III ? is the Brave, I think.I will check. Also what about Boleslaus , like JHK had started somewhere else ? user:H.J.

To JHK, Royal Genealogy , UK calls Boleslaw I ,the Brave, king of Poland and Boleslaw II the Bold of Poland, king of Poland. Boleslaw III Wrymouth of Poland, Duke of Poland. After 1058 Boleslaw II king of Poland ,all  are: Duke of Poland until 1278 Wenceslas II of Bohemia, King of Bohemia/Poland. http://www.fuw.edu/pl/~janbart/AB/KROL/krolowie.htm shows Polish Kings:Boleslaw II Smialy (1076-1079) and next Przemysl II 1295-1296 ,then Dynasty of Przemyslids :Waclaw II Czeski (1300-1305) obviously Wenceslaus II (My copy shows this website, but apparently it is changed),therefore I copied user:H.J.
 * Thanks for the extra research -- I think we really should figure out what version of the names we are going to use -- also it would be nice of Taw or another native speaker could help with pronunciations??? JHK

In my opinion we should turn to nomenclature that it used by English-speaking historians. It would be counter-productive and confusing to devise new names just for Wikipedia. Adopting Polish endings is in my opinion a bad idea, either. Polluting Wikipedia article names with Germanisms is ugly enough to teach us a lesson. --Kpjas

 * Well, I guess my problem is that I just don't know enough about modern English-language historiography of Poland to know what the norm is. I know we used to use the -laus ending, but do we still?  Does anybody know?  Even if we do, I think we should put the Polish version and pronunciation, just as we have been with the German stuff... JHK
 * I'm too busy with worrying about the Ummayads to deal with Slavic names. The simple answer for all European languages is the Library of Congress - which, of course, brings you 'Carlovingian' if you're not careful. --MichaelTinkler

I have two suggestions, one of which contributes to the original discussion.

1. The article should be changed so that the timeline is divided into decades, not just years. 2. How could the huge anti-communist bias of this document go unnoticed? It should be fixed.

Timeline of Polish diplomacy
I'd like to merge Timeline of Polish diplomacy into this article, as it repeats information that is, or should be, in this article.

Battles
I would like to remove battles from this timeline, since listing them would make this timeline too detailed (and we don't even have all the wars listed). I would like to keep only the following: Legnica and Varna, because of the death of a monarch, as well as the most famous battles in Polish history: Grunwald, Vienna, and Warsaw (1920). Hope this works for everyone. Appleseed 03:17, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

Guidelines
These are the guidelines I've been going by to populate this timeline:
 * Start date of armed conflict
 * End date of armed conflict (usually with a truce or peace treaty)
 * Other important treaties/statutes/unions/agreements
 * Election of monarchs
 * Coronation of monarchs
 * End of reign of monarchs (one of the following: death, assassination, abdication, flight)
 * Election/beginning-of-office of a head of state
 * Extraordinary end of office for a head of state (assassination)
 * Adoption of constitutions
 * Landmarks in publishing
 * Other important events

The Second Polish Republic (1918–39)
Is there a reason why subsection "The Second Polish Republic (1918–39)" is not made into a table? Dates are repeated right below in the properly preformatted table. Quite confusing,  Poeticbent  talk 18:36, 17 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Weirdly out of place indeed; it appears to be a leftover artifact of a lazy attempt at information merging. That list definitely needs to reformatted into the table form. I am a lazy bum m-cleanup type guy myself but would appreciate if someone more familiar with the subject could give it a go. Judging from your contributions, you seem just like the hero we need. Could/would you please get this sorted? --Tourorist (talk) 18:51, 9 December 2016 (UTC)

✅.  Poeticbent  talk 02:04, 11 December 2016 (UTC)
 * That was some great copy editing to an awesome result.
 * I sure am glad we have editors of your caliber to raise the overall quality of articles around these parts. No doubt, all this work will be kindly appreciated by fellow editors and readers alike. --Tourorist (talk) 19:29, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

title: Talk:Timeline of Polish history


text:
Himalia

Himalia may refer to:
 * Himalia (moon), a moon of Jupiter
 * Himalia group
 * Himalia (mythology), a nymph from Cyprus in Greek mythology
 * Himalia Ridge, a ridge on the Ganymede Heights massif on Alexander Island, Antarctica

title: Himalia


text:
Heracleidae

The Heracleidae (Ἡρακλεῖδαι) or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles holding  (Hercules), especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira (Hyllus was also sometimes thought of as Heracles' son by Melite). Other Heracleidae included Macaria, Lamos, Manto, Bianor, Tlepolemus, and Telephus. These Heraclids were a group of Dorian kings who conquered the Peloponnesian kingdoms of Mycenae, Sparta and Argos; according to the literary tradition in Greek mythology, they claimed a right to rule through their ancestor. Since Karl Otfried Müller's Die Dorier (1830, English translation 1839), I. ch. 3, their rise to dominance has been associated with a "Dorian invasion". Though details of genealogy differ from one ancient author to another, the cultural significance of the mythic theme, that the descendants of Heracles, exiled after his death, returned some generations later to reclaim land that their ancestors had held in Mycenaean Greece, was to assert the primal legitimacy of a traditional ruling clan that traced its origin, thus its legitimacy, to Heracles.

In the historical period, several dynasties claimed descent from Heracles, such as the Agiads and Eurypontids of Sparta, or the Temenids of Macedonia.

Origin
Heracles, whom Zeus had originally intended to be ruler of Argos, Lacedaemon and Messenian Pylos, had been supplanted by the cunning of Hera, and his intended possessions had fallen into the hands of Eurystheus, king of Mycenae. After the death of Heracles, his children, after many wanderings, found refuge from Eurystheus at Athens. Eurystheus, on his demand for their surrender being refused, attacked Athens, but was defeated and slain. Hyllus and his brothers then invaded Peloponnesus, but after a year's stay were forced by a pestilence to quit. They withdrew to Thessaly, where Aegimius, the mythical ancestor of the Dorians, whom Heracles had assisted in war against the Lapithae, adopted Hyllus and made over to him a third part of his territory.

After the death of Aegimius, his two sons, Pamphylus and Dymas, voluntarily submitted to Hyllus (who was, according to the Dorian tradition in Herodotus V. 72, really an Achaean), who thus became ruler of the Dorians, the three branches of that race being named after these three heroes. Desiring to reconquer his paternal inheritance, Hyllus consulted the Delphic oracle, which told him to wait for "the third fruit", (or "the third crop") and then enter Peloponnesus by "a narrow passage by sea". Accordingly, after three years, Hyllus marched across the isthmus of Corinth to attack Atreus, the successor of Eurystheus, but was slain in single combat by Echemus, king of Tegea. This second attempt was followed by a third under Cleodaeus and a fourth under Aristomachus, both unsuccessful.

Dorian invasion
At last, Temenus, Cresphontes and Aristodemus, the sons of Aristomachus, complained to the oracle that its instructions had proved fatal to those who had followed them. They received the answer that by the "third fruit" the "third generation" was meant, and that the "narrow passage" was not the isthmus of Corinth, but the straits of Rhium. They accordingly built a fleet at Naupactus, but before they set sail, Aristodemus was struck by lightning (or shot by Apollo) and the fleet destroyed, because one of the Heracleidae had slain an Acarnanian soothsayer.

The oracle, being again consulted by Temenus, bade him offer an expiatory sacrifice and banish the murderer for ten years, and look out for a man with three eyes to act as guide. On his way back to Naupactus, Temenus fell in with Oxylus, an Aetolian, who had lost one eye, riding on a horse (thus making up the three eyes) and immediately pressed him into his service. According to another account, a mule on which Oxylus rode had lost an eye. The Heracleidae repaired their ships, sailed from Naupactus to Antirrhium, and thence to Rhium in Peloponnesus. A decisive battle was fought with Tisamenus, son of Orestes, the chief ruler in the peninsula, who was defeated and slain. This conquest was traditionally dated eighty years after the Trojan War.

The Heracleidae, who thus became practically masters of Peloponnesus, proceeded to distribute its territory among themselves by lot. Argos fell to Temenus, Lacedaemon to Procles and Eurysthenes, the twin sons of Aristodemus; and Messenia to Cresphontes (tradition maintains that Cresphontes cheated in order to obtain Messenia, which had the best land of all. ) The fertile district of Elis had been reserved by agreement for Oxylus. The Heracleidae ruled in Lacedaemon until 221 BCE, but disappeared much earlier in the other countries.

This conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians, commonly called the "Dorian invasion" or the "Return of the Heraclidae", is represented as the recovery by the descendants of Heracles of the rightful inheritance of their hero ancestor and his sons. The Dorians followed the custom of other Greek tribes in claiming as ancestor for their ruling families one of the legendary heroes, but the traditions must not on that account be regarded as entirely mythical. They represent a joint invasion of Peloponnesus by Aetolians and Dorians, the latter having been driven southward from their original northern home under pressure from the Thessalians. It is noticeable that there is no mention of these Heraclidae or their invasion in Homer or Hesiod. Herodotus (vi. 52) speaks of poets who had celebrated their deeds, but these were limited to events immediately succeeding the death of Heracles.

At Sparta
At Sparta, the Heraclids formed two dynasties ruling jointly: the Agiads and the Eurypontids. Other Spartiates also claimed Heraclid descent, such as Lysander.

At Corinth
At Corinth the Heraclids ruled as the Bacchiadae dynasty before the aristocratic revolution, which brought a Bacchiad aristocracy into power.

At Argos
A descendant of Heracles, Temenus, was the first king of Argos, who later counted the famous tyrant Pheidon.

At Macedonia
At Macedonia, the Heraclids formed the Argead Dynasty, whose name comes from Argos, as one of the Heraclids from this city, Perdiccas I, settled in Macedonia, where he founded his kingdom. By the time of Philip II the family had expanded their reign further, to include under the rule of Macedonia all Upper Macedonian states. Their most celebrated members were Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, under whose leadership the kingdom of Macedonia gradually gained predominance throughout Greece, defeated the Achaemenid Empire and expanded as far as Egypt and India. The mythical founder of the Argead dynasty is King Caranus.

In Euripides' tragedy
The Greek tragedians amplified the story, probably drawing inspiration from local legends which glorified the services rendered by Athens to the rulers of Peloponnesus.

The Heracleidae feature as the main subjects of Euripides' play, Heracleidae. J. A. Spranger found the political subtext of Heracleidae, never far to seek, so particularly apt in Athens towards the end of the peace of Nicias, in 419 BCE, that he suggested the date as that of the play's first performance.

In the tragedy, Iolaus, Heracles' old comrade and nephew, and Heracles' children, Macaria and her brothers and sisters have hidden from Eurystheus in Athens, ruled by King Demophon; as the first scene makes clear, they expect that the blood relationship of the kings with Heracles and their father's past indebtedness to Theseus will finally provide them sanctuary. As Eurystheus prepares to attack, an oracle tells Demophon that only the sacrifice of a noble woman to Persephone can guarantee an Athenian victory. Macaria volunteers for the sacrifice and a spring is named the Macarian spring in her honor.

title: Heracleidae