last-named tragedian, in his Temenidæ, Archelaus, and Cresphontes, went further into the history of the Doric states, and descended lower into the historical period, than any poet before his time; his reason having, perhaps, been, the exhaustion of the legitimate mythical materials.(195) Now these Attic tragedians manifestly took for their basis the narrative given by Apollodorus, himself an Athenian, as may be shown by some particular circumstances. Perhaps Ephorus rested more upon the earlier poets and historians, as far as we are acquainted with their statements; but his narrative, even if it were extant, could, no more than those of the former, be considered as proceeding from a critical examination; since, in the first place, from a total misapprehension of the character of tradition, he forced everything into history, and then endeavoured to restore the deficiencies of oral narrative by probable reasoning; of the fallaciousness of which method we will bring forward some proofs. 4. After what has been said, we will forbear to apologize for merely offering a few remarks on the origin and meaning of the traditions which concern the Doric migration, instead of endeavouring to give a history of that event. And, indeed, we might bring forward some most marvellous legends, but on that very account the better fitted to convince every one what is the nature of the ground on which we stand. In the Ἠοῖαι attributed to Hesiod, it was stated that Polycaon the son of Butes, whose name represents the ancient (_i.e._ Lelegean) population of Messene, married Euæchme (Εὐαίχμη, viz. _celebrated for the spear_) the daughter of Hyllus, and grand-daughter of Hercules. In this simple and unpretending manner the early tradition conveyed the idea that the Hylleans and Dorians had, by the power of the spear, made themselves masters of Messene, and united themselves with the original inhabitants.(196) In the Laconian village of Abia, there was a temple of Hercules, which was said to have been built by Abia the nurse of Glenus, the brother of Hyllus.(197) It was, therefore, supposed that Hyllus and Glenus themselves came to Laconia. Pausanias endeavours to reconcile the local tradition with the received history, and assumes that Abia had fled hither after the death of Hyllus; which, however, is inconsistent with the common account that Peloponnesus was in the hands of the enemy, and that the battle in which Hyllus fell was at the Isthmus. We come now to the common relation of the order of events.