…against the Dorians.
"During the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, Attica was divided into several independent communities/states. Athens (whose urban limits were limited at the Acropolis in this period) was one of the strongest Attic city-states, probably ruled by a Danaan dynasty. Its key location almost in the middle of the distance from Ereneia to Sounion (extreme border towns of Attica to the northwest and southeast respectively), its relatively fertile land that surrounded it and the inaccessible site of the Acropolis, were some parameters that gave Athens an edge over the other competing communities-states for the domination of Attica, mainly over the states of Eleusis and Pallene. Athens was the final winner in the intra-Attic struggle.
It seems that in the late 16th century BC, the Danaans of Athens were overthrown by a dynasty of Lapiths (probably the House of the mythical Erichthonios) originating from Thessaly. The Lapith origin of the new dynasty is evident from the subsequent rule in Athens of the undoubtedly Lapith heroes Aegeus and Theseus, or more correctly the warrior-kings that they represent. The Lapith dynasty of Athens reached its peak during the reign of the mythical hero Theseus, probably in the 14th century, when he (or more accurately the Aegeied-Theseid kings that he represents in the myths) united the Attic warring communities into a typical Mycenaean palatial state. This unification of Attica, if not mythical, marked the establishment of the Attic/Athenian state. Apart from the strong Attic city-state of Eleusis, it is not known if in the centuries that followed, some other Attic towns managed to gain their independence from Athens for some time. It seems likely that this have happened during the Trojan War. The absence of the cities of Attica (except Athens) from the List of the Ships of the Achaeans in the Iliad, has no historical value due to a very probable subsequent Athenian intervention in the Homeric text.
The organization, equipment and tactics of the Attic/Athenian armies of the 14th century B.C. followed the Early Mycenaean palatial standards. In the 13th century, the Mycenaean art of war changed dramatically according to the new era, although some states like Pylos, Knossos and Salamis (an independent island kingdom near Attica), rather maintained their Early Mycenaean military standards. It can not be determined whether the Attics followed the Later Mycenean and Sub-Mycenaean military innovations, but this is most likely. We may assume that the Attics/Athenians had war chariots because of their palatial organization. The Attics participated in the Trojan War (rather in the mid 13th cent. BC, and not in the early 12th cent as it is usually considered) under the hero Menestheus, most probably a mythical figure…"
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Amicalement
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