the smallest state of ancient Greece, was bounded north by Thessaly and Locris, east by Phocis, south by the Locri Ozolae, and west by Aetolia. The country itself, which is very limited in extent, is surrounded on every side by spurs of the mountain ranges of Oeta and Parnassus, and intersected by the river Pindus (now the Apostolos), a tributary of the Cephissus. The cities of the Doric tetrapolis, which were all situated in the vale of this river, were Boium, Cythinium, Erineus, and Pindus.

The original name of Doris is said to have been Dryopis—so named from its inhabitants the Dryopes, who were expelled from the country when the Dorians took possession of it. In addition to the small territory to which they gave name, these Dorian adventurers are said to have occupied a great tract of the adjoining country: a supposition all the more probable as it is nearly incredible that Doris Proper should have maintained a population capable of subduing the Peloponnesus. An account of this expedition will be found under the head DORIANS. The most powerful state which owed its origin to this expedition was Sparta, which in after times acknowledged her Doric descent by assisting Doris when hard pressed by her more powerful neighbours. Besides Laconia, however, all the other states of the Peloponnesus, except Elis and Arcadia, and a few detached spots of small importance, were equally proud of tracing their origin to the Dorian invaders. From the Peloponnesian Dorians spread in all directions. Corinth, Corcyra, Syracuse, Gela, Agrigentum, Selinus, and Tarentum were all colonized by them; and all retained, with certain modifications, the constitution of the parent state. These colonies all subsequently attained so great importance as completely to eclipse the parent state, which in the historical times of Greece is seldom mentioned. In the second Persian invasion it submitted to Xerxes and his hosts, and its towns were therefore spared. In the wars which subsequently harassed Greece it suffered so severely, that it was matter of wonder that any of its cities maintained their very existence.