Müller's pioneering history of the Dorians was originally published in German in 1824 and translated into English with revisions in 1830. This, the first of two volumes, describes the origins and migrations of the Dorians, their principles of government, and their religion and mythology, including the legends of Hercules.

This two-volume book, originally published in German in 1824, was revised, corrected and enlarged for this 1830 English translation. Carl Otfried Müller (1797-1840) was a pioneering scholar of ancient civilisations and Greek mythology, who taught at Göttingen for twenty years, but died in Greece during an archaeological expedition. This first volume focuses on the history of the Dorians from the earliest times to the end of the Peloponnesian War. Müller proposes Mount Olympus as the original home of the Dorians, and describes their subsequent migrations and their principles of government. The second part of Volume 1 is devoted to the religion and mythology of the Dorians and gives detailed accounts of the temples of Apollo and other temples in Asia Minor. The final two chapters discuss the legends and mythology of Hercules.