Walwetes was the leader of the Peleset, one of the most powerful Sea Peoples to invade the eastern Mediterranean amid the Late Bronze Age collapse. A regal figure and born to lead, Walwetes swore to find his people a new land to call their own after they were driven from their homeland of Crete. His travails tempered his aggressive nature and deepened his weary sighs, and the "Father of the Peleset" led his people to conquer the wealthy city of Megiddo before capturing the undefended cities of its allies. His expansion set him against Ramesses, the Egyptian guardian of Sinai, leading to the two ultimately coming to blows during the great Sea Peoples invasion of the 1180s and 1170s BC. It is unknown what became of Walwetes, although his people ultimately did find their new home in Canaan, and their descendants would come to be known as the Philistines.
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