Scholars in the past took the ancient accounts of the Dorians and other invading groups at face value. The unif… The Greek Dark Age is the interval between the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, around 1200 BCE, and the Greek Archaic Period, around c. 800 BCE. Recorded sites and cemeteries in Greece. It seems unlikely that the people of Karphi freely chose to settle in a spot so difficult to access, so it is safe to assume that this choice was conditioned by a set of circumstances, probably linked to defensive and other strategic reasons. But the most mysterious case I came across is the simultaneous collapse of almost all major empires in the Mediterreanen during the late Bronze Age. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2021) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. The same pattern has been recorded in Knossos and other cemeteries across Greece. Cristian is a public speaker and independent author with a strong passion for the human past. It was a time period that fascinated the classical Greeks and prompted many stories of Trojan wars and meddling gods. Mycenaean Civilization: Culture & History, Minoan Civilization: Facts, Map & Timeline, The Civil War and Reconstruction: Help and Review, Major Events in World History Study Guide, DSST History of the Soviet Union: Study Guide & Test Prep, History 311: The Holocaust & World War II, SAT Subject Test US History: Practice and Study Guide, TExES History 7-12 (233): Practice & Study Guide, NY Regents Exam - Global History and Geography: Test Prep & Practice, High School World History: Help and Review, Biological and Biomedical Based on these and other observations, there are a few alternatives to refer to this period, such as "Early Iron Age" (based on the "Three Age" system), which can be divided in "Protogeometric" (1050 BCE to 900 BCE) and "Geometric" (900 BCE to 700 BCE) Greece. Thus, our understanding of the Greek Dark Age relies largely on archaeological research. So when the Mycenaean civilization fell around 1100 BC, Greece was plunged into the Dark Ages. Iron-working is the one technological innovation that stands out during this period, so the Greek Dark Age is also known as the Early Iron Age. These sons of Heracles had been driven out of the Mycenaean world, but vowed to return some day.The Dorians used iron weapons, and Mycenaean bronz… Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. Table 1 offers a simplified chronology of the Greek Dark Age. The Mycenaean civilization started to collapse from 1200 BC. From 1960s CE onwards, the archaeological work on the Greek Dark Age has been increasing significantly, and many of the old assumptions have been challenged. The city was sacked, its occupants put to the sword, and the barbarian tribes moved in. Table 1 - Chronology of the Greek Dark Ageby Cristian Violatti (Copyright). Bronze was harder and more durable than copper, which made bronze a better metal for tools and weapons.Archaeological evidence suggests the transition from copper to bronze took place around 3300 B.C. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. However, several other major Mediterranean civilizations fell around the same time period. These signs are consistent with a society experiencing a population increase and gaining a higher level of complexity. This growth is recorded in mainland Greece in general, the Aegean islands, and it is also reflected in the growth of the number of Greek settlements outside Greece (Western Mediterranean and the Black Sea). Excavations of Dark Age communities, such as Nichoria in the Peloponnese, have shown how a Bronze Age town was abandoned in 1150 BCE, but then reemerged as a small village cluster by 1075 BCE. The year 1100 B.C. It also is conceiv… Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1600–1100 BC.It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland Greece with its palatial states, urban organization, works of art, and writing system. The Greek Dark Age chronology does not have any single "fixed point", which means that, since literacy was lost, we do not have any historical event that could be linked to world chronology. Other changes recorded towards the end of the Dark Age are: recovery of literacy (Greek alphabet) after the abandonment of the Mycenaean Linear B script, increasing contacts with regions outside the Aegean, and the emergence of a new and successful form of political institution (the early poleis). Violatti, Cristian. License. ...were still in the herding and hunting stage; [...] their main reliance was upon their cattle, whose need for new pasturage kept the tribes ever on the move. The Mycenaean civilization, it was believed, fell after several waves of invasions by different groups who brought violence and chaos to the sophisticated Mycenaeans. During some time after the destruction of the palaces, the pottery industry continued during the LH IIIC period, but it eventually decreased its quality, followed by the emergence of new regional pottery styles. Dark Ages of Greece After the fall of the Mycenaeans, Greece entered into a dark age. Between 950 and 900 BCE, the Protogeometric style was the most popular style in Greece, but it was absent in some regions: Elis, Laconia, Arcadia, and Samos & Chios (where there is no data available); Lesbos, Macedonia and Sicily & Italy (local wares have been recorded), and Eastern Crete (where the Subminoan style was used). All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. The kingdoms fought one another and earthquakes destroyed their palace fortresses. Lion's Gate at Mycenaeby Andreas Trepte, www.photo-natur.de (CC BY-SA). What happened to the Mycenaean civilization during the Dark Age? After the destruction of the Mycenaean palaces, there is no evidence that these buildings were rebuilt; it seems clear, however, that some of these sites were reoccupied, and that in some cases there were attempts to build new structures, although no real attempt to rebuild the old palaces can be identified. Settlements during the Dark Age were generally small and scattered across the landscape, and the variety of material culture showed signs of impoverishment compared to Mycenaean times. From 900 BCE onwards, the Geometric style gradually emerged until it replaced all earlier styles by 750 BCE, except in Macedonia. Our experts can answer your tough homework and study questions. Some scholars blame a mysterious people known as the Sea People. The Mycenaeans left behind a political and cultural vacuum that remained most unfilled until the rise of the Greek city-states in the eighth century. The Dark Age of Greek Civilization The Mycenaean civilization came to an end The Minoan civilization came to an end Greek cities started colonies outside of the Greek mainland. Figure 1 - Decline in the number of recorded sites and cemeteries in Greeceby Cristian Violatti (CC BY-NC-SA). Metalworking methods during the Dark Age show signs of technical deficiencies in warlike items at several sites compared to earlier Bronze Age practices. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. Before approximately 1200 BC, people in Greece and much of the rest of the Eastern Mediterranean world were living at the height of development. A date between c. 1000 and 750 BCE has also been favoured. Early Protogeometric styles in Lefkandi and Crete). The Greek material culture in general became poorer during the Dark Ages, less innovative, and places like Lefkandi are rare exceptions rather than the rule. Rather than having a critical view on these sources, they looked for evidence that could confirm their validity. One of the seemingly curious aspects of accounts by later, Classical Greek historians of events betweenthe Age of the Heroes (a legendary era essentially rooted in memories of the Minoan-Mycenaean Bronze Age) and their own historic era is that they did not envisage this Dark Age at all. In only around 50 years between 1200 and 1150 BCE the Mycenaean Kingdoms and the Hittite Empire dissolved, Egypt lost its control over the Levante and broke down shortly after. In mainland Greece and some of the Cyclades islands, Mycenaean pottery and Mycenaean burials persisted. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 30 Jan 2015. Figurative art, largely absent during the Greek Dark Age and fairly common during Mycenaean times, returned during the late stage of the Geometric style, including battles, chariot processions, and funerary scenes. Books This picture was mainly supported by ancient accounts on the Dorian invaders, a Greek tribe that migrated into Greece, that was largely responsible for the Mycenaean collapse. It was erected during the 13th century BC in the northwest side of the acropolis and is named after the relief sculpture of two lionesses or lions in a heraldic pose that stands above the entrance. Their geographical location placed them, like the island of Crete, in the center of trade between Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, and the Near East. As a result, it was proposed that some of the archaeological evidence found around 1200 BCE was a reflection of these newcomers. [...] the hard metal of their swords and souls gave them a merciless supremacy over Achaeans and Cretans who still used bronze to kill. After the fall of the Mycenaeans, Greece went into a Dark Age. Thucydides, the great ancient historian of the 5th century bce, wrote a sketch of Greek history from the Trojan War to his own day, in which…. is conventionally called the Dark Ages of Greece, and it is aptly named. More than a hundred sites like this have been recorded in Crete alone. Cite This Work The increase in the number of settlements is in line in the growing number of graves at Athens, Attica, and Argos during the 8th century BCE. Abstract decoration dominated the Dark Age pottery styles. More than a century before the Mycenaean collapse, we find evidence suggesting that there were already conflict and instability in the Aegean. Name: A Dark Age However, the Mycenaean civilization declined over time. Violatti, C. (2015, January 30). The material culture of the 8th-century BCE Greece is much varied and innovative compared with the previous centuries. A Dark Age is a time when there are no historical records (writing) and also a time of fear, uncertainty, and violence. An overview of the Greek regional pottery styles is presented in Table 2. Because writing disappeared along with Mycenaean civilization, no written evidence exists for … The Myceneans were the first major Greek-speaking civilizations. All that was preserved were stories of gods and men, passed along by poets, that dimly reflected Mycenaean values and events. The Mycenaean culture of Greece had spread throughout much of the Aegean, most famously to the city of Troy. The Bronze Age of ancient Greece, which lasted from about 3000 to 1200 BCE, is the historical backdrop for much of Greek mythology as well as the Homeric epics The Iliad and The Odyssey. Start of the Greek Archaic Period The civilization that is often referred to as "Ancient Greece" began around 800 BC. which we know very little about, apart from archaeology. When modern historians speak of the Myceneans, they mean inhabitants of the powerful Late Bronze Age civilization that flourished around the Aegean sea around 1600–1100 BC. https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Dark_Age/. They differ from the period that came before, the Mycenaean Period, in that they lack a principle of unity. By 1100 it was extinguished. The lack of an overall unifying artistic tradition, linked to the absence of a dominant political unit in Greece, could also be a factor to consider when trying to explain these regional differences. No one knows what caused this collapse. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Palaikastro), many major Bronze Age settlements were abandoned and a new pattern emerged: the location of new sites on remote and easily defensible areas. The Greek Dark Ages began as a result of the decline of the Mycenaean civilization in the twelfth and eleventh centuries. "Greek Dark Age." By 1500 BC, the Mycenaeans controlled the entire peninsula. Single burials, for example, have been identified throughout the Mycenaean period at Argos. As exciting as all these may sound, Lefkandi also reflects the material decline of Greece: in terms of building standards, Lefkandi ranks well below the level of sophistication of Mycenaean architecture. Rome fell into chaos and ruin, into the hands of the various tribes. What happened to the Mycenaean civilization during the Dark Ages? At least some of these events might be connected with the Egyptian and Hittite documents recording land and sea raiding activities around the same time. The indigenous civilization on the Cyclades reached its high point during the Bronze Age. They were first undertaken by Heinrich Schliemann and others after 1876, and they helped to revise the early history of Greece. No, definitely not. © copyright 2003-2021 Study.com. It was a time about which Greeks of the Classical age had confused and actually false notions. All these estimations would be acceptable to most scholars today. The Greek Dark Age was a period of decline, famine, and lower population throughout the region. "Dark Age" was a suitable analogy for this apocalyptic view of a complex society being torn apart by nomads entering Greece and "downgrading" it to an age of savagery. Table 1 - Chronology of the Greek Dark Age. Specifically, when The Dorians conquered the Minoans and Mycenaean civilizations, The Dark Age emerged. However, in retrospect we can identify one major benefit of the period. About this time, groups of warring peoples moved from place to place throughout the eastern Mediterranean region. The end of the world began in AD 476, when Odoacer deposed Emperor Romulus. The collapse of the Mycenaean civilization was the cause of the Greek Dark Ages. was marked by the disappearances of the Hittites, Minoans and Mycenaean Greeks. 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