The "Dark Age" and Revival 1200-750 B.C.

Slideshow and Pomeroy Textbook

What were the four D’s of the early Dark Age in Greece?

Destruction, depopulation, depression, and decentralisation

When was the low-point of the Dark Ages?

1050 B.C.

What was the low point of the Dark Ages like?

The Greek people survive but at a greatly reduced material level with only local organisation everywhere in scattered villages typically governed by chiefs

By the 700s B.C., what system of organisation emerges?

The polis 

How did the city-state emerge?

It emerged from amalgamations of Dark Age villages in which several villages and a city centre will join

What are the three revival signs of the Dark Ages?

Ironworking, protogeometric pottery, and reinvigoration of trade

Where did iron working begin?

Mesopotamia in 1200 B.C., with a theory that it was invented in Armenia in 1400 B.C. but was kept secret by the Hittites until their downfall

When does the Iron Age start in Greece?

1050 B.C.

Why is protogeometric pottery important?

• Sign of increased trade that could have inspired its creation

• Growth of Greek class that was able to purchase high-end pottery

• Sudden improvements might indicate improvements in other arts and crafts that have not survived

What does protogeometric pottery mean?

It references geometric pottery that emerges in 900 B.C. Greece where protogeometric is the precursor

How do we know that trade revived around 1050 B.C.?

There was an accelerated increase of Greek ceramics across the Aegean Sea and the coast of Asia Minor

What were the three major Greek ethnic-dialect groups?

• Ionian Greeks

• Aeolian Greeks

• Dorian Greeks

From where did the Ionians and Aeolians come?

They were the descendants of refugees from the wrecked Mycenaean kingdoms

From where did the Dorians come?

They originally inhabited a north-western corner of mainland Greece called Epirus and in 1050 B.C. they migrated/invaded into the power vacuum of central and southern Greece

Where do the three Greek dialect groups also show up?

West Asia Minor and the east-Aegean island by about 1000 B.C. when the groups invaded eastward from mainland Greece

What four major locales did the Ionians inhabit?

• Athens

• Euboea

• Cyclades Island of the Aegean Sea

• Ionia, in west Asia Minor

From whom did the Ions claim to be descended?

The mythical human Ion described as the son of Apollo and the Athenian princess Creusa

What were the Ionians known for?

Being intellectual, good seafaring, and commerce

What intellectual breakthroughs were had by the Ionians?

• Creation of the Greek alphabet (Euboea)

• Famous poetry of Homer (Ionia)

• Creation of philosophy (Ionia)

• Culminations of philosophy, theatre, and architecture in the 400s-300s B.C. (Athens)

What was the importance of Ionia?

By the 600s-500s B.C. it was the centre of Greek trade, technology, intellectual, and artistic output and held the economic cultural place that Athens would hold in the 400s B.C.

Why and when did Ionia decline?

In the second half of the 500s B.C., Ionia declined under subjugation by Persia

What were the four major cities of Ionia?

• Miletus (preeminent city 600s-500s B.C.)

• Island of Samos (competing with Miletus)

• Ephesus

• Island of Chios

Where were the Aeolians native to?

Boeotia and Thessaly

From whom did the Aeolians claim descent?

The mythical human named Aeolus

What was the most important east-Aegean Aeolian settlement?

The island of Lesbos with foremost city Mytilene known for seafaring, economic prosperity, and distinctive poetic traditions

Who was the most famous poet of Lesbos?

Sappho, circa 600 B.C.

From whom did the Dorians claim descent?

The mythical human Dorus, however their name may actually derive from the word doru for “spear”

What was the most famous Dorian city?

Sparta

Did the Dorians destroy the Mycenaean civilisation?

No, this is an outdated theory, the Dorian invasion was opportunistic and came after the Mycenaean collapse

Did the Dorian invasion carry iron weapons into Greece?

No, the Dorian invasion did not involve iron weapons, iron forging came to Greece separately at around the same time

What did the Dorians capture?

The Peloponnese, Crete, and southwest Asia Minor including Halicarnassus, Cnidus, and the island of Rhodes

What was the Greek sentiment about the Dorians?

That they were hillbillies and newcomers, not as old in pedigree as the Aeolians or Ioanians

What fiction of descent did the Dorians develop?

They thought that they were descendants of Heracles whose sons led the Dorian invasion to seize their birthright of the Peloponnese

What were the Dorian stereotypes?

That they were militaristic and non-intellectual

What goes against the stereotypes of the Dorians?

• They had a tradition of poetry composition and recital

• Public singing was part of Sparta’s education system

• First writer of history, Herodotus, was from Halicarnassus in 440 B.C.

• Some Dorian cities were known for seafaring and commerce like Corinth, Aegina, Megara, and Halicarnassus

What two dialect groups formed a contrast to each other?

The Dorians and the Ionians → Ionians more intellectual and cultured, Dorians more militaristic and better land soldiers

How did the Dorian and Ionian conflict develop?

In the 500s B.C. Sparta was the leading city of the Dorians while in the 400s B.C. Athens was the leading Ionian one and eventually Athens and Sparta would have the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.) for dominance