The initial consequences of the Dorian invasion were terrible for the Mycenaeans. The palaces, as well as the kings and officials who ran them, were demolished. The riches and organization that had sustained the artists and merchants were also washed away by a barbaric population who lacked the knowledge and social organization to sustain them.

Many settlements were abandoned and were never rebuilt.

Some of their residents most likely became nomadic, and many died as a result.

Nonetheless, Homeric society was clearly split into classes, with the most essential distinction being that between nobles and everyone else. We don't know where this division came from, but there's no denying that Greek society was aristocratic at the time. Noble position was defined by birth, and money was frequently associated with it.

There were three groups under the nobles: thetes, landless workers, and slaves. We don't know if the thetes held the land they worked on outright (and so had the freedom to sell it) or if they worked on a hereditary plot that belonged to their clan (and thus wasn't theirs to dispose of as they pleased).

• The plight of the free but landless hired agricultural laborer was the worst. At the very least, the slave was linked to a family.

Homer is the finest source for a portrayal of civilization during the "Dark Ages." His epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, arose from an oral poetic tradition that dated back to the Mycenaean Age.

• Bards have sung tales of the heroes who had fought at Troy for generations, using lyrics organized in rhythmic formulae to help memorization.

• Some old material was kept in this manner until the seventh century B.C.E., when the poetry attributed to Homer were ultimately written down.

Although the poems recount the exploits of Mycenaean Age heroes, the world they depict is definitely distinct from that of the Mycenaeans. Homer's heroes are incinerated rather than buried in tholos graves; they worship gods in temples, whereas the Mycenaeans worshiped in tholos tombs.

Women's roles in Homer's society were primarily to carry and raise children, but the wives of the heroes also had a recognized position, presiding over the home, supervising the servants, and protecting the family property.

They were admired for their beauty, steadfastness, and weaving ability. All of these wonderful traits are embodied in Penelope, Odysseus' wife and perhaps the perfect Homeric lady.

During her husband's absence of twenty years, she resisted the many suitors who wanted to marry her and take his place, remained devoted to him, maintained his property, and ensured the future of their son. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, had a quite different reputation, having deceived her husband while he was battling at Troy.

A new military method was critical to the polis's growth. Small cavalry companies and individual "champions" who launched spears first and then advanced to close quarters with swords may have bore the brunt of warfare in the past. However, by the end of the ninth century B.C.E., the hoplite phalanx emerged and became the foundation of Greek warfare for the rest of the century.

The hoplite was a powerfully equipped infantryman who used a spear and a huge shield to fight. Although some argue for a looser configuration, most experts think these warriors were arranged into a phalanx in close order, generally at least eight ranks deep. There would be minimal losses as long as the hoplites fought fiercely and kept their place.

Syria and its adjoining area were too powerful to enter, therefore the Greeks landed on Macedonia's southern shore. This area was thinly populated, and the indigenous were not sufficiently organized enough to fight the Greek colonists. The regions of southern Italy and eastern Sicily were much more appealing. There were soon so many Greek colonies in Italy and Sicily that the Romans dubbed the entire region Magna Graecia, or "Great Greece." The Greeks established colonies in Spain and southern France as well.

Greek colonists inhabited the shores of the northern Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the straits linking them in the seventh century B.C.E. They founded villages on the eastern side of the North African coast at the same period. The Greeks now had outposts all over the world.

Only overwhelming forces like as overcrowding and a need for land prompted thousands of people to leave their homes and build new poleis.

Although supported by the home city, the colony was formed for the benefit of the colonists rather than those they left behind. The colonists tended to split the land they colonized into equal parts, reflecting an egalitarian propensity inherent in the ethical framework of the mother city' yeoman farmers.

They frequently imitated their home constitution, worshiped the same gods as the inhabitants of the mother city at the same festivals, and conducted a brisk trade with the mother city. Despite their independence, most colonies maintained good relations with their home city. Each may seek assistance from the other.

The tyrants reigned over an era of population expansion that witnessed an increase in the number of city residents in particular. They replied with a public works program that included the renovation of drainage systems, water supply maintenance, the construction and organizing of marketplaces, the construction and reinforcement of city walls, and the installation of temples. They created new local events and enhanced existing ones.

They supported poets and craftspeople, and the results were positive. All of this activity increased the tyrant's popularity, the prosperity of his city, and his sense of self-worth.

The tyrant's reign was usually guarded by a personal bodyguard and mercenary warriors. An armed citizenry, which would have been required for an active foreign policy, would have been necessary.

At first glance, Sparta—located on the Peloponnesus, Greece's southern peninsula—seems to be no different from other poleis. However, about 725 B.C.E., the Spartans launched a conquest war against their western neighbor, Messenia, due to population pressure and land scarcity. (See Figures 2–3.) The Spartans got all the land they needed in the First Messenian War. Because the Messenians were reduced to serfs, or Helots, the Spartans no longer needed to farm the land that sustained them.

The turning point in Spartan history occurred in 650 B.C.E., when the Helots rebelled with the support of Argos and other Peloponnesian cities during the Second Messenian War. The war was lengthy and bloody, and at times it seemed hopeless.

Most aristocracy were wealthy enough to employ a large number of hired laborers, sharecroppers, and even slaves to tend their vast estates. As a result, they would have more time for other pursuits. The drinking party, or symposia, was the focal point of aristocratic social life. This was no ordinary drinking session designed to erase inhibitions and generate forgetfulness. In reality, the Greeks nearly always mixed their wine with water, and one of the players' aims was to drink as much as the others without becoming inebriated.

The symposium was a well planned affair, with a "monarch" appointed to control the schedule of proceedings and determine the night's wine and water combination. Only guys took part, and they ate and drank while reclining on the couch.