Prehistoric Greece Notes

Why Start with Prehistory?

• Addresses common misconceptions about Ancient Greece, which often focuses on Classical Athens, philosophers, or Alexander the Great.
• Provides essential context for understanding the development of later Greek civilization.

Geography’s Role in History

• Key Bodies of Water:
  • Mediterranean Sea: Central to Greek trade and expansion.
  • Aegean Sea: Located between Greece and Asia Minor.
  • Black Sea (Uxine Sea): Linked to the Aegean Sea via:
    • Propontis (Sea of Marmara)
    • Bosphorus (north)
    • Hellespont (south)
  • Adriatic Sea: Between Italy and Greece.
  • Tyrrhenian Sea: West of Italy.
• Straits:
  • Bosphorus & Hellespont: Crucial trade routes.
  • Messina: Between Italy and Sicily.
  • Gibraltar
• Land Features:
  • Mountains:
    • Pindus (Greece)
    • Apennines (Italy)
    • Alps, Pyrenees, Caucasus
  • Islands:
    • Cyprus, Crete, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica
• Geography shaped:
  • Trade
  • Warfare
  • Political structure: city-states vs. empires

What is Prehistory?

• Definition: History before written records.
• Homo Sapiens: $200,000 – 300,000$ years old.
• Writing: Only $7,000$ years old; full records even fewer.
• Evidence Types:
  • Archaeology: Primarily non-organic remains; stone, metal, ceramics.
  • Comparative Anthropology: Observing modern primitive cultures to infer prehistoric behavior.
  • Linguistics: Reconstructing proto languages.
  • DNA Analysis: Traces migration, evolution, ancestry.

Three Age System (chronology by material use)

1. Stone Age
2. Bronze Age
3. Iron Age

Dating Methods

• Radiocarbon (C-14): For organic materials (up to $50,000$ years, approximate accuracy).
• Dendrology (tree rings).
• Ice core samples.
• Evidence is often fragmentary, use 3P Scale:
  • Possible
  • Probable
  • Provable

Indo-European Linguistics

• Proto-Indo-European (PIE): Reconstructed parent language of Greek, Latin, Sanskrit.
• First Recognized: Sir William Jones, $1786$
• Historical Linguistics: Tracks sound shifts & language branches (e.g., two -> duo, deux, zwei).
• PIE studies influenced by Romanticism, nationalism, and 19th-20th c. racism (Nazi Aryan theory).

Major Prehistoric Archaeological Discoveries

• Decipherments:
  • Rosetta Stone: Egyptian Hieroglyphs via Greek.
  • Behistun Inscription: Old Persian, Elamite, Akkadian.
• Sites:
  • Uruk, Nineveh, Babylon: Mesopotamian cities.
  • Thera/Santorini: Volcano c. $1600$ BCE helps date Bronze Age.
  • Herculaneum, Pompeii: Rediscovered in $1700$s.

Prehistoric Societies & Misconceptions

• Gift Economy & redistribution: Palaces collected, goods, redistributed them in Mesopotamia, Egypt.
• City – state formation: Often along rivers; led by kings with divine sanction.
• Social hierarchy: Lack of material evidence does not equal lack of hierarchy.
• Burial Customs: Slow to change, more reliable indicators of belief/status.

Misuses of Archaeology

• Idealized, romanticized reconstruction peaceful goddess worship in Gimbutas’ theory.
• Avoid projecting ideologies onto ancient evidence.

Common Threads Across Early Civilizations

• Egypt: pharaoh as divine rule, ma’at/order.
• Mesopotamia: irrigation driven cooperation, early kingship.
• Trade & connectivity: complex Late Bronze Age network of diplomacy and commerce – like a “brotherhood of kings”.

Key Terms

• Prehistory
• Three-Age System
• Radiocarbon Dating
• Comparative Anthropology
• Proto – Indo – European (PIE)
• Gift Economy
• Ma’at
• Sargon of Akkad
• Koiné: shared culture

The Minoans: Crete Before the Greeks

• Who were the Minoans?
  • Pre-Greek civilization centered on Crete.
  • Influenced later Greek culture, especially the Mycenaeans.
  • The name comes from King Minos, a figure in Greek Mythology, coined by Sir Arthur Evans in the early 20th century.

Archaeological Methods Overview

• Key Contributors:
  • Christian Thompson: Developed the three-age system (Stone, Bronze, Iron).
  • Flinders Petrie: Applied stratigraphy to field archaeology.
  • Kenyon – Wheeler Method: Square excavation units with intact earth walls (balks) to observe stratigraphy.
• Key Tools:
  • Pottery Typology: Camaras ware = dating clues.
  • Radiocarbon Dating: Confirms artifact ages.
  • Survey Methods: From pot shard transects to modern tools (LIDAR, ground – penetrating radar, drones).
  • Tell: man – made hill form layered human occupation

Geography & Major Sites

• Crete was a strategic trade hub in the Aegean.
• Main palatial centers:
  • Knossos: north – central Crete
  • Phaistos: south – central Crete
  • Malia, Zakros, Agia Triada
• Thera/Santorini (Akrotiri): sister site to Crete, not on Crete itself.

Minoan Chronology

• Pre – Palatial (7000-2000 BCE):
  • Egalitarian society, early agriculture, simple tools.
• Proto – Palatial (2000-1700 BCE):
  • First palace building, increasing social complexity.
• Neo – Palatial (1700-1450 BCE):
  • Rebuilt palaces (post – earthquake), peak art/trade.
• Post – Palatial (1450-1100 BCE):
  • Mycenaean takeover, cultural fusion.

Thera Eruption $1600$ BCE

• Volcanic Explosivity Index: 7 (like Tambora 1815).
• Buried Akrotiri, preserved buildings, frescoes, no human remains.
• Caused tsunamis, earthquakes, and possibly climate effects.
• Did not directly cause Minoan collapse, but weakened them.

Minoan Art & Culture

• Art style:
  • Frescoes: bright pastels, naturalistic (Spring Fresco, Saffron Gatherer, Flotilla Fresco).
  • Marine Motifs: Octopi, dolphins on pottery (Marine style amphorae).
  • Realism and movement were emphasized.
• Architecture:
  • Palaces had central courtyards, storerooms, and ritual spaces.
  • Not fortified – suggests internal peace or sea – based defense.
• Religion:
  • Peak sanctuaries, sacred caves.
  • Common symbols:
    • Labrys (double axe) = symbol of authority or religion.
    • Horns of Consecration.
  • Snake Goddess figurines: debated – goddesses, priestesses, or something else.
• Writing Systems
  • Linear A: Minoan script – not yet deciphered.
  • Linear B: Adopted by Mycenaeans – deciphered Greek.
  • Both likely served record – keeping for palace economies.
• Economy & Society
  • Redistributive Economy: Palaces collected and redistributed goods.
  • Evidence of:
    • Elite burials
    • Social stratification
    • Artisan class
    • Extensive trade networks
• Trade & Influence
  • Found Minoan art & pottery in:
    • Kabri (Israel)
    • Tel el-Daba (Egypt)
    • Thera
  • Minoan artisans traveled or were exchanged diplomatically.

Knossos & Arthur Evans

• Reconstructed parts of Knossos (inaccuracies).
• Used concrete and imaginative reconstruction Dolphin Fresco.
• Introduced modern interest in Minoan studies.

Minoan – Mycenaean Fusion

• Post – $1450$ BCE: Greeks (Mycenaeans) take over Crete.
• Evidence Suggests:
  • Some destruction layers, but also continuity.
  • Agia Triada Sarcophagus $1400$BCE: Shows blend of Minoan – Mycenaean funerary art.
  • Religious symbols (labrys, horns) persist under Greek rule.

Key terms

• Labrys: Double axe symbol.
• Linear A/B: Minoan and Greek scripts.
• Redistributive Economy
• Knossos, Phaistos, Malia: Palace sites.
• Akrotiri/Thera: Volcano and city preserved by eruption.
• Horns of Consecration
• Agia Triada Sarcophagus: Blended cultural artifact

Mycenaean Civilization

• First verifiable Greek culture in ancient Greece.
• Flourished during the Late Bronze Age $1600 – 1100$ BCE.
• Known through archaeological evidence, notably excavated by Heinrich Schliemann.

Heinrich Schliemann: Archaeology and Controversy

• Wealthy amateur archaeologists began major digs in Troy $1872$ and Mycenae $1874-76$
• Believed deeply in the historical reality of the Trojan War.
• Famous for sensational discoveries but used destructive methods, dynamite.
• Was more of a popularizer than original discover – earlier work done by Frank Calvert (Troy) and Kyriakos Pittakis (Mycenae).

Troy and Its Layers

• Excavations revealed at least 9 Troys built in layers on the same site.
• Candidates for Homer’s Troy:
  • Troy VI ($1750-1300$ BCE): fortified city, possibly destroyed by earthquake
  • Troy VIIa ($1300-1100$ BCE): Shows evidence of war – like destruction, best match for Homeric Troy
• Hittite records mention “Wilyusa” and a king “Alaksandru” – possibly historical echoes of Ileon and Paris/Alexander from the Iliad.

Mycenae and Architecture

• Known for Cyclopean masonry (massive stone construction).
• Famous structures:
  • Lion Gate – monumental entrance to the citadel
  • Grave Circles A & B – elite family burials with rich grave goods
  • Megaron – central hall, possibly for ruling, feasting, or worship
  • Tholos tombs Treasury of Atreus – beehive – shaped elite tombs
• Rich burial finds like gold masks Mask of Agamemnon indicate elite status.

Linear B & Language

• Writing system was discovered in Knossos, Pylos, Mycenae, and Thebes.
• Deciphered by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick.
• Early form of Greek: syllabary with logograms, used mainly for recordkeeping.
• Helps trace continuity of Greek language, religion, and administration.

Palatial Economy and Society

• Redistributive economy: central palaces-controlled goods, labor, and services.
• Evidence from Linear B tablets includes:
  • Agricultural records, taxes, textile production
  • Military organization and corvée labor
• Social hierarchy:
  • Wanax (king), Basileus (later term for ruler), Lāwāgetas (military leader)
  • Damos (people), Doeroi (slaves), specialized laborers (bronze smiths)

Warrior Culture

• Burials include armor, weapons, and death masks.
• Found suits like the Dendra panoply and boar’s tusk helmets.
• Artwork and grave goods stress martial values and elite status.

Religion and Continuity

• Names of gods found in Linear B: Zeus, Poseidon, Dionysus, Hermes, Artemis, Athena.
• Open – air worship; no permanent temples.
• Offerings included libations, grains, animal sacrifice.
• Religious symbols: double axes (labrys), horns of consecration from Minoan influence.

Trade and International Relations

• Part of a vast trade network including:
  • Imports of tin (for bronze), amber, ivory from far – off regions
  • Shipwrecks like Uluburun $1300$ BCE show widespread commerce
• Known to Hittites as Aḫḫiyawā (Achaeans) – mentions in foreign texts confirm contact.

Legacy

• The Mycenaean world collapsed $1100$ BCE – likely due to internal strife, external invasion, or systemic collapse.
• Their legacy survives in epic poetry Homer and the Greek language and religious practices.

The Greek Iron Age

• Also called the “dark age” now considered and outdated and misleading term.
• Iron tools replace bronze; writing is lost, but later reintroduced.
• Period spans roughly $1100-750$ BCE, ending with Orientalizing period and the rise of the Archaic Age.

Collapse of the Bronze Age $1200-1100$ BCE

• Widespread destruction of major palace centers Pylos, Mycenae.
• Causes of collapse multi casual model
  • Sea Peoples invasions Battle of Delta, Medinet Habu
  • Climate change & mega – droughts
  • Earthquake swarms
  • Internal rebellion or social collapse
  • Economic decline and migration
• Collapse meant:
  • Loss of writing Linear B disappears
  • Decline of fine arts, building, trade, and central palatial authority
  • Emergence of small, independent communities

Cultural Fragmentation and Social Resilience

• Some regions recovered faster than others:
  • Cyprus and Assyria were resilient
  • Canaan transformed into Phoenician civilization
  • Athens and Euboea Lefkandi showed continuity
• Idea of resilience theory Eric Cline: cultural ability to recover from systemic collapse

Key Sites and Evidence

1. Lefkandi Euboea
   • Continuous habitation
   • Rich burials (warrior with horses, female consort)
   • Long hall with Megaron style layout
2. Nichoria (Peloponnese)
   • Resettled $1075$BCE
   • House C: likely a chieftain’s house, modest Megaron design

Cultural Changes and Pottery Styles

• Pottery used to define archaeological phases
  • Sub – Mycenaean $1125-1050$ BCE decline of Mycenaean forms
  • Proto – Geometric $1050-900$ BCE use of compass for decoration
  • Geometric $900-700$ BCE Meander patterns, increasing complexity
  • Orientalizing $720-600$ BCE influences form Near East & Egypt

Society and Governance

• Basileus: local chieftains, smaller scale than Mycenaean wanax
• Oikos (household) and genos (clan) central to social structure
• Likely boule (council of elders) and demos (common people)
• Law likely based on custom and self-help rather than state enforcement
• Social hierarchy retained
  • Elites buried with grave goods horses, weapons
  • Evidence of inequality despite fall of palaces

Memory, Myth, and Migration

• Mythic explanation: return of the Heraclidae (Sons of Heracles) as cause for Dorian invasion
• Migration form mainland Greece to Ionia (Miletus, Ephesus)
• Myth and oral tradition preserve fragmented memory of Bronze Age in Homer

Homeric Echoes and Cultural Values

• Emergence of Homeric poems around the late Iron Age
  • Reflect Iron Age warrior culture more than actual Mycenaean life
• Core values:
  • Arete (excellence), Kleos (glory), Time (honor), Aidos (shame/respect)
  • Gift economy: Gerata (war prizes)
  • Emphasis on reciprocity, heroism, and elite competition

Recovery and Legacy

• $900-800$ BCE, population and trade rebounded
• Founding of colonies and revival of monumental architecture
• Adoption of alphabetic writing by $800$ BCE
• Beginnings of the polis (city state) and civic identity
• Iron Age Greek Archaic Age – Opening Themes
  • Marks the transition from the Greek Iron Age to a period of cultural reawakening $750 -480$ BCE
  • Rise of alphabetic writing, public literature, Panhellenism, and epic poetry
  • Strong influence from the Near East and Egypt during the Orientalizing Period

Birth of Writing and Literature

• Greek alphabet emerged around 8th century BCE, adapted from Phoenician script
• Early inscriptions:
  • Dipylon Inscription $740$ BCE possibly a prize dedication for dancing
  • Cup of Nestor $750$ BCE mentions Nestor, revealing Homeric influence already present
• Writing direction: Early Greek texts often right to left, then boustrophedon (as the ox turns)
• Homer and Hesiod – Founders of Greek Literature

Homer

• Not just a person – a tradition of oral poetry culminating in the Iliad and Odyssey
• Reflects Iron Age values more than Mycenaean society
• Formulas and epithets suggest a performative oral culture studied by Milman Parry & Albert Lord
• Core values: Kleos (glory), Arete (excellence), Gerata (gifts of honor), Aidos (respect/shame), and Time (honor/prerogatives)

Hesiod

• Composed the Theogony and Works and Days $700$ BCE
• Theogony explains the birth of the gods cosmogony and succession myths
• Hesiod positions himself as a mediator of divine truth, inspired by the Muses, but with agency

Key Mythological Themes in Hesiod

• Chaos -> Gaia-> Ouranos: Earth and Sky produce Titans, Cyclopes, and Hundred – Handers
• Succession myths:
  • Ouranos is overthrown by Kronos castrated
  • Kronos swallows his children to prevent overthrow
  • Zeus defeats the Titans (Titanomachy) and Typhoeus, earning the right to rule
• Zeus becomes the king of the gods, not just by force, but by restoring Timai to other gods

Homeric Warrior Ethos

• Heroic ideal centers on mortality, fame, and legacy
• The warrior’s dilemma: seek eternal glory through death or safety through obscurity
• Achilles represents this tension
  • Torn between honor fighting at Troy and life returning home
  • Chooses to fight only after the death of Patroklos, shifting from honor to personal grief and justice

Psychology & Ethics in the Iliad

• Heroic identity is deeply tied to ancestral legacy, public recognition, and competitive excellence
• The conflict with Agamemnon over Briseis reveals themes of legitimacy, reciprocity, and kingship
• Book 24: Achilles and Priam share mutual grief – an unforgettable moment of sympatheia (shared suffering) that humanizes the poem’s violence

Visual Culture & Panhellenism

• Orientalizing art: Mythical beasts, Near Eastern influences in vase painting and sculpture (kouros and kore statues)
• Sanctuaries like Delphi, Olympia, Nemea, and Isthmia become Panhellenic centers
• Rise of Panhellenic identity through shared myth, games, and worship

Legacy and Cultural Continuity

• The Iliad and Theogony reflect concerns about:
  • Legitimacy of power divine and human
  • Community cohesion vs. elite rivalry
  • Memory, myth, and mortality
• The Archaic Age lays the foundation for polis city-state structure, public performance, and civic identity

Ancient Demography

• Population growth: $0.1$% per year even in good times – near replacement level
• Life expectancy: $20-30$ years low due to high infant and maternal mortality
• Women: averaged 6 children often only 1 or 2 survived to adulthood
• Societies were always near collapse threshold; small disruptions could trigger spirals
• Late Bronze Age
  • Population recovery in the Iron Age led to economic and social expansion in the Archaic period

Greek colonization $750 – 500$ BCE

• Apoikia – independent colony

• Emporion – trading post

• Metropolis – mother city

• Oikistes – founder of a colony

• Misconceptions:

  • Not like Roman or modern imperial colonization
  • Colonies were often independent and not directed by the state

• Colonization were often independent and not directed by the state

• Colonization driven by trade, metals, land hunger, and overpopulation – not conquest

• Patterns:

  • Western focus $750-700$: Sicily, South Italy
  • Eastern focus $600-500$: Black Sea region

• Key players:

  • Eboea (Lefkandi heritage): early active colonizer (Pithekoussai, Cumae)
  • Corinth: founded Syracuse
  • Megara: founded Byzantium (future Constantinople)
  • Miletus: prolific eastern colonizer (Naukratis in Egypt)
  • Phocaea: founded Massalia (modern Marseille)

• Mixed Models:

  • Settlements often began informally as emporia, then formalized
  • Some had multiple founding cities Pithekoussai by Eretria & Chalcis
  • Archaeological dates often precede literary ones Megara Hyblaea settled 750, organized 710 BCE

The Polis Definition per Mogens Hansen

• A city and its surrounding land (chora) functioning as a microstate
• Typically had:
  • Central agora
  • Acropolis (high fortress)
  • Rural demes, komai (villages)
• Characteristics:
  • Average size 600-1000 citizens
  • Larger poleis: Athens 100k +, Sparta, Thebes
  • Citizen army: militia-based defense
  • Political autonomy not always required (some poleis were federated or subordinate)
• Structure:
  • Based on tribes (phylai), clans (genos), and brotherhoods (phratires)
  • Strongly patriarchal and familiar (family-based society)
  • Citizenship (politai) required military service, law adherence, taxes
  • Non-citizens: metics (residents foreigners), slaves, astoi (civilians without political rights)

Hoplite Warfare

• Hoplite: heavily armored infantry soldier
  • Shield: hoplon or aspis
  • Formation: phalanx
  • Other gear: spear, sword, helmet, greaves, cuirass
• Tactics:
  • Close formation: each soldier’s shield protected his left + neighbor’s right
  • Most vulnerable position: right flank
  • Discipline and solidarity vital – if formation breaks, so does defense
  • Spartans were most formidable due to constant training
• Hoplite Revolution:
  • Idea (from Hilda Lorimer, 1947): hoplite warfare led to polis development
  • Debate – probably enabled, rather than created, political changes

Tyrants and Governance

• Political types per Aristotle:
  • Rule by one: monarchy/tyranny
  • Rule by few: oligarchy
  • Rule by many: democracy
• Tyrants
  • Often, populist leaders who broke aristocratic monopolies
  • Sometimes benevolent reformers, other times brutal rulers
• Examples
  • Pheidon of Argos: possibly introduced hoplite tactics
  • Kypselos & Periander of Corinth: founded dynasties mixed records
  • Peisistratus of Athens: popular, boosted economy, staged clever coups

Panhellenic Games & Identity

• Reinforced Greek unity across city-states
• Olympic Games (Zeus, Olympia) – $776$ BCE, olive wreath
• Pythian Games (Apollo, Delphi) – laurel wreath
• Isthmian Games (Poseidon, Corinth) – celery wreath
• Nemean Games (Zeus, Nemea) – celery wreath

Takeaways

• Archaic age = era of recovery, population growth, innovation
• Greek colonization spread culture widely across Mediterranean and Black Sea
• Polis was a unique political form – local, self-governing, identity-forming
• Hoplite warfare emphasized unity and equality, influencing political ideals
• Shared rituals and Panhellenic events built a common Greek identity despite political fragmentation

Marmor Parium (Parian Marble Chronicle)

• Inscribed around $299$ BCE on the island of Paros
• A timeline of Athenian history/myth from $1581$ to $299$ BCE
• Combines mythological events (Deucalion’s Flood) with historical markers (archonships, lawgivers)

Key Myths and Origins

• Autochthony: Athenians claimed to be born from the land itself – no outside origin
• Synoecism: the unification of Attica’s villages into the city-state of Athens $900$ BCE
• Theseus:
  • Mythic king, culture hero, and unifier
  • Attributed with democracy and synoecism anachronistically
  • His myth overlaps with Heracles and reflects regional rivalry in storytelling

Athenian Law and Tyranny Attempts

• Early Governance
  • First recorded archons (civil magistrates) appear by $684$ BCE
  • Athens had early systems of rule and civic recordkeeping
• Cylon Affair $632$ BCE
  • Cylon attempted a coup to become tyrant
  • Failed due to lack of support; his allies were killed at a sacred altar
  • Resulted in a curse on the Alcmaeonid family, affecting figures like Cleisthenes, Pericles, and Alcibiades
• Draco’s Law Code $621$ BCE
  • Known for its extreme severity – death was the default punishment
  • Led to the word “draconian”
  • Later mostly repealed by Solon

Greek Religion: Structure and Practice

• The Pantheon
  • Major deities (Zeus, Athena, Apollo) blended Indo-European, Minoan, and Near Eastern traditions
  • Gods often worshipped in temenoi – sacred precincts centered on temples (naoi) and altars (bomoi)
• Hero Cults and Lesser Deities
  • Worship ranged form fully divine (Heracles) to local spirits and ancestors (Sophocles as Dexion)
  • Daily life involved nymphs, river gods, household spirits – closer to the people’s needs than the Olympians
• Sacrifice Rituals
  • Public animal sacrifices with altars outside the temple
  • Processions, libations, and post-sacrifice feasts were central
  • Common vocabulary: hieros (holy), themis (custom), hagios (pure)

Household and Farming Life

• The Oikos (household)
  • Included family, slaves, land, property – not just nuclear family
  • Patriarchal, patrilineal, and patrilocal
  • Women’s experience varied by class and age
• Agriculture
  • Mostly dry farming, no irrigation
  • Crops: barley, more than wheat, olives, grapes for oil and wine export
  • Plows and tools changed little from the Neolithic era
  • Olive farming was labor-intensive but ideal for the Greek climate
• Visual Culture
  • Pottery and vase paintings depict:
    • Olive harvesting, plowing with oxen
    • Domestic scenes, wedding rituals, and even potty training and baby sippy cups – showing real, relatable daily life

Religious Rituals and Temples

• Temple Types & Features
  • Doric Order: sturdy columns, simple capitals, triglyphs & metopes for sculpture
  • Ionic Order: slender, scroll like volutes
  • Temples faced east with altars positioned in front
• Ritual Theory
  • Myths may have arisen to explain rituals (sacrificial rites)
  • Scholars like Frazer and Burkert proposed myth was rooted in fertility cults, dying/rising gods, and ritual power