The Greek Dark Ages

From the ancient world to modern civilization, Greek civilization has left its impact on our world throughout history. From Greece’s rise and fall, its social, political, and cultural contributions, without the Greeks we would not be as advanced as we are today. The western world was highly influenced by the Greeks, gaining ideas about art, architecture, philosophy, and science.

Fifth-century Athens refers to the Greek city-state of Athens in the period of roughly 480 BC-404 BC. This was a period of Athenian political hegemony, economic growth and cultural flourishing formerly known as the Golden Age of Athens or The Age of Pericles. The period began in 480 BC when an Athenian-led coalition of city-states, known as the Delian League, defeated the Persians at Salamis. As the fifth century wore on, what started as an alliance of independent city-states gradually became an Athenian empire. Eventually, Athens abandoned the pretense of parity among its allies and relocated the Delian League treasury from Delos to Athens, where it funded the building of the AthenianAcropolis. With its enemies

All of these civilizations came and went at different times throughout the duration of Bronze Age Greece. All of them were drastically important in maintaining the great power of the area during a time of such havoc and turmoil. Much like anything in life, all good things must come to an end eventually. The Bronze Age Greece almost completely fell by 146BC. There are a number of different reasons why the collapse of the Bronze Age Greece occurred. In the following sections we will discuss several reasons for the collapse of this once great society.

The Mycenaeans were the first Greek speaking culture to pop up in the region surrounding the Aegean Sea. They developed a written language using the Greek alphabet. The written language was not used to keep their historical records, but rather they show a complex form of documentation and record keeping of goods that flowed into and out of their cities. These detailed records show the complex system of regional collection and distribution that made up the economy of the Mycenaeans. Internal warfare and riots from the peasant class would eventually lead to the downfall of the Mycenaeans. The next few hundred years would come to be known as the “Dark Age” in Greek

Throughout my exploratory essay, I found that there are many different perspectives when it comes to Greek life. I as a member of Greek life myself, feel that the positive aspects outweigh the negative. There are many positive advantages that come from being a part of Greek life. There are an abundance of networking opportunities that come from Greek life along with all of the incredible friends that you make throughout the recruitment experience. One may also gain leadership skills from being a member of the executive council and having to lead their chapter on a day to day basis. Being a member of Greek life also pushes you to be more involved on campus as well as in the community. Each Greek organization has a philanthropy that they support

The Hellenic Age and the Hellenistic Age are the two main periods in Greek history. The Hellenic Age is significantly different from the Hellenistic Age. The Hellenic period saw the rising and falling of the polis while Hellenistic period was plagued by warfare among the remaining dynasties. Despite the differences between the Hellenic and Hellenistic periods, the one thing that remained consistent in both periods was the Greeks' ability to not only advance science and philosophy but to strive for excellence in everything that they undertook including their ability to deemphasize the role of the gods in their lives.

1. During the Mycenaean civilization, who was the great poet and what were his two important literary works that influenced the Greeks and formed part of Western literature? Homer, The Iliad, The Odyssey

to 800 C.E. called the Dark Ages. This fall was due to the invasion by the Barbarians, and since there was no central government to provide protection against these attacks, people began looking to powerful lords and knights for help. This was a time of despair as violence erupted and education became virtually obsolete. Classical Greeks and Roman texts were lost, and the majority of the population could not go to school and therefore were illiterate. In addition, due to the plundering of cities, most people were peasants or farmers. However, it was the Islamic Civilization that reintroduced new ideas and cultural improvements into society. Although some historians

The time period spanning from around 500 A.D. to 1500 is perceived as the Dark Ages. Many plagues, wars, lack of knowledge, corruption, prosecution, and lack of freedoms were a part of the early Dark Ages. Many people tend to focus on these things and do not learn that many important things came from this time. The lengthy list following is some of the positives from the Dark Ages: universities, banking, Christianity, guilds, science, Carolingian Renaissance, Byzantine Golden Age, Islamic Golden Age, Commercial Revolution, mathematics, art, architecture, improved weather conditions, improvement upon laws, agricultural boom, the printing press (a fundamental part of journalism today), theater, Islam, and impressive leaders. The Dark Ages were not as dark as they are generally made out to be, for the art/architecture, agriculture, and the sciences/mathematics of that time, awe and impact today’s world.

The Trojan War was commenced around 3000 BCE marking most memorable period in Greek Mythology. These events were presented in Homer’s lliad through poetry. The war began during the Bronze Age with Greeks and the defenders of the city of Troy fighting in Anatolia. Troy, today known as modern Turkey was in Anatolia i.e. at the eastern Shores of Aegean Sea. The city of Troy was colonized by 5000-10000 Trojans and was attacked many times by 5000 Mycenaeans who had crossed the Aegean Sea in hundred ships. Around 1200 BCE the city was destroyed by Mycenaean Greeks. The war was sophisticated to higher level by tactics and Magnificent Armors. Mycenaean Greece came under attack by both land and sea around 1200 BCE. (Dutton Marchand Harkness 27)

Ancient Greek civilizations mentality is what got them through life by their way of thinking. Even though Greece’s geography isolated the civilizations, it allowed them to see the world by providing the civilizations with the Mediterranean Sea. The geography divided Greece up into city-states that made them strive to do better than each other, which we know today as competition. This allowed for art, politics, literature, athletics, inventions, and new ideas to come about. Greece’s dry and rocky climate allowed for the civilizations to find two cash crops known as grapes and olives. Grapes and olives is what led to Greece civilizations trading around the Mediterranean Sea. This boosted trade, allowed settlement (colonization), and allowed new ways and ideas to come about. When the Persians tried to defeat Greece, Greeks not only

The greek people are so unaware of what is about to happen and it truly heartbreaking that this is is the twilight of the hole greek civilization. Nevertheless this period is so fascinating and interesting this is the Hellenistic Age. The Hellenistic age begun after the death of Alexander the grate. Like I said earlier he left no new successor so this caused in fighting and the empire was divided up against the wars generals they .There were three empires would form there would dynasts from Alexander's empire; there was Antigonids in Macedonia and Greece, the Seleucids in Perissa and the ptolemies in Egypt. The people did not go back to their way of life because they were ruled by greeks and macedonians, so the local

In 490 BC, Greece defeated the Persian invaders at the famous Marathon. And in 480, Persian warriors suffered heavy losses in the Salamis. These battles have confirmed the mighty military power of Greece. Under the reign of King Alexander the Great of Macedonia, the Greeks had extensive expansions to Egypt, Persia and India. His conquests led to the settlement and dominance of the Greeks in many remote and influential Greek cultures that were more widespread than ever. This period is called the Greek Period. Later, when the Roman Empire was established and became mighty, Greece became a Roman province but the cultural influences of ancient Greece were maintained and developed.

The Polis was a unique institution formed during the Dark Ages (1100-776 BCE) in Ancient Greece following the fall of Mycenaean Civilization. The term polis can also be translated in to city-state in that each poleis was its own independent state which were generally organized in to complex hierarchical structures. Poleis were independent in several aspects such as (but not limited to): political, judicial and religious dealings. There were many notable poleis in Ancient Greek, and many of them were in their prime, were very successful however, the ideal polis was Athens. Athens was a model polis because of its political systems, economy, intellectual capital and naval strength.

The Hellenic and Hellenistic shift was a turning point for Greek culture. The Hellenic are those who lived in ancient Greece before Alexander the Great. The Hellenistics are those who lived in the period after Alexander the Great’s conquest. Alexander the Great was a mighty and strong leader of the Greek people. The people that were under his following respected him greatly. We can tell the drastic changes that occurred after Alexander Great was leader by the art, philosophies, and religion. The Hellenistic Changes that occurred showed us that the Hellenistic priorities transformed drastically from what the Hellenic ways were like.