HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Periods of Ancient Greek History BRONZE AGE Minoan Civilization Mycenaean Civilization 3000-1500 BCE 1800-1100 BCE DARK AGE 1100-800 BCE 12th-9th centuries ARCHAIC PERIOD 800-480 BCE 9th-5th centuries CLASSICAL PERIOD 480-323 BCE 5th-4th centuries HELLENISTIC PERIOD 323-31 BCE 4th-1st centuries
BRONZE AGE (3000-1100 BCE) 3000-1500 Minoan Civilization 2000 arrival of Mycenaeans 1600-1100 Mycenaean Civilization 1184 traditional date of fall of Troy 1100 collapse of Mycenaean power
Minoans & Mycenaeans
Indo-European Migrations, 4000-1000 BCE
BRONZE AGE (3000-1100 BCE) 3000-1500 Minoan Civilization 2000 arrival of Mycenaeans 1600-1100 Mycenaean Civilization 1184 traditional date of fall of Troy 1100 collapse of Mycenaean power
Mycenaean tholos
Gods in Linear B Tablets Ares Dionysus Poseidon Hephaestus Zeus Hermes Paian (=Apollo?) Hera Dione Potnia (=Artemis, Athena)
BRONZE AGE (3000-1100 BCE) 3000-1500 Minoan Civilization 2000 arrival of Mycenaeans 1600-1100 Mycenaean Civilization 1184 traditional date of fall of Troy 1100 collapse of Mycenaean power
Periods of Ancient Greek History BRONZE AGE Minoan Civilization Mycenaean Civilization 3000-1500 1800-1100 DARK AGE 1100-800 12th-9th centuries ARCHAIC PERIOD 800-480 9th-5th centuries CLASSICAL PERIOD 480-323 5th-4th centuries HELLENISTIC PERIOD 323-31 4th-1st centuries • Collapse of Mycenaean civilization ( Doric invasion?) • Diaspora of Mycenaeans into Aegean (=Ionia) • Decline in mainland population and wealth
ARCHAIC PERIOD (800-480 BCE) • re-development of trade • economic increase • adoption of alphabet • codification of oral tradition • mythological/theological speculation • evidence for hero-cults • rise of polis • weakening of aristocratic power • rise of communal sanctuaries • colonization
ca. 800 Homer epic poetry Iliad, Odyssey ca. 750 Hesiod mythological poetry Theogony, Works & Days • pantheon • ritual • prayer • divine/human relationship • afterlife beliefs • hero-cults • burial customs