StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Greek Dark Ages - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
In the paper ‘The Greek Dark Ages” the author analyzes a period which refers to the period from the time of the presumed Dorian invasion and then the end of Mycenaean Palatial Civilization which dates back to 1200 BCE the beginning of the first Greek City-states which date back to 9 BCE…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.9% of users find it useful
The Greek Dark Ages
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Greek Dark Ages"

It became a great mess of distorted groups. Greeks before the Dark Ages were divided into specific classes: the rich lived in the palaces leading comfortable lives, they could go to war and would return back to their luxurious lives and the poor would make goods and crafts that would serve and assist in the lives of the extravagant few. The palaces, jewelry, pottery, and tombs were all removed and most were no longer created. All forms of art and pottery were broken down and their creation became non-existent in this New Greek era.

When the invasions began, every member of Greek society suffered. Writing had disappeared during the Greek Dark Ages (Andrews 1967). Archeologists feel that the best proof of this broken society was the lack of any kind of writing during this period. It was only after society moved to the ninth century that some sort of alphabet began to appear. This too had very limited use. However, the new material that was now used in preserving the forms of writings could store entire stories and histories.

The flaw in this though was that no one was writing anything that would change the lives of the ordinary citizen. There was a lack of work done about everyday lives. Very few people spoke of the manipulative powers of the rich and their attempts to ruin the lives of poor Greek citizens. Hesiod, a farmer was amongst one of the very few who chose to speak against the cruel regime. He is known to be one of the best witnesses to describe the lifestyles of the latter period of the Greek Dark Ages.

The writing is of the ordinary mortal, not heroic warriors. In his work, Hesiod also spoke of the superstition that had been an essential part of Greek life for centuries. Coins were a vital part of Greek life (Hooper 1978). Members of the community realized the great value of coins: as an easy exchange for goods. Literacy played no role in the use of these coins because it was a language that could be understood by anyone. 

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(The Greek Dark Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words, n.d.)
The Greek Dark Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. https://studentshare.org/history/1526834-the-greek-dark-ages
(The Greek Dark Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
The Greek Dark Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/history/1526834-the-greek-dark-ages.
“The Greek Dark Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”. https://studentshare.org/history/1526834-the-greek-dark-ages.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Greek Dark Ages

The Classical World of the Greeks and the Romans

When the notion of western thought and culture began in the 1500bc, it was later interrupted through The Greek Dark Ages about 1100-900 BC.... spreading the greek culture throughout the Persian Empire.... What was the special greek contribution to politics, and how did this political system work?... The historic greek contribution to politics was the democracy system....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The History: The Fall of the Great Roman Empire

dark ages Author's Name Institutional affiliation Abstract When we talk of the dark ages does it mean that there were ages that were dark?... Or is there a hidden meaning to the term dark ages?... Some historians have argued that the modern people have a very different view of the actual dark ages as it has been portrayed by the modern historians.... During the dark ages, there was the fall of the great Roman Empire which had a lot of impact to the world....
6 Pages (1500 words) Term Paper

Archaic age in Greek Society

It has been termed as the period that witnessed the revival of Greek society, which has even lost its writing language in the dark ages that preceded it.... The Archaic age stretches from eighth century BC to the time of Persian wars has been known for being reluctant for reconstruction attempts due to the destruction happened in dark ages.... The literacy has been spread slowly, which has been lost in dark ages.... Gill (2009) quotes about Sappho who defeated the great Pindar in verse competition five times and these marks the era of advance of women when compared to that of dark ages, when there is no such situation....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Late Bronze Age Greek Pottery

This paper "Late Bronze Age Greek Pottery" discusses the period known as the dark ages in Ancient Greece that represents a transition period between the fall of a great many advanced civilizations and the establishment of polis city-states, a time period between approximately 1,200 and 700 B.... Answering this question of what happened to Mycenae is essential to answering the larger question of how we differentiate the Late Bronze Age from the Early Iron Age, or, what shall hereafter be called the “dark ages” of Ancient Greece....
10 Pages (2500 words) Coursework

The History of the Greeks and Persians

6 year later in 1899, Evans with five thousand men The Minoan civilization is the oldest greek and the oldest European civilization.... 1873, he states that he discovers the legendary city of Troy and he goes to search for the legendary greek king, Agamemnon who destroys the city of Troy....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Competition And The Pan-Hellenic Identity Between The Greek Poleis

With a background of the Bronze Age that had divided Greece into kingdoms, each with a demarcated territory and own kings claiming to rule under divine authority, the Greek's dark ages destruction of the hitherto existing political order and the devolution of power to minor officials almost on a tribal structure heralded some form of freedom that the Greeks themselves weren't prepared to give up for whatever reason, thus, the development of the city-states, or the poleis, as a fundamental political unit in the ancient Greek world (Budin 58)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Comparison and Contrast between Egyptian and Greek History

"The dark ages in ancient history: Thefirst dark age in Egypt.... Both the greek and Egyptians engaged in economic activities....  This essay "Comparison and Contrast between Egyptian and greek History" analyses that the ancient greek had a form of art same as the ancient Egyptians.... However, these two types of art differed in that greek art was essentially meant to eliminate chaos and bring order to the environment....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Main Causes for Greek Dark Ages

The assignment contains the plan of the paper and the annotated bibliography of sources about main causes for Greek Dark Ages such as "The Greek Dark Ages", "The Greek Colonization Movement-When and Why?... This article establishes the true timeline of The Greek Dark Ages based on archeological evidence The Greek Economic and Agriculture System: The inefficiencies of the political system to manage the Greek agricultural system resulted in the migration of Greek-speaking population when the phenomenon of overpopulation struck Greece....
3 Pages (750 words) Annotated Bibliography
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us