The Greek Dark Ages - Essay Example

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.