The Iron Age
Greece
Following the collapse of the Bronze Age civilisation of Mycenae (c.1100 B.C.) and the destruction of palaces and cities, while the land was ravaged by famine, leading to depopulation. Amongst the political instability, raiding of coastal settlements from the sea became commonplace. Education and writing ceased and vital trade links were lost, while towns and villages were abandoned. Greece became isolated and backward for three centuries.
For a century prior to the collapse, Arcadian and Achaean peoples had already settled in the central Peloponnese; occupying Mycenae, they used the coast as a base for raiding Crete, Anatolia and the Levant. Ionians occupied Attica and Euboea, while the Boeotians settled in central Greece. The Thracians seized the north coast of the Aegean. Aeolians spread throughout the islands of the Aegean, notably Lesbos and Chios. Far to the north, the Illyrians occupied the east coast of the Adriatic. The greatest of these people were the Dorians, who were a backward warlike people who had first settled in Epirus. Between 1100-1000 B.C., the Dorians spread outwards to the south, diplacing peoples in the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Megara and the Argolid. The most powerful Dorian tribe would settle in Lacedaemon and Laconia, where they would later become the Spartans. From these places they built ships and raided Crete, Cos, Rhodes and Cyprus, destroying as they went and settling the lands with their own numbers. The many tribes, each occupying a small valley, plain or coastal part of the Greek peninsula, would dispute one another over territory ceaselessly for the next eight hundred years.
Aristocracy & Colonisation
By 900 B.C., monarchies were increasingly replaced throughout Greece by aristocracies, and the kings vanished or were reduced to a titular office (save in Sparta). The nobles became the dominant power in the state through the possession of iron weapons and the acquisition of property, at the expense of poorer farmers. This led to renewed food shortages and distress, so that after 800 B.C., colonisation — encouraged first by the aristocrats to get rid of discontent — by Greek city states scattered Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean. Important colonies were founded in along the Anatolian coast, in Libya, on the Nile (Naucratis, 640 B.C.), and even on the Gaulish and Iberian coasts, and along the northern shore of the Black Sea. Trade from these colonies reunited the Mediterranean, while at home there grew a culture surrounding myths and legends voiced by bards such as Homer (c.750-800 B.C.).
The import of luxury goods (oils, wine, ivories, gold and silver) encouraged greater skill in technological processes like metallurgy and pottery; this enabled the Greeks to compete favorably with the Phoenicians and encouraged the growth of a cultivated, educated populace. Slavery increased and coinage was introduced from Lydia; minting by individual city states also became a competitive practice. Lyric poetry flourished; geometric art was replaced by the oriental, or animal style. Philosophy began with the Milesian School: Thales, Anaximenes and Anaximander investigated mathematics and expanded an understanding of logic.
Rise of Tyranny
By 650 B.C., the aristocracies felt the pressure of landless traders and artisans, who wished a say in their political futures. To maintain their authority, and supported by the rich, various tyrants arose; in some cases, ambitious individuals, bent on overthrowing their masters, organized rebellions and installed themselves as tyrants also. On the whole, these tyrants were successful with the population, as they kept the people happy with festivals and public works. Nevertheless, the power of the nobility diminished, class and racial distinctions were abolished and many city states moved towards a more democratic model of government. Important tyrants included Theagenes of Megara (640 B.C.), Thrasybulus of Miletus (620); and Cleistenes of Sicyon (600).
