Greece History: Stone - Bronze Age
The Greece Stone and Bronze Age
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According to some archaeological remains in Thessaly, the earliest stages of settlement are from the Palaeolithic era, between 11.000-3.000 BC, when a population coming from the east (and, as some believe, from Central Europe) started to develop stone tools and basic agricultural activities.The excavations and discoveries made have proved that the civilization in Greece became more complex between 3500 and 3000 B.C, with larger villages and a social organization turning from the tribalism to chiefdoms with the formation of an elite group.
In the meanwhile, Thessaly, Anatolia, and the islands of the Aegean and Crete were colonised around 6000 B.C. and extensive agricultural communities appeared.
These civilizations fished, produced clay pottery and started sea expeditions. These regions offered perfect conditions for human settings: olive trees, grape vines, fertile plains, forests, water… These conditions attracted immigrants and traders from all the Mediterranean.
At the same period, trace of religion appeared: clay figurines of female and animals were placed in sanctuaries and graves.
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The art of metalworking arrived from the east around 3.000 B.C. The use of Bronze in tool making and weaponry was a rebirth for the civilization settled in Greece. The second millennium B.C gave birth to some great civilizations: the Minoan on Crete, the Mycenaean on the Mainland and the Cycladic in the islands of Centre Aegean.
The period is characterized by a rapid growth of population and a rapid development of trade.
The Cyclades islands are located between Crete and the mainland and were an important trade centre between Europe and Asia.
The Cycladic civilization developed rapidly in all domains: trade, politics and culture with impressive frescoes and marble figurines.
The Minoan civilization, named after the mythical King Minos, developed in Crete in 2.600 B.C. Remains of large villages were found as well as sculpture and pottery.
Around 2.000 B.C., the Minoans had a flourishing economic, political, social and cultural organization. The Minoan period was characterised by important trade activities and the construction of impressive palaces such as Knossos, Malia and Phaistos.
During this period, the first writing in the Greek World, called Linear A, appeared for the first time in Crete. The Minoan also developed a strong fleet and had power and influence over all the Aegean while establishing many colonies in various places.
According to the remains that were found on the island and the lack of defensive walls, the Minoan civilization must have had peaceful or friendly relations with the other civilizations of the Aegean.
The Minoan civilization disappeared suddenly around 1.500 B.C., possibly due to the huge volcanic eruption of the island of Santorini. It is said that the eruption has caused an enormous earthquake and huge tidal waves.
It is after that period, around 1.200 B.C. that the rival Mycenaean civilization took control of the trade network of Crete.
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The Mycenaean civilization took it name after the discovery of Mycenae, the first site were this culture was identified. As shown by the excavations, the Mycenaean society was formed by an elite group organised around the judicial and executive authority of a single figure, with varying degrees of power. Their citadels were fortified with the “Cyclopean” walls, called this way because Greeks believed that only Cyclopes could have lift stones that large. The Mycenaean society had a great military strength and therefore conquered Crete and took the control of the Minoan trade network.The Mycenaean also used a written language called Linear B, a development of the former Minoan Linear A, used only for register the flow of goods and produce into the palaces.
Between 1250 and 1150 B.C., a combination of peasant rebellions and internal warfare destroyed most of the Mycenaean palace and the Mycenaean civilization disappeared.
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The civilizations that flourished during the Bronze Age ended in an abrupt way during the 12th century B.C. when a Greek speaking civilization, the Dorians, came from the North of Greece.
They scattered the Mycenaean population and decentralized the Mycenaean established control system. Agriculture, industry and trade activities were divided in some hundred of villages.
The disruption that followed was of great importance. The economy, the politics and the culture declined and all the trade networks with the Near East collapsed.
The art of writing also disappeared and the only literary work of that period is the amazing Trojan War epic poem, the Iliad, written by the famous Homer
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