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87-555: Conceptually, there is no clear theme to the structure of these regions. Some, particularly in the Peloponnese , can be seen primarily as distinct geo-physical units, defined by physical boundaries such as mountain ranges and rivers. Conversely, the division of central Greece between Boeotia , Phocis , Doris and the three parts of Locris , seems to be attributable to ancient tribal divisions and not major geographical features. Both types of regions retained their identity throughout

174-496: A 10th century BC building, including a megaron , on the top of the ridge has led to speculation that this was the chieftain's house. This was a larger structure than those surrounding it but it was still made from the same materials (mud brick and thatched roof). It was perhaps also a place of religious significance and communal storage of food. High-status individuals did in fact exist in the Dark Age, but their standard of living

261-694: A cultural refuge. When, during the Greek Dark Age , Doric Greek dialects were introduced to the Peloponnese, the older language apparently survived in Arcadia, and formed part of the Arcado-Cypriot group of Greek languages. Herodotus says that the inhabitants of Arcadia were Pelasgians , the Greek name for the supposed 'indigenous' inhabitants of Greece, who dwelt there before the arrival of

348-531: A modern regional unit of Greece of the same name . During the Classical period, Laconia was dominated by the city of Sparta. There were other settlements in the region, and most inhabitants were not full Spartan citizens ( Spartiates ), but Lacedaemonians or Perioeci ("about-dwellers"). However, all these citizens and towns were part of the Spartan state. Only after the final eclipse of Spartan power after

435-581: A new Greek alphabet system was adopted from the Phoenician alphabet by a Greek with first-hand experience of it. The Greeks adapted the abjad used to write Phoenician , a Semitic language used by the Phoenicians , notably introducing characters for vowel sounds and thereby creating the first truly alphabetic writing system. The new alphabet quickly spread throughout the Mediterranean and

522-423: A wider area. The decoration on Greek pottery after about 1050 BC lacks the figurative decoration of Mycenaean ware and is restricted to simpler, generally geometric styles: Early Protogeometric (1050–1000 BC), Middle Protogeometric (1000–950 BC), Late Protogeometric (950 BC - 900 BC), Early Geometric (900 BC - 850 BC), and Middle Geometric (850–800 BC). Thomas R. Martin , considers that between 950 BC and 750 BC,

609-579: Is a large peninsula at the southern tip of the Balkans , and part of the traditional heartland of Greece. It is joined to the Greek 'mainland' by the Isthmus of Corinth . The Peloponnese is conventionally divided into seven regions, which remain in use as regional units of modern Greece. Most of these regions are directly named in the "catalogue of ships" in the Iliad , suggesting that this geographic division of

696-593: Is a modern regional unit of Greece of the same name , which is more extensive than the ancient region. Ancient Argolis, sometimes called 'the Argolid' and taking its name from the city of Argos , occupied the eastern part of the Peloponnesus, primarily the Argolid peninsula , together with the coastal region to the east of Arcadia , and north of Laconia . To the north, the boundary with the territory of Corinth

783-524: Is discussed in the "catalogue of ships" of the Iliad, without being given that explicit name, but the major cities of the region are listed together under the leadership of Agamemnon . There is a modern regional unit of Greece of the same name . Elis occupied the western, and flattest part of the Peloponnese. To the north-east, it bordered Achaea along the Larissos river and western spur of Erymanthos, and

870-508: Is frequently mentioned in the Iliad by Homer , who celebrates the fertility of the plain of "lovely" Calydon. In the earliest times the inhabitants of Calydon appear to have been engaged in incessant hostilities with the Curetes, who continued to reside in their ancient capital Pleuron, and who endeavoured to expel the invaders from their country. A vivid account of one of the battles between

957-536: Is inherently unstable: he interprets Lefkandi in this light. Some regions in Greece , such as Attica , Euboea, and central Crete, recovered economically from these events faster than others, but life for common Greeks would have remained relatively unchanged as it had for centuries. There was still farming, weaving, metalworking and pottery but at a lower level of output and for local use in local styles. Some technical innovations were introduced around 1050 BC with

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1044-619: Is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth . Today it forms the western part of the regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania . The capital and principal city in ancient times was Stratos . The north side of Acarnania of the Corinthian Gulf was considered part of the region of Epirus . Acarnania's foundation in Greek mythology was traditionally ascribed to Acarnan , son of Alcmaeon . Aeniania ( Greek : Αἰνιανία ) or Ainis ( Greek : Αἰνίς )

1131-484: The Arcadian League commonly unifying its poleis under a confederation (see symmachia ) in the Classical period . These traditional sub-divisions of Greece form the basis for the modern system of regional units of Greece . However, there are important differences, with many of the smaller ancient regions not represented in the current system. Continental Greece ( Greek : Στερεά Ελλάδα or Χέρσος Ἑλλάς )

1218-511: The Greek Dark Ages and its tumultuous changes in the local population and culture, giving them a less political and more symbolic presence. Other geographical divisions not identified with the aforementioned areas did, however, change over time, suggesting a closer connection with tribal identity. Regardless of their rates of fluctuation, all such regions would eventually take on geo-political meanings, with regional political bodies like

1305-467: The Hellenistic era . Some scholars have argued against the concept of a Greek Dark Age, on grounds that the former lack of archaeological evidence in a period that was mute in its lack of inscriptions (thus "dark") is an accident of discovery rather than a fact of history. As James Whitley has put it, "The Dark Age of Greece is our conception. It is a conception strongly coloured by our knowledge of

1392-521: The Illyrians . Parauaea ( Greek : Παραυαία ) was an ancient Greek region in Epirus . Macedonia or Macedon (from Greek : Μακεδονία , Makedonía ) was an ancient kingdom and region, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula , bordered by Epirus to the west, Paionia to the north, Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. Early geographers put river Strimon as

1479-571: The Ionic Greek dialect in historic times indicates early movement from mainland Greece to the Anatolian coast to such sites as Miletus , Ephesus , and Colophon , perhaps as early as 1000 BC, but contemporaneous evidence is scant. In Cyprus , some archaeological sites begin to show identifiably Greek ceramics; a colony of Euboean Greeks was established at Al Mina on the Syrian coast, and

1566-482: The Larissos river and western ridge of Erymanthos formed the border with Elis . Apart from the plain around Dyme , to the west, Achaea was generally a mountainous region. Geographically, ancient Arcadia occupied the highlands at the centre of the Peloponnese. To the north, it bordered Achaea along the ridge of high ground running from Mount Erymanthos to Mount Cyllene; most of Mount Aroania lay within Arcadia. To

1653-540: The Linear B script used by Mycenaean bureaucrats to write the Greek language ceased to be used, and the Greek alphabet did not develop until the beginning of the Protohistoric Iron Age, c. 800 BC. Mycenaean palaces began to come to an end around 1200 BC, and the process concluded decades later, due to internal tensions within the cities which rejected palatial authority and administration, patent in

1740-941: The Locrians were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League , and had two votes on the Amphictyonic council. In the Archaic and Classical periods, the Malians were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and had two votes on the Amphictyonic council. Megaris ( Ancient Greek : Μεγαρίς ) was a small but populous state and region of ancient Greece, west of Attica and north of Corinthia , whose inhabitants were adventurous seafarers, credited with deceitful propensities. The capital, Megara , famous for white marble and fine clay,

1827-689: The Trojan War under their king Thoas, the son (not the grandson) of Oeneus. Calydon is not often mentioned in the historical period. In 391 BC, it was recorded as being in the possession of the Achaeans , but the means of possession are unclear; however, it is better documented that Naupactus was given to the Achaeans at the close of the Peloponnesian War , and it was probably the Achaeans settled at Naupactus who gained possession of

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1914-623: The War against Nabis did the rest of Laconia become free from Spartan domination. However, Laconia instead fell under the domination of the Achaean League until the whole of the Peloponnese was conquered by the Romans in 146 BC. Messenia occupied the south-western part of the Peloponnese. To the north it had a border with Elis along the Neda river, from whence the border with Arcadia ran along

2001-565: The same name . Laconia (also called Lacedaemon; Greek : Λακεδαίμων , Lakedaimōn ), occupied the south-eastern part of the Peloponnese. Its principal boundaries were formed by the Parnon and Taygetos mountain ranges. Its western boundary, adjoining Messenia , ran along the Koskaraka (or Rema Mili) River from just south of the city of Abia , up into the Taygetos range, and then north along

2088-572: The 'Hellenic' tribes. Whilst Herodotus seems to have found the idea that the Pelasgians were not 'Greek' far-fetched, it is clear that the Arcadians were considered as the original inhabitants of the region. Arcadia is one of the regions described in the " catalogue of ships " in the Iliad . Agamemnon himself gave Arcadia the ships for the Trojan war because Arcadia did not have a navy. There

2175-693: The 8th century  BC. Cemeteries, such as the Kerameikos in Athens or Lefkandi, and sanctuaries, such as Olympia, recently founded in Delphi or the Heraion of Samos , first of the colossal free-standing temples, were richly provided with offerings – including items from the Near East, Egypt, and Italy made of exotic materials including amber and ivory . Exports of Greek pottery demonstrate contact with

2262-547: The Aetolians. In the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey (in 48 BC) it still appears as a considerable place; but a few years afterwards its inhabitants were removed by Augustus to Nicopolis , which he founded to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. It continues however to be mentioned by the later geographers. Calydon was the headquarters of the worship of Artemis Laphria , and when

2349-652: The Amphictyonic council with the Aenianes . The region of Phocis, along with some of the cities that existed there in the Classical period, is described in the Iliad. In the Archaic and Classical periods, the Phocians were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and had two votes on the Amphictyonic council, until they were stripped of them after the Third Sacred War . The Peloponnese or Peloponnesos,

2436-524: The Amphictyonic council. Dolopia ( Greek : Δολοπία ) was a mountainous region of Greece , located north of Aetolia . The Dolopians were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League , and shared two votes on the Amphictyonic council with the Perrhaeboi . In the Archaic and Classical periods, the Dorians ( Greek : Δωριείς ; region: Δωρίς) were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and shared

2523-414: The Amphictyonic council. Perrhaebia was the northernmost district of ancient Thessaly , where the tribe of Perrhaebi lived. Major cities were: Pythion , Doliche , Azorus, Oloosson and Phalanna the capital. Perrhaebia was part of Macedonia between 4th and 1st centuries BC. Athamania ( Greek : Ἀθαμάνες ) referred to the southeastern area of Epirus, which was the homeland of the Greek tribe of

2610-518: The Athamanians, who are usually considered to be Greek by modern scholars, although Strabo and Hecataeus of Miletus considered them "barbarians." The former Greek municipality of the same name is named after the ancient territory. Chaonia or Chaon ( Greek Χαονία or Χάων) was the name of the northwestern part of Epirus , the homeland of the Greek tribe of the Chaonians . Its main town

2697-611: The Atticans were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and shared the two Ionian votes on the Amphictyonic council with the Euboeans. The region of Boeotia ( Greek : Βοιωτία ), along with many of the cities that existed there in the Classical period, is described in the "catalogue of ships", in the Iliad. In the Archaic and Classical periods, the Boeotians were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and had two votes on

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2784-497: The Curetes and Calydonians is given in an episode of the Iliad. The heroes of Calydon are among the most celebrated of the heroic age. It was the residence of Oeneus , father of Tydeus and Meleager, and grandfather of Diomedes. In the time of Oeneus Artemis sent a monstrous boar (the Calydonian Boar ) to lay waste the fields of Calydon, which was hunted by Meleager and numerous other heroes. The Calydonians took part in

2871-655: The Early Iron Age, from excavations at Lefkandi on the Lelantine Plain in the island of Euboea in the 1980s "revealed that some parts of Greece were much wealthier and more widely connected than traditionally thought, as a monumental building and its adjacent cemetery showed connections to Cyprus, Egypt, and the Levant as markers of elite status and authority, much as they had been in previous periods," and this shows that significant cultural and trade links with

2958-750: The Greeks relearned how to write, but using the alphabet of the Phoenicians instead of the Linear B script used by the Mycenaeans, innovating in a fundamental way by introducing vowels as letters. "The Greek version of the alphabet eventually formed the base of the alphabet used for English today." It was previously thought that all contact was lost between mainland Hellenes and foreign powers during this period, yielding little cultural progress or growth. But archaeologist Alex Knodell considers that artifacts, in

3045-503: The Levant coast at sites such as Al-Mina and with the region of the Villanovan culture to the north of Rome. The decoration of pottery became more elaborate and included figured scenes that parallel the stories of Homeric Epic . Iron tools and weapons improved. Renewed Mediterranean trade brought new supplies of copper and tin to make a wide range of elaborate bronze objects, such as tripod stands like those offered as prizes in

3132-811: The Linear B script ended particularly due to the redistributive palace economy crashing; there was no longer a need to keep records about commerce. The population of Greece declined. The world of organized state armies, kings, officials, and redistributive systems disappeared. Most of the information about the period comes from burial sites and the grave goods contained within them. The emerging fragmented, localized, and autonomous cultures lacked cultural and aesthetic cohesion and are noted for their diversity of material cultures in pottery styles (e.g. conservative in Athens, eclectic in Knossos), burial practices, and settlement structures. The Protogeometric style of pottery

3219-633: The Middle Geometric I and lasted until the beginning of the Protohistoric Iron Age around 800 BC. Currently, the term Greek Dark Ages is being abandoned, and both periods are not considered "obscure". At the beginning of the Postpalatial Bronze Age, the so-called Late Bronze Age collapse of civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean world in c. 1200–1150 BC took place, as the great palaces and cities of

3306-538: The Mycenaean palaces provoked a climate of instability and insecurity and [s]ome people – whether for reasons of safety or economic necessity – decided to abandon their former homes and seek a living elsewhere." With the collapse of the palatial centers, no more monumental stone buildings were built, and the practice of wall painting may have ceased. Writing in the Linear B script also ceased, and vital trade links were lost as towns and villages were abandoned. Writing in

3393-595: The Mycenaeans were destroyed or abandoned. At around the same time, the Hittite civilization also suffered serious disruption, with cities from Troy to Gaza being destroyed. In Egypt, the New Kingdom fell into disarray, leading to the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt . Following the collapse, there were fewer, smaller settlements, suggesting widespread famine and depopulation. In Greece,

3480-689: The Oetaeans. The Achelous River separates Aetolia ( Greek : Αἰτωλία ) from Acarnania to the west; on the north it had boundaries with Epirus and Thessaly ; on the east with the Ozolian Locrians ; and on the south the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf defined the limits of Aetolia. In classical times Aetolia comprised two parts: Old Aetolia in the west, from the Achelous to the Evenus and Calydon ; and New Aetolia or Acquired Aetolia in

3567-404: The Peloponnese is very ancient, and stretches back to Mycenaean Greece . Geographically, Achaea was (and is) the northernmost region of the Peloponnese, occupying the coastal strip north of Arcadia . To the south, it bordered Arcadia along the ridge of high ground running from Mount Erymanthos to Mount Cyllene . To the east, it bordered Corinthia near to the city of Sicyon , and to the west

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3654-456: The Taygetos ridge. The northern border with Arcadia ran amongst the foothills of Taygetos and Parnon, such that up Laconia included all the headwaters of the Eurotas river. To the north-east of the Parnon range was the coastal area of Cynuria ; this was originally part of the Argolid, but by the Classical period had become part of Laconia. The land between the Taygetos and Parnon ranges formed

3741-403: The building was erected to house the burial, or whether the "hero" or local chieftain in the grave was cremated and then buried in his grand house; whichever is true, the house was soon demolished and the debris used to form a roughly circular mound over the wall stumps. Between this period and approximately 820 BC, rich members of the community were cremated and buried close to the eastern end of

3828-403: The building, in much the same way Christians might seek to be buried close to a saint's grave; the presence of imported objects, notable throughout more than eighty further burials, contrast with other nearby cemeteries at Lefkandi and attest to a lasting elite tradition. The archaeological record of many sites demonstrates that the economic recovery of Greece was well underway by the beginning of

3915-466: The collapse, and diverse in origin, like sailors, workers, or mercenaries, coming from ethnicities like those of the Lukka lands , but not necessarily or exclusively Achaeans (Ekwesh). Around this time, c. 1200–1150 BC, large-scale revolts took place in several parts of the eastern Mediterranean. Writing in 2013, Jonathan Hall considered that: "[T]he collapse of the political and economic system centered on

4002-761: The creation of beautiful art. The smelting of iron was learned from Cyprus and the Levant and was exploited and improved upon by using local deposits of iron ore previously ignored by the Mycenaeans: edged weapons were now within reach of less elite warriors. Though the universal use of iron was one shared feature among Dark Age settlements, it is still uncertain when the forged iron weapons and armour achieved strength superior to those that had previously been cast and hammered from bronze . From 1050, many small local iron industries appeared, and by 900, almost all weapons in grave goods were made of iron. The distribution of

4089-425: The disappearance of Linear B writing and palatial architecture. There were also conflicts, in the region of Boeotia , between Mycenaean polities like Orchomenos , Gla , and Thebes . Although Thebes and Eleon had an important reoccupation pattern even in Late Helladic IIIC Middle, c. 1170–1100 BC, when other minor sites around also began to rise, palaces had ceased to exist along with art and burial customs. On

4176-433: The east the border with Arcadia ran along the Erymanthos and Diagon rivers to Mount Elaeum. From the Elaeum, its border with Messenia ran along the Neda (river) river to the sea. Elis is discussed in the "catalogue of ships" of the Iliad, without being given that explicit name (Elis is only used for the name of the city), but the major cities of the region are listed together. There is a modern regional unit of Greece with

4263-470: The east, from the Evenus and Calydon to the Ozolian Locrians. The country has a level and fruitful coastal region, but an unproductive and mountainous interior. The mountains contained many wild beasts, and acquired fame in Greek mythology as the scene of the hunt for the Calydonian Boar . Ancient Aperantia ( Greek : Ἀπεραντία ) was a small region of Aetolia, south of Dolopia . Its inhabitants were known as Aperantii. The name of Attica ( Greek : Ἀττική )

4350-407: The east, it had borders with Argolis and Corinthia along the ridge of high ground running from Mount Cyllene round to Mount Oligyrtus and then south Mount Parthenius . To the south, the border Laconia and Messenia ran through the foothills of the Parnon and Taygetos mountain ranges, such that Arcadia contained all the headwaters of the Alpheios river, but none of the Eurotas river. To

4437-399: The east, particularly the Levant coast, developed from c. 900 BC onwards. Though life was harsh for the Greeks of the Dark Ages, and one major result of the period was the deconstruction of the old Mycenaean economic and social structures, along with the strict class hierarchies and hereditary rule forgotten, a gradual replacement with new socio-political institutions eventually allowed for

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4524-455: The eastern border of Macedonia with Thrace . However, as kingdom of Macedon was expanding and was pushing east the Thracian tribes, river Nestos was regarded as the eastern border of the region and Sintice , Odomantis and Edonis were included in it. Traditionally part of Thrace but after its annexation by the kingdom of Macedon it was regarded as part of the region of Macedonia. Traditionally part of Thrace but after its annexation by

4611-443: The first Greek settlements. Potters in Cyprus initiated the most elegant new pottery style of the 10th and 9th centuries, the "Cypro-Phoenician" "black on red" style of small flasks and jugs that held precious contents, probably scented oil. Together with distinctively Greek Euboean ceramic wares, it was widely exported and is found in Levantine sites, including Tyre and far inland in the late 11th and 10th centuries. Cypriot metalwork

4698-406: The funeral games celebrated by Achilles for Patroclus . Other coastal regions of Greece besides Euboea were once again full participants in the commercial and cultural exchanges of the eastern and central Mediterranean and communities developed governance by an elite group of aristocrats, rather than by the single basileus or chieftain of earlier periods. By the beginning of 8th century BC,

4785-400: The headwaters of Spercheios, and then east to the western spur of Mount Othrys . The lowland border in the Spercheios valley with Malis ran approximately north-south along from Oeta to the western spur of Othrys. During the Archaic and Classical periods, the Aenianians (in Greek Αἰνιᾶνες) were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and shared two votes on the Amphictyonic council with

4872-399: The heart of Laconia; the coastal region east of Parnon, and south of Cynuria was also part of Laconia. Lacedaemon is one of the regions described in the "catalogue of ships" in the Iliad. In the Archaic and Classical periods, the Laconians were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League , and shared the two Dorian votes on the Amphictyonic council with the Dorians from Doris . There is

4959-405: The inhabitants of the town were removed to Nicopolis, Augustus gave to Patrae in Achaea the statue of this goddess which had belonged to Calydon. There was also a statue of Dionysus at Patrae which had been removed from Calydon. Near Calydon there was a temple of Apollo Laphrius ; and in the neighbourhood of the city there was also a lake celebrated for its fish. Its site is located north of

5046-401: The kingdom of Macedon it was regarded as part of the region of Macedonia. Greek Dark Ages The Greek Dark Ages ( c. 1200–800 BC) were earlier regarded as two continuous periods of Greek history : the Postpalatial Bronze Age (c. 1200–1050 BC) and the Prehistoric Iron Age or Early Iron Age (c. 1050–800 BC), the last included all the ceramic phases from the Protogeometric to

5133-423: The late 13th to 11th centuries BC, but did not colonize the island, they integrated into society as "economic and cultural migrants from the periphery to the core." There were four centres in the following Prehistoric or Early Iron Age (1050–800 BC), with more than 1000 individuals: Lefkandi, Athens , Argos , and Knossos , which also featured sociopolitical complexity, hierarchies manifested locally though not in

5220-412: The major cities of the region are listed together under the leadership of Diomedes . There is a modern regional unit of Greece of the same name , occupying a smaller area than the ancient region. It is worth noting that the Pyramids of Argolis are found within this territory. The territory associated with the city of ancient Corinth in ancient Greece lay on either side of the isthmus of Corinth. On

5307-407: The modern Evinochori . One of the tunnels of the A5 motorway crosses under the ruins of Calydon, and is named the Calydon Tunnel ( Greek : Σήραγγα Καλυδώνας ) after it. Previous and more recent excavations have revealed many buildings including: Many finds from the site including ancient terracottas from the temple of Artemis are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Agrinion and in

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5394-413: The northern side of the Isthmus, it was bounded by Mount Geraneia , which separated it from Megaris . On the Peloponnesian side of the Isthmus, Corinthia was bounded by Achaea to the west, and to the south by the territory of Argolis. As discussed above, the boundary between Argolis and Corinthia was rather fluid, and in both ancient and modern times, the regions have been considered together. Corinthia

5481-462: The oldest written reference to the Iliad . The Etruscans benefited from the innovation: Old Italic variants spread throughout Italy from the 8th century. Other variants of the alphabet appear on the Lemnos Stele and in the alphabets of Asia Minor . The previous Linear scripts were not completely abandoned: the Cypriot syllabary , descended from Linear A , remained in use on Cyprus in Arcadocypriot Greek and Eteocypriot inscriptions until

5568-582: The other contained a cremated male buried with his iron weapons and an inhumed woman, heavily adorned with gold jewellery. The man's bones were placed in a bronze jar from Cyprus, with hunting scenes on the cast rim. The woman was clad with gold coils in her hair, rings, gold breastplates, an heirloom necklace, an elaborate Cypriot or Near Eastern necklace made some 200 to 300 years before her burial, and an ivory-handled dagger at her head. The horses appeared to have been sacrificed, some appearing to have iron bits in their mouths. No evidence survives to show whether

5655-411: The other hand, in the island of Euboea , the site of Lefkandi grew up in an accelerated way in this Postpalatial period (1200–1050 BC) to become a preeminent place as it has a double bay with sea traffic. Additionally, evidence had emerged of the new presence of Hellenes in sub-Mycenaean Cyprus (c. 1100–1050 BC) and on the Syrian coast at Al-Mina . However, Greek-speaking people arrived in Cyprus, in

5742-454: The revival of an Aegean Greek network of exchange can be detected from 10th-century BC Attic Proto-geometric pottery found in Crete and at Samos , off the coast of Asia Minor. Religion in the Greek Dark Ages is seen to be a continuation of Bronze Age Greek Religion, specifically the ideas of Hero worship, and how the gods' powers were attributed. Cyprus was inhabited by a mix of " Pelasgians " and Phoenicians , joined during this period by

5829-434: The rise of democracy in 5th century BC Athens . Notable events after the Dark Ages period that mark the transition to Classical Antiquity include the first Olympics , in 776 BC, and the composition of the Homeric epics the Iliad and the Odyssey . The fall of Mycenaeans in the Bronze Age collapse was attributed to a Dorian or Sea Peoples invasion, but Sea Peoples could have been pirate bands which coalesced due to

5916-462: The sea. Its name is most famous today for the Calydonian boar that had to be overcome by heroes of the Olympian age. According to Greek mythology , Calydon was founded by Aetolus in the land of the Curetes , and was called Calydon, after the name of his son, Calydon . Calydon and the neighbouring town of Pleuron are said by Strabo to have been once the "ornament" of Greece, but by his time (late 1st century BC) had sunk into insignificance. It

6003-425: The south-west, the border with Messania ran along the tops of Mount Nomia , and Mount Elaeum , and from there the border with Elis ran along the valleys of the Erymanthos and Diagon rivers. Most of the region of Arcardia was mountainous, apart from the plains around Tegea and Megalopolis , and the valleys of the Alpheios and Ladon rivers. Due to its remote, mountainous character, Arcadia seems to have been

6090-419: The start of the Protogeometric style (1050 BC – 900 BC), such as the superior pottery technology that included a faster potter's wheel for superior vase shapes and the use of a compass to draw perfect circles and semicircles for decoration. Better glazes were achieved by higher temperature firing of the clay. However, the overall trend was toward simpler, less intricate pieces and fewer resources being devoted to

6177-423: The tops of Mount Elaeum and Mount Nomia. The northern border with Arcadia then ran amongst the foothills of Taygetos, but all the headwater of the Alpheios river lay outside Messenia. The eastern border with Laconia ran along the Taygetos ridge up to the Koskaraka river, and then along that river to the sea, near the city of Abia. There is a modern regional unit of Greece of the same name . Thessaly or Thessalia

6264-521: The town. In the above-mentioned year the Achaeans at Calydon, were so hard pressed by the Acarnanians that they applied to the Lacedaemonians for help; and Agesilaus II in consequence was sent with an army into Aetolia. Calydon remained in the hands of the Achaeans till the overthrow of the Spartan supremacy by the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC), when Epaminondas restored the town to

6351-549: The two Dorian votes on the Amphictyonic council with the Laconian Dorians. In the Archaic and Classical periods, the Euboeans were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and shared the two Ionian votes on the Amphictyonic council with the Athenians. The region of Locris, primarily the eastern part ("that dwell over against sacred Euboea"), is described in the Iliad . In the Archaic and Classical periods,

6438-430: The two literate civilisations that preceded and succeeded it: the bureaucratic, palace-centred world of Mycenaean Greece and the chaotic and creative Archaic age of Hellenic civilisation." Calydon Calydon ( / ˈ k æ l ɪ d ɒ n / ; Ancient Greek : Καλυδών , Kalydōn ) was a Greek city in ancient Aetolia , situated on the west bank of the river Evenus , 7.5 Roman miles (approx. 11 km) from

6525-529: Was (and still is) a geographic region of Greece . In English the area is usually called Central Greece , but the equivalent Greek term (Κεντρική Ελλάδα, Kentrikí Elláda ) is more rarely used. Acarnania ( Greek : Ἀκαρνανία ) is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea , west of Aetolia , with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon , which

6612-520: Was a small district to the south of Thessaly (which it was sometimes considered part of). The regions of Aeniania and Oetaea were closely linked, both occupying the valley of the Spercheios river, with Aeniania occupying the lower ground to the north, and Oetaea the higher ground south of the river. The boundaries of these two regions were formed by the arc of high ground running west from Mount Oeta round to Mount Tymphristos , then north round to

6699-597: Was called Phoenice . According to Virgil , Chaon was the eponymous ancestor of the Chaonians. The Molossians ( Greek : Μολοσσοί , romanized :  Molossoi ) were an ancient Greek tribal state that inhabited the region of Epirus since the Mycenaean era. On their northeast frontier, they had the Chaonians and on their southern frontier the kingdom of the Thesprotians ; to their north were

6786-455: Was exchanged in Crete. Greece during this period was likely divided into independent regions organized by kinship groups and the oikoi or households, the origins of the later poleis . Most Greeks did not live in isolated farmsteads but in small settlements. It is likely that at the dawn of the historical period two or three hundred years later, the main economic resource for each family

6873-612: Was not significantly higher than others of their village. Lefkandi on the island of Euboea was a prosperous settlement in the Late Bronze Age, possibly to be identified with old Eretria . It recovered quickly from the collapse of Mycenaean culture, and in 1981 excavators of a burial ground found the largest 10th century BC building yet known from Greece. Sometimes called "the heroon ", this long narrow building, 50 metres by 10 metres, or about 164 feet by 33 feet, contained two burial shafts. In one were placed four horses and

6960-502: Was one of the traditional regions of Ancient Greece. During the Mycenaean period , Thessaly was known as Aeolia, a name that continued to be used for one of the major tribes of Greece, the Aeolians , and their dialect of Greek, Aeolic . The Phtiotic Achaeans were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and had two votes on the Amphictyonic council. The Magnetes were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and had two votes on

7047-402: Was rather more fluid, and these territories have sometimes been considered together. For instance, Pausanias discussed Argolis and Corinthia together in one book of his Description of Greece ; similarly, in modern Greece, a prefecture of " Argolidocorinthia " has existed at various times. Argolis is discussed in the "catalogue of ships" of the Iliad , without being given that explicit name, but

7134-533: Was said to be derived from Atthis , daughter of Cranaus , who was said to have been the second king of Athens. The origin of the name, however, is most likely pre-Greek in origin. Attica is bounded on the east by the Aegean sea, on the west by Megaris and the Saronic gulf and on the north by Boeotia . It is separated from Boeotia by two mountain ranges, Parnes and Cithaeron . In the Archaic and Classical periods,

7221-493: Was stylistically simpler than earlier designs, characterized by lines and curves. On the other hand, generalizations about the " Dark Age Society" are considered simplifications, because the range of cultures throughout Greece at the time cannot be grouped into a single "Dark Age Society" category. Tholos tombs are found in Early Iron Age Thessaly and in Crete but not in general elsewhere, and cremation

7308-498: Was the ancestral plot of land of the Oikos , the kleros or allotment. Without this, a man could not marry. Excavations of Dark Age communities such as Nichoria in the Peloponnese have shown how a Bronze Age town was abandoned in 1150 BC but then reemerged as a small village cluster by 1075 BC. At this time there were only around forty families living there with plenty of good farming land and grazing for cattle . The remains of

7395-491: Was the birthplace of the eponymous Euclid . Mount Geraneia dominates the center of the region. Oetaea ( Greek : Οἰταία ) was a small upland district located south of Thessaly (of which it was sometimes considered part). It was closely linked with the district of Aeniania , sharing a location in the valley of the Spercheios (see above). The Oetaeans were members of the Delphian Amphictyonic League, and shared two votes on

7482-466: Was the dominant rite in Attica but nearby in the Argolid , it was inhumation . Some former sites of Mycenaean palaces, such as Argos or Knossos , continued to be occupied; the fact that other sites experienced an expansive "boom time" of a generation or two before they were abandoned has been associated by James Whitley with the " big-man social organization ", which is based on personal charisma and

7569-461: Was used to write not only the Greek language but also Phrygian and other languages in the eastern Mediterranean. As Greece sent out colonies west towards Sicily and Italy ( Pithekoussae , Cumae ), the influence of their new alphabet extended further. The ceramic Euboean artifact inscribed with a few lines written in the Greek alphabet referring to " Nestor's Cup ", discovered in a grave at Pithekoussae (Ischia), dates from c. 730 BC. It seems to be

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