http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/HIST301-1.4-DarkAgeGreece-FINAL.pdf
The Greek Dark Age is the interval between the collapse of theMycenaean civilization, around 1200 BCE, and the GreekArchaic Period, around c. 800 BCE. The Dark Age era begins with a catastrophic event: the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization, when all major Mycenaean regional centres fell out of use after suffering a combination of destruction and abandonment. Linear B script, the Mycenaean writing system, was lost shortly after c. 1200 BCE
The Corinthians were Dorian Greeks. The Dorians were a tribe said to have invaded Greece, by all ancient accounts, a short time after the Trojan wars. The Greeks who inhabited all of the Peloponnese before the Dorian invasion, as well as areas of the mainland, were called everywhere “Danaans” (Danai) and “Achaians” by Homer. Modern historians assert that the Dorians came “from the north”, and point to the Dorian Tetrapolis, four cities (Erineus, Boeum, Pindus and Cytinium, for which see Strabo 9.4.10) which lie west of Phocis and north of Delphi on the Greek mainland, as evidence of this. These historians also claim that all Aryans came “from the north” into the ancient world at one time or another, yet they are consistently in error. Homer is given much credit by Strabo for his knowledge and accuracy in describing the peoples of the οἰκουμένη and the regions where they lived, and the poet is constantly cited by the geographer. Homer described all of the people of Greece, and the peoples and places known to the Greeks in the period which he wrote about. Yet Homer makes no mention of the cities of the Tetrapolis, of Dorians in Greece, or anywhere in the north. The Dorians, who invaded Greece by sea (hardly necessary if they came from the north) and pushed the Danaans out of the Peloponnese, and who also later founded their mainland cities, are only mentioned by Homer as being on Crete (in his Odyssey, Book 19).
Dorians actually came from Dor in Palestine, a city on the coast of the land of Manasseh, and where many ancient “Greek” artifacts have been found by archaeologists, for which seeBiblical Archaeology Review, July-August 2001, p. 17, and November-December, 2002, “Gorgon Excavated At Dor”, p. 50. These artifacts show a “Greek” presence at Dor as early as the seventh century B.C., and are certainly much earlier than the Hellenistic period. The seventh century B.C. is the time of the last recorded Assyrian activity in Israel (see Ezra 4:2, Esar-Haddon reigned from 681 B.C.), and the last deportations of Israelites which happened about 676 B.C. (see The Assyrian Invasions And Deportations of Israel by J. Llewellyn Thomas). For evidence that Israelite priests were indeed present at Dor see Biblical Archaeology Review, May-June 2001, p. 21 and the article there. If the Dorians migrated from Palestine, rather than from the north, Crete is a logical place to begin settling, enroute to the west. Further evidence that the Dorians were Israelites is found in Josephus, in his record of a letter written by a Spartan (or Lacedemonian, and they were also Dorian Greeks) king to Jerusalem about 160 B.C., which is found in Antiquities 12.4.10 (12:226-227):
“Areus, King of the Lacedemonians, To Onias, Sendeth Greeting. We have met with a certain writing, whereby we have discovered that both the Judaeans and the Lacedemonians are of one stock, and are derived from the kindred of Abraham. It is but just, therefore, that you, who are our brethren, should send to us about any of your concern as you please. We will also do the same thing, and esteem your concerns as our own, and will look upon our concerns as in common with yours. Demotoles, who brings you this letter, will bring your answer back to us. This letter is foursquare; and the seal is an eagle, with a dragon in his claws.” That this account of the letter, and its contents, is factual is verified by the reply to it recorded by Josephus at Antiq. 13.5.8 (13:163-170), by Jonathan the high priest.
s Mycenaean civilization collapsed between 1200 and 1100 BC. From this time until the beginning of classical Greek civilization around 800 BC, Greece is considered to have entered a dark age. Writing and other evidence becomes very scarce. The period has come to be called the “Greek Dark Ages” because this lack of evidence has meant that scholars can know little for sure about what went on in Greece during the period. Nonetheless, from what we do know, it would be wrong to see this as a 200- to 300-year period of chaos and decline, because it actually saw a number of important developments in Greece. Societal Collapse It is uncertain why Mycenaean civilization collapsed around 1100 BC. This has been traditionally blamed on the invasion of the Dorians, though recently scholars have questioned this theory. One alternative theory focuses on the Sea People, an enigmatic group of maritime raiders. They caused the collapse of the Hittite Empire and came close to toppling the 19th and 20th Egyptian Dynasties (though the Egyptians battled them back). These people may have also raided Greece and destroyed many of the Mycenaean sites. It could also be that continual raids by other less-developed but wellarmed Mediterranean peoples, such as the Lycians, Sardinians, Tyrrhenians, or Sicilians brought down the Mycenaeans. Another theory is that Mycenaeans destroyed themselves in constant warfare. Yet another theory is that the Mycenaeans were not destroyed in war, but collapsed because of internal problems. The large number of scribes, priests, kingly retainers, and other people who did not farm may have stretched the agricultural base too thin. Without enough food to feed these non-food-producing members of society, the Mycenaeans faced upheaval. Other factors, such as earthquakes, famine, or simply a breakdown in Mycenaean society, may have played a role. Whatever the case, the social system that ruled Greece for hundreds of years came to a sudden and violent end. The great palaces were destroyed. Populations fled or retreated to the hills. The population of Greece dropped significantly, whether due to disease, famine, or simply an inability to sustain previous levels after so much destruction. Linear B, the language of the scribes and bureaucrats that exercised so much power in the Mycenaean palaces, disappeared, as did all writing it seems. Monumental construction also ceased. Thus, there is little written or archaeological evidence for this period. The population retreated into small, easily defendable hilltop villages. It seems to have been a volatile time, and the survivors struggled to rebuild. A New Society With the collapse of Mycenaean society and the disappearance of writing, we have very little evidence for events and daily life in Dark Age Greece. What we do have, however, are Homer’s epic poems, the Odyssey and the Iliad, some of the oldest works of literature in the Western world. Though the form in which they come down to
s Mycenaean civilization collapsed between 1200 and 1100 BC. From this time until the beginning of classical Greek civilization around 800 BC, Greece is considered to have entered a dark age. Writing and other evidence becomes very scarce. The period has come to be called the “Greek Dark Ages” because this lack of evidence has meant that scholars can know little for sure about what went on in Greece during the period. Nonetheless, from what we do know, it would be wrong to see this as a 200- to 300-year period of chaos and decline, because it actually saw a number of important developments in Greece. Societal Collapse It is uncertain why Mycenaean civilization collapsed around 1100 BC. This has been traditionally blamed on the invasion of the Dorians, though recently scholars have questioned this theory. One alternative theory focuses on the Sea People, an enigmatic group of maritime raiders. They caused the collapse of the Hittite Empire and came close to toppling the 19th and 20th Egyptian Dynasties (though the Egyptians battled them back). These people may have also raided Greece and destroyed many of the Mycenaean sites. It could also be that continual raids by other less-developed but wellarmed Mediterranean peoples, such as the Lycians, Sardinians, Tyrrhenians, or Sicilians brought down the Mycenaeans. Another theory is that Mycenaeans destroyed themselves in constant warfare. Yet another theory is that the Mycenaeans were not destroyed in war, but collapsed because of internal problems. The large number of scribes, priests, kingly retainers, and other people who did not farm may have stretched the agricultural base too thin. Without enough food to feed these non-food-producing members of society, the Mycenaeans faced upheaval. Other factors, such as earthquakes, famine, or simply a breakdown in Mycenaean society, may have played a role. Whatever the case, the social system that ruled Greece for hundreds of years came to a sudden and violent end. The great palaces were destroyed. Populations fled or retreated to the hills. The population of Greece dropped significantly, whether due to disease, famine, or simply an inability to sustain previous levels after so much destruction. Linear B, the language of the scribes and bureaucrats that exercised so much power in the Mycenaean palaces, disappeared, as did all writing it seems. Monumental construction also ceased. Thus, there is little written or archaeological evidence for this period. The population retreated into small, easily defendable hilltop villages. It seems to have been a volatile time, and the survivors struggled to rebuild. A New Society With the collapse of Mycenaean society and the disappearance of writing, we have very little evidence for events and daily life in Dark Age Greece. What we do have, however, are Homer’s epic poems, the Odyssey and the Iliad, some of the oldest works of literature in the Western world. Though the form in which they come down to
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