Mycenaean Culture: The Greek Dark Ages

To begin with, The Greek "Dark Ages" was a lost time for Greece. It marked an era of cultural discovery, religion, and socio-political institutions. It wasn't until 1200 B.C.E during the Bronze Age after the Dorians, Greek speaking Hellenic people, came from the Northeastern Mountains and caused the obliteration of the Mycenaean civilization that Greece really felt the effects of what was to come. Due to the collapse of the Mycenaean’s, their palaces were demolished, their art, their way of life, and most importantly their system of writing (HistoryWiz, 2008). With a significant drop in population, they lived a pastoral lifestyle in small groups. Desperate to keep the history of early Greece alive, with the loss of their Linear B script

During this time Greeks went from rural colonies to more urban communities. Greek geography resulted in the formation of two hundred city states that created their own economy, government, and defense systems. However, when Persians decided to attack the Greek city states they came together to fight back against the Persian. Ultimately they won. Some of the works that reflect this historical event is Herodotus, also referred to as the “father of history”, who took note of the Persian wars that occurred. He did not actually witness the war, but he judged the tales that were told about the war. He tested the accuracy, collected them accordingly and relayed them in a vivid narrative. Herodotus does not give a sole reason for war, but many believe he felt as if, “war is not generally a phenomenon that admits of definitive explanations or that can be explained solely in terms of material causes, emotions, or ideology”(Vasunia, 2009). He may have not witnessed the war first hand but due to his extensive research in collecting the data of the war, his work was became Ancient Greek’s first major piece written in in prose that is held to a high status. Furthermore, another example of Greek’s state during this time is during the Pre-eminence of Athens. Humanist Philosophy key players were Socrates and Plato. Socrates was a philosopher and a stonemason who disagreed with the views of Sophist. He believed that

The spread was the result of the Greeks failure to live in peace. During this time Alexander the Great took the throne after the assassination of Philip of Macedonian. Alexander built an empire that ranged from Greece to India. Although short, the empire changed the ancient world. It caused the spread of Greek ideas, cultures, and ways of life, hence the origin of the word "Hellenistic" meaning to speak the Greek language or identify with the Greeks. It also influenced Buddhist art, Sanskrit literature, and schools of thought. Prior to the Hellenistic Era Greeks were in a city-state way of life during the Persian wars and now move to an empire. This was evident in their art and architecture. Although, themes went from the usual High Classical Styles to a more feminine, animated and expressive style. Sculptures such as Apollo Belvedere, embodied the ideals of classical art. It is described as something that is “subject takes on a contrapposto form” (Newell, 2012). The sculpture itself doesn’t represent any human but emphasizes masculine characteristics and hold an aura of a god. Apollo has an emotionless facial expression and has just fired his bow. Moreover, the architecture also went under alterations in response to the historical era. Monuments became bigger in scale and had utilitarian structures. The largest sculptural complex was the Alter of Zeus. It celebrated the triumph over