g eometric p eriod (1100-750 bc). n ame & s ources geometric age ( geometric decorative forms...
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NAME & SOURCES
Geometric Age ( Geometric decorative forms on the vases)
Also known as:o Homeric Age ( Homeric
epic poems)o Dark Age or Greek
Medieval Age ( At first limited knowledge & so thought as a period of cultural decline)
Historical sources: o Homero Hesiodo Thucydideso Archaeological finds
MOVEMENT OF POPULATION
12th c. BC Decline of the political & social
authority of the Mycenaean centers Thinning population Plunders of the “Nations of the Sea” Search for better living conditions of
mountain tribes in the lower levels
Movement of population (11th - 9th c. BC)
First movements (beginning of the 11th c. BC) o Thessalians (Thesprotia in Epirus Thessaly) o Boeotians ( Southern part of Central Greece)o Dorians (North-Western mountains Thessaly & finally
Central Greece & Peloponnese)
THE FIRST GREEK COLONIZATION
Middle of the 11th c. – 9th c. BC
Aeolians: Thessaly Lesvos, Tenedos & the opposite coasts
of Minor Asia Ionians: South-Eastern
Peloponnese, Attica, Euboea
Cyclades, Samos, Chios & the opposite coasts of Minor Asia (Panionion in Mycale)
Dorians: Laconia, Epidaurus, Troezen Melos, Thira, Crete Rhodes, Kos & the opposite coasts of Minor Asia (Doric Exapolis in Triopion of Knidos)
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY & “OIKOS” Closed agricultural economy Personal property, consisting of land &
breeding animals (especially cattle) Development of marine trade, by those who
weren’t land owners (9th c. BC) – First colonies &commercial agencies in the Tyrrhenian Sea by the Euboeans Depicted marine scenes & marine knowledge (Homer)
“oikos” (= house): The basic economical & social unit, consisting of the members of a family (even of 3 generations) & its financial dependents (e.g. workers, slaves, etc.)
Self-sufficiency of “oikos” Inner production & consumption of goods
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY & “OIKOS”
Limited exchanging trade, exchanging of presents, plunders & piracy Further goods (not locally produced)
Value measured in cattle, animal skins, metals OR slaves
Division of labor Distinction between the sexes
Diet based on meat, bread & wine (Homer)
Beginning of poultry farming Use of horse only in war &
hunting by the nobles
SOCIAL & POLITICAL STRATIFICATION Trojan War: The last significant war of the Mycenaeans
Attempt of the nobles to abstract the power from the kings (Homer: Thersitis, murder of Agamemnon, Penelope ‘s suitors)
Decline of the Mycenaean kingdoms ( Lack of monumental buildings)
Social groups:o “Oikoi” with many powerful members & large landowning
social group of the nobles (“aristoi” – the best)o Mass of people not related by blood to “oikos” (“plithos” -
crowd)o Specialized craftsmen, financially attached to “oikos”
(“dimiourgoi” - creators)
SOCIAL & POLITICAL STRATIFICATION
Tribal state Tribal hereditary kingdom, where
the king was elected & nominated by the Assembly of all the warriors (“Agora”), also responsible for the most significant decisions
Administration by the king, who was also the military, religious & judicial authority, with the help of the Assembly of the Elders
Model of “great men”, who are brave in the battlefield, generous in their feasts & gifts & skilful speakers & negotiators – Always members of the noble social group
SOCIAL & POLITICAL STRATIFICATION Spoils as the basic aim of plunders –
Special honorary share for the king & the nobles, as a prize for their bravery (Homer)
Exchange of gifts of equal value among the nobles, as a compensation for an insult, a reward for a service OR a courtesy for a visitor (Homer)
Common law, based on religious & social rules
Legal procedures, by which the nobles solved issues of property & duty
Punishment of homicide: family vendetta OR exile of the murderer OR compensation in gold or other valuable material
RELIGION
Worship centers in the settlements OR on their limits OR sometimes far away from them (e.g. on the mountains)
Foundation of the first sanctuaries, which became national worship centers
Preservation of the local gods – Stabilization of the twelve Olympian gods & goddesses & minor deities
Worship of some heroes next to their graves
RELIGION Myths about the
creation of the world, the physical phenomena, the aspects of human life, etc
Complicated system of religious ethical values – Deification of the human virtues & weaknesses
Ritual ceremonies with memorial, appealing, preventing, or purifying character - Increase of the offerings
RELIGION Cremation of the dead on
a pyre set up at a spot different from that of the tomb Ashes and bones placed in a clay pot,
which was buried in a simple pit, with other clay & metal offerings - Necked amphorae and kraters for men, and stamnoi for women
Inhumation after 800 BC & decrease of precious offerings
Oversized vases as grave markers in Dipylon cemetery
ARCHITECTURE & METALLURGY
Apsidal & then rectangularhouses with walls of unfired mud brick, set upon rough-stone bases, and two-sloped roof, thatched on a wooden frame
Settlements with houses built around the bigger house of the king without any specific plan, at the beginning Plan with an open square for gatherings
Parallel use of iron Manufacturing metal objects either
by smelting molten alloy to a mould or hammering
Bronze figurines, helmets with cheek guards, rod tripods & three-legged lebets
POTTERY
Use of rapid potter's wheel ( Better balance & shape)
Concentric circles made with a compass – Use of multiple brush
Return of pictorial decoration but under a strict stylization and abstraction - Narrative scenes, especially on big vases (e.g. on burial vases)
Geometric decoration with meanders, curves & zigzags or animals (especially horses)
SCRIPT & LITERATURE
Creation & use of the Greek Alphabetical Script (end ofthe 9th – beginning of the 8th c. BC) Phoenician alphabet, after vocal assimilation & adding of vowels
Homeric epic poems, written in dactylic hexameter & based on former heroic narrative songs of the Mycenaean Age, which were sung in public or personal noble fests (“aoedoi” – “rapsodoi”)
“Homeric” hymns (33), writtenby different poets in dactylic hexameter
HOMERIC EPIC POEMS
1st recording in the middle of the 6th c. BC (Peisistratus) Language: Mixture of Ionian & Aeolian lingual forms Depicting the life of the heroes of the Mycenaean Age –
Mixed elements of the Homeric Age “Iliad” ( 16.000 verses): The story of the conflict between
Achilles & Agamemnon during the War of Troja Mostly war scenes – Projection of the physical power, the fighting ability & the virtue of bravery – More sonorous language
“Odyssey” (12.000 verses): The story of Ulysses, who was trying to return to Ithaca against Poseidon’s will New values such as resignation, endurance, family peace, respect between men and women, conjugal love, love of the child for his father, beauty of nature & more mature acceptance of human fate – More complicated & unexpected action
ETHNIC CONSCIOUSNESS Signs of Greek ethnic
consciousness:o Greek alphabeto Rapid spread of the epic
poetry Cultivation of a common Greek origin from the same heroic ancestors & projection of the Homeric ethic rules for human life
o Cult of specific common gods
o Olympic Games as a meeting chance for the whole Greek population in the end of the Geometric Age