The Greek Dark Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Greek Dark Ages - Essay Example Society included groups of small settlements who survived on farming, which was seen as a vital economic resource. This essay will discuss the works of three writers who analyze the culture and societies of the Greek Dark Ages. Hooper said that the invaders that came into Greece entered the state in phenomenal numbers. These people had some sort of Greek descent because they could speak similar dialects. However, these invaders were far less superior to their Greek counterparts. Also, these invaders used iron weapons instead of the bronze ones used by the Greek settlers: only because iron was more plentiful in their regions (Desborough 1972). The Greek areas which had the most development began to show a change in the quality of their work. Archeologists discovering pottery and other items from this age find a huge decline in the production of these goods. Earlier society seemed to be forced to move backwards as any progress made in those eras was removed. This was replaced by an uneducated and disorganized group of people whose qualities would continue to exist for centuries. This continued to get worse as society was no longer divided into specific groups. It became a great mess of distorted groups. Greeks before the Dark Ages were divided into specific classes: the rich lived in the palaces leading comfortable lives, they could go to war and would return back to their luxurious lives and the poor would make goods and crafts that would serve and assist in the lives of the extravagant few. The palaces, jewelry, pottery and tombs were all removed and most were no longer created. All forms of art and pottery were broken down and their creation became non-existent in this New Greek era. When the invasions began, every member of Greek society suffered. Writing had disappeared during the Greek Dark Ages (Andrews 1967). Archeologists feel that the best proof of this broken society was the lack of any kind of writing during this period. It was only after the society moved to the ninth century that some sort of alphabet began to appear. This too had very limited use. However, the new material that was now used in preserving the forms of writings could store entire stories and histories. The flaw in this though was that no one was writing anything that would change the lives of the ordinary citizen. There was a lack of work done about everyday lives. Very few people spoke of the manipulative powers of the rich and their attempts to ruin the lives of the poor Greek citizen. Hesoid, a farmer was amongst one of the very few who chose to speak against the cruel regime. He is known to be one of the best witnesses to describe the lifestyles of the latter period of the Greek Dark Ages. The writing is of the ordinary mortal, not heroic warrior s. In his work, Hesoid also spoke of the superstition that had been an essential part of Greek life for centuries. Coins were a vital part of Greek life (Hooper 1978). Members of the community realized the great value of coins: as an easy exchange for goods. Literacy played no role in the use of these coins because it was a language that could be understood by anyone. This use of money was severely abused by landowners and the rich who would give it up as loans and