Middle Bronze Age Greece
These new invaders, who destroyed Lerna at the end of the Early
Bronze Age in 2100 BC, were the Greeks
(though there is still some debate about exactly when they arrived and
from where). Unlike the people of Sesklo, Dimini and Lerna, these new
people were Indo-Europeans
who spoke an early form of the Greek
language. Their special military weapon, which helped them to beat
the Early Bronze Age people of Greece, seems to have been the horse,
men fighting from chariots drawn by horses, or maybe just using horses
to get from one place to another very quickly. Archaeologists digging
at Lerna did not find any horse bones until after this invasion.
The Greeks also brought with them a new invention from Western
Asia: the pottery wheel. The wheel
made it possible to make clay pots much more quickly, and therefore
more cheaply, than before.
For about 500 years after the Greeks invaded, not much seems to have
happened in Greece. The Greeks learned the new culture and gradually
mixed with the people who were already there. The Middle Bronze Age
in Greece has been called "500 years without an idea." This is not quite
right, though. The Greeks were getting ready for their first appearances
in the Mediterranean political scene.
To find out more about the Middle Bronze Age in Greece, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction, by William R. Biers (1996) This is NOT a children's book, but Biers writes very clearly and has a lot of good pictures.
Greek Art and Archaeology (3rd Edition), by John G. Pedley (2002) This is also NOT a children's book, but it has a lot of good information and is pretty readable. Plus, Pedley is really an expert in this field.
The Aegean Bronze Age (Cambridge World Archaeology) by Oliver Dickinson, Norman Yoffee (Editor) (1994)
The Coming of the Greeks, by Robert Drews (reprinted 1994). About the arrival of the Indo-Europeans in Greece, about 2000 BC.
Late Bronze Age
Main Greek History page
Tell a friend about this page
Did Kidipede answer your question?
Yes, thanks! / No, can you help me?
