The Birth of the Greek Polis

 GREECE IN THE 12TH CENTURY
Characteristics initial recovery
regional diversity
local economies
continuity of basic manufactures
eventual decline
Three stages (to over simplify) for

 MAINLAND AND ISLANDS

LH IIIC early aftermath
LH IIIB mid recovery
LH IIIC late + Sub-Mycenaean decline
defined by complex stratigraphic sequences at Lefkandi
Mycenae
Tiryns
Early LH IIIC Simple style pottery
Rough and ready reconstruction
Handmade burnished wares
Middle LH IIIC Limited elaborate wares Warrior Vase Mycenae
Close style Argolid
Octopus style Cyclades
Elaborate style Kephallenia
Tiryns Megaron
Tiryns town
Better buildings
Phylakopi shrine
Tiryns shrine
Amyklae shrine
Occasional use of iron
Late LH IIIC Decline in number of settlements
Cause ? - population decline
less permanent buildings
less diagnostic pottery
Simple pottery decoration
New ornament types Arched fibulae
Long dress pins
CRETE Less evidence of destruction
Less isolation - Cypriot links in particular
Settlement evidence from - Knossos
Karphi
Kavousi
Refuge settlements/ fortified sites
BURIALS
Continued use of chamber tombs with no stratigraphy
New tholoi in outlying areas only - Thessaly
E.Crete
Large cemeteries Perati
Mycenae Kephallenia
Elateia*** Ialysos (Rhodes)
Achaea Knossos
***only mainland chamber tomb cemetery known to continue into PG.
innovations Cania (nr. Mycenae) cremation tumulus
Perati cremations
Elis cremations
Sub-Mycenaean Widespread use of single burial in new cemeteries
eg:- Salamis
Kerameikos
Skoubris - Lefkandi
Argos

Index to Birth of the Polis pages

Index to KAW's module pages