Greece and the Balkans 1000 BCE

What is happening in Greece and the Balkans in 1000BCE

The past few centuries have been tumultous ones for the inhabitants of Greece and the Aegean. The Minoan civilization of Crete came to an abrupt end about 1400 BC. The Mycenaean world continued to flourish, however, and southern Greece was the centre of a trade network which dominated the eastern Mediterranean. Mycenaean colonies appeared in southern Italy, Sicily, Asia Minor, and as far as Egypt and Palestine.

After 1200 BCE, however, this civilization too fell into rapid decline, a process almost certainly connected to the movement of peoples from central Europe. Evidence of writing and other features of a more complex society vanished at this time. Thus ended the first ancient European civilizations. Greece is now home to small-scale, illiterate tribal societies.

About now, however, the islands and coasts of Greece and the Aegean are starting to be visited by Phoenician merchants, from Syria. Through their influence, the Greeks will be reintroduced to literate civilization during the coming centuries.

Next map, Ancient Greece 500 BCE

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