Timetable of Early Greek History

Sketch of Early Greece and the Aegean Stone Age Paleolithic Period (before 70,000 B. C.)

Neolithic Period (ca. 6000-3000 B. C.) Early Bronze Age (3000-2000 B. C.) Early Minoan Early Cycladic Early Helladic Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 B. C.)

Middle Minoan Middle Cycladic Middle Helladic Late Bronze Age (1600-1100 B. C.)Late Minoan Late Cycladic Late Helladic (Mycenaean)

Explanation on geographical terms

Bronze Age the term based on time

Geographical areas where major civilizations have been found:-Minoan (for Crete)

-Cycladic (for the islands)

Helladic or Mycenaean (for late Helladic) for mainland Greece

Minoan Civilization, flourishes in Crete 2500-1500BC

Mycenaean Age 1600-1200 B.C.

c 1450 Minoan civilization in Crete destroyed.

Trojan War occurs c. 1250

Cycladic Art

Palace of Knossos (Crete, Minoan Civilization)

Knossos, Crete. Painted ca. 1500 B.C., fragments of this fresco were discovered and the fresco was restored by Sir Arthur Evans in the Palace of Minos at Knossos on the island of Crete during the early years of the 20th century

Mycenaean

Called like that by the city of MycenaeAfter 1400 BC, Cretan (Minoan civilization) eclipsed (possibly a natural disaster, earthquake, archeology reveals signs of destruction). Some scholars attribute downfall of Crete to a Mycenaean invasion. Heinrich Schliemann was the first to excavate Mycenae (1876)> link between traditional myths as narrated in Homeric poems and actual places named in the poems like Mycenae.

Lion Gate at MYCENAE

Dark Ages, the “Mediaeval” times of antiquity begins c. 1200 until 800 B.C.

ARCHAIC period begins c. 800 BC

Olympic games instituted in 776 BC

HOMER AND HESIOD

Early vase paintingBlack-figured technique"The Francois Vase “signed" by Ergotimos (potter) and Kleitias (painter)  is an Attic Black-figure Krater from Chiusi, c.575 bce and   26" height. Museo Archaeologico, Florence Was broken to 638 pieces by a museum guard in 1900 and restored.

Crane dance on topBattle between Lapiths and Centaurs

CLASSICAL GREECE

Lyric Poetry: Poetry that was performed with the accompaniment of some type of music, often danced. Alone or in group, the person in a social context always.

Historically the classical period begins with the Persian Wars 480

Early Greek Poetry (=Archaic Poetry)

EPIC

LYRIC

EPIC POETS

Tradition of HOMER

HOMERIC TRADITION

ILIAD ODYSSEY HOMERIC HYMNS

TRADITION OF HESIOD

HESIOD

THEOGONY

WORKS AND DAYS

Pseudo-hesiodic SHIELD

Classical Poetry

DRAMA

TRAGEDY COMEDY Satyric Drama

Drama (Tragedy-Comedy-Satyr Play) CLASSICAL GENRE 5th

and 4th c. BCETRAGEDY

AESCHYLUS525-456 BC

SOPHOCLES496-406

EURIPIDES484-420

So, when do our sources date?

Archaic Greece (8th-6th century BC)

Classical Greece (5th-4th)

Hellenistic (3rd-2nd)

Roman Period (2nd BC -3rd century AD)

Delphi theater

Classical Vase painting- red figured vases

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Calyx-krater, ca. 515 B.C.; red-figureGreek, Attic

Signed by Euxitheos as potter; signed by Euphronios as painterTerracotta; H. 18 in. (45.69 cm)

Obverse: body of Sarpedon lifted by Sleep and Death