Colonisation Of The Dark And Archaic Ages

The Colonisation of the Dark and Archaic Ages

By ***************

The colonisation during the Dark and Archaic ages, as well as developments made during these ages was very beneficial to the development of Ancient Greece.
This hypothesis is supported by five key facts, Colonisation provided a solution to overpopulation, allowed for new skills and techniques to be learnt from other cultures, as well as a general broadening of knowledge, the development of the city-state or “polis” and the subsequent birth of democracy. It also helped strengthen Greece’s economic and military prowess over the Mediterranean area.

Occurring from approximately 1100-480BCE, the Greek Dark and Archaic ages are some of the least known about times in
the ancient world. The Dark Age (1100-750BCE) is thought by many to have been caused by a multitude of events, resulting in the downfall of Mycenaean Greece. These events included; excessive amounts of warfare, which proved to be a fruitless drain on the Greek economy, which in turn weakened its defences from a foreign invasion. Also, Greek sea trade to overseas countries was severely limited, as a rapidly increasing rate of piracy was preventing many merchant vessels from making long voyages. These two events were only catalysts in the main cause of the Dark Ages – an invasion by the barbaric nomads from the north in 1200BCE. These primitive invaders had no way of sustaining the economy of the area and a gradual descent into the Dark Ages ensued. During the Dark Age, all forms of literature, technology and knowledge of the past were forgotten, and the population diminished rapidly. Following the Dark Ages was the Archaic Period. This was when the population began to increase once again, resulting in technological advancements, the rekindling of Greek literature and most importantly: the colonisation and expansion of the Greek empire.

Towards the end of the Dark Ages, the population in Greece started to grow rapidly, causing outwards expansion on a large scale. This was due to a number of reasons, the most important of which being the population’s consumption of natural resources began to outgrowing the supply, causing large shortages of food and other resources.
Also, there were not enough jobs or sources of income available for the growing population, and people wishing to look for other sources of income such as starting farms had to travel outwards from their centralized population to do so. The outwards expansion eased the pressure on Greece’s resources and allowed for economic and physical growth. (A.R Burn, 1966) These advancements were made possible by the conditions of the dark and archaic ages, and were vital in the development of Ancient Greece.

The city-state or “polis” was one of the most influential developments of Ancient Greece, and was one of the main reasons for its later economic and military superiority. Some of the most prominent of Greek city-states included Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes, who were the largest and most powerful in the surrounding areas. Before the downfall of Mycenaean Greece, its inhabitants lived in small war-orientated kingdoms. After the fall of Mycenaean Greece, citizens lived in nomadic tribal groups with little or no political system. However, towards the end of the Dark Ages and the beginning of the Archaic Period these small tribes began to expand, and turn into small communities. Trade began to increase between these communities and as they began to settle in permanent locations, marketplaces developed and communities amalgamated together as well as fortifications developing for the first time since Mycenaean Greece. These populations were initially ruled under a hereditary monarchy, but some experimented with political systems such as Oligarchy, which involved a council of what was usually nobles collectively ruling a polis. The ‘rule by a few’ system of politics eventually progressed into primitive forms of democracy, which would forever revolutionise the way political systems function. Developed city-states also played a vital role in the colonisation of other areas; individual “Mother” cities had a colony or colonies in a foreign area and were vital in the successful expansion of the Greek empire. The development of the city-state was an imperative advancement in Ancient Greek history and was also vital in the development of democracy.

With the development of the city-state and the inquisitive nature of post Dark Age citizens came a range of new political ideas, the most significant of all being the introduction of democracy.
The rapidly expanding economy towards the end of the Archaic Age allowed society to experiment with new forms of political systems. Previously, city-states were mainly governed monarchy and occasionally forms of tyranny and oligarchy. The rise of democracy saw previously unseen levels of ‘fairness’ in society, as it even included lower-class citizens in the voting process. The democratic process, particularly in Athenian society involved a system called “direct democracy”. “The biggest difference between Athenian democracy and almost all subsequent democracies is that the Athenian version was remarkably direct rather than being representative. With a few exceptions, Athenians didn't vote for politicians to represent them; all Athenians voted on just about every law or policy the city was to adopt,” (Johnson, D 1999). Not ‘all’ of the population was able to vote, the only citizens who could vote had to be male and Athenian born. Out of an estimated population of 250,000 to 300,000 people, only approximately 30,000 were able to vote, (Koutsoukis, 1989 p.64). Direct democracy was however subject to much scrutiny, such as the ineffectiveness of a system which reversed the ‘natural order’ of
society.

The colonisation and introduction of foreign trading posts in areas surrounding Greece was the first time Greek inhabitants engaged in serious interaction with other cultures, which resulted in the expansion of knowledge and the learning of previously unknown techniques ranging from agriculture to warfare to construction.
This knowledge helped to bring economic and military prosperity to the city-states of Ancient Greece. The Greeks learned from Egypt the carving of hard granite and marble, and the construction of large monumental buildings. And this implied simultaneous transfer of the necessary skills in engineering, mathematics and astronomy. These skills, directly tied to the Greek colonisation of other areas were vital in the development of ancient Greece and also helped establish its military and
prowess.

The outwards expansion of Greece during the dark and archaic ages allowed for rapid economic growth, which subsequently lead to larger armies and greater military prowess. A prime example of this is seen in the city-state of Athens. Athens had many colonies in the Asia Minor region. These colonies provided Athens with huge amounts of material wealth, which lead to a strong economy, and subsequently allowed Athens to develop large armies and stronger and more powerful weapons. (Tomkinson, J, 2004). This conclusively proves that that outwards expansion and colonisation during the Dark and Archaic ages were ultimately beneficial to Greece.

The outwards expansion of Ancient Greece allowed for several different developments, which without a doubt helped it to become one of the most powerful areas in existence, at the time. These developments such as, the city-state, democracy, as well as skills and knowledge learnt from other cultures and most importantly the strengthening of its economic and military power conclusively support the fact that the colonisation during the dark ages benefited Greece.