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Greek Dark Ages

A period of societal collapse and depopulation following the Bronze Age collapse, during which Mycenaean palace culture, Linear B writing, and long-distance trade networks disappeared from the Greek world.

Ended around 800 BCE as population growth, the spread of the Greek alphabet, and the emergence of the polis city-state system marked the beginning of the Archaic Greece period.

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Further reading

• The Dark Age of Greece Anthony M. Snodgrass · 1971

  The foundational scholarly study of the Greek Dark Ages, synthesizing archaeological evidence for population decline, the collapse of palace culture, and the preconditions for the Archaic revival.

• The Aegean from Bronze Age to Iron Age Oliver Dickinson · 1972

  The current standard survey of the Greek Dark Ages, tracing continuity and change from the Mycenaean collapse to the eighth century BC.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Greek Dark Ages, pageid 340510, confirmed QID Q210443 via MediaWiki API. Article defines period as c. 1180–800 BC, preceded by Mycenaean Greece (Q181264) and Minoan civilization, followed by Archaic Greece.
• Open Library: Snodgrass, A. M. 'The dark age of Greece' (1971) — confirmed via OL search API, multiple editions listed
• Open Library: Desborough, V. R. d'A. 'The Greek dark ages' (1972) — confirmed via OL search API
• Greek Dark Age — World History Encyclopedia (via WebSearch 2026-06-25)