1100-600 BC Dark Age, Geometric and Orientalising periods

The collapse of the Mycenaean civilisation at the end of the Bronze Age disrupted life in the Aegean and resulted in the depopulation of the area. It is unclear what caused this but the result was that the Aegean became relatively isolated. The beginning of this period is sometimes known as the Dark Age as it saw the loss of many arts and crafts, including the art of writing.

Recovery was patchy, and some areas flourished again as early as the 11th century BC. From around 800 BC recovery became more widespread. Trade picked up, wealth increased and technical and artistic skills were revived. Pottery was increasingly decorated with human figures and scenes from myths. Around this time writing was reintroduced using an alphabet adapted from that of the Phoenicians. The Greeks developed the political structure known as the city-state and began to establish colonies to both the east and west.

The period from about 700 BC, known as the Orientalising Period, was a time when the Aegean re-entered the wider world of the eastern Mediterranean. Exotic Near Eastern animals, monsters and other motifs were increasingly used in Greek art. One example is the ‘Mistress of the Animals’ plaque from Rhodes.