The Mycenaean Age

The Mycenaeans were named after their greatest city, Mycenae. The people lived in small, separate kingdoms, but did share the same language and way of life, and, like the Minoans, they were great traders. We also believe that they were great warriors, because many pieces of armour and weapons have been found in Mycenaean graves. This period of life in Greece lasted until about 1200 BC. Then the crops began to fail and famine caused the civilisation to decline.

The next 300 years in Greece was a time called The Dark Ages. People had lost the art of writing and little is known about this time. Then, around 800 BC, a new period began in Greece. This is called The Archaic Period, and Greece became prosperous again. People developed a new system of writing, and recorded what was happening in the country.

Statue of a Mycenaean soldier on horseback