7.3 Europe: 1000 to 700 b.c.

Europe

Back to Europe 1500 to 1000 B.C.

Southern europe

Eastern mediterranean islands

The great island empires of previous centuries no longer existed, and all of these areas were integral parts of either Greece or Asian states. For example, the southern half of Cyprus was now under Phoenician influence, while the northern half, along with

Rhodes and Crete were under Greek control. At various periods around 800 B.C. Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians conquered Cyprus, but let native kings rule. Dorian Greeks continued to control Crete, however. (Ref. 38 )

Greece

As the classical Greeks multiplied and migrated down the peninsula they did not develop a civilization of their own but, as barbarians, they wrecked one (Cretan and Mycenaean) and then built a new one out of the old. The Mycenaean cities and culture were so destroyed that even the art of writing was lost until about 800 B.C. when the Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet to their language. (Ref. 28 ) "Alpha", "beta", "gamma" are not Greek words, but come from Semitic terms for ox, house and camel.

The development of iron working techniques also contributed to cultural change and a well proportioned "geometric" pottery appeared about 900 B.C. This later turned up in Etruria in Italy, perhaps as copies. Early Greece was not fertile enough to support a fast- growing population and the need for more land, coupled with political oppression by the ruling classes led to two hundred years of extensive colonial expansion involving all the shores of the Mediterranean as well as the Aegean islands, Sicily, and Thrace. The colonies soon became independent of the mother cities, which continued to fight among themselves. Thucydides dates the earliest sea battle of history to about 712 B.C. between Corinthians and Corcyraeans. Corinth was formed from the union of a group of villages early in the 8th century B.C. and soon was wealthy because it was on the key land route between all the Hellenes (so-named from the mythical King Hellen, progenitor of all Greek peoples).

The Greeks added vowels to the Phoenician alphabet, and soon their language and their love of beauty fused into the Greek genius which transformed the world of that time.

NOTE: Insert Map Reference 97: Greek and Pheonician Colonies

The first Olympiad was held in 776 B.C. (Ref. 45 , 216 , 68 , 75 )

The fertile, wooded island of Euboea, just off the Greek coast became a great maritime power about the 9th century B.C. establishing a trading post at Al Mina on the coast of Syria which subsequently became a great source of gold and silver. Similarly, in the 8th century B.C. they established a trading post on the island of Pithecusae off the west coast of Italy for development of trade with the Etruscan city-states. (R-75)

Upper balkans

The upper Balkan area seethed with Dacians, Thracians and Greeks and at this time a horde of ferocious, bearded, barbarian giants, the Scythians, appeared around the Black Sea, displacing the Cimmerians from around the north shore and the Crimea.