Ancient Greece (Part 16): Early Dark Age Society
Social & material conditions changed greatly between the Mycenaean Age, with its high population and tightly-regulated regimes, and the Early Dark Age. The outlying settlements were no longer bound to the palaces and to each another, whether politically or economically.
The population had declined, so there was plenty of land. The small farming communities had more than enough agricultural land in the fertile plains, and the less-fertile farmland could be used as a reserve. Upland plains & mountain valleys were either left alone, or used for grazing. Natural resources such as timber, game, birds and wild foods were abundant.
Authority in these communities operated face-to-face and was simple. Dark Age Greece probably reverted back to an authority of local chiefs, similar to the system that existed before the Late Bronze Age & the consolidation of power by a single chief.
Graves & building remains from the 1000's & 900's don't show much in the way of social differences – the chiefs and their families seem to have lived not much differently from the others.
The Basileus
The title pasireu appears on the Linear B tablets during the Mycenaean Age, referring to a minor official, a representative of the wanax who functioned as the mayor of a village or town. This role survived into the Dark Age, but the word changed to basileus (plural basileis). However, the basileus was no longer the representative of the wanax, but the political & military leader himself of a settlement & the land around it.
In Homer's writings, the title wanax still appears, but only as an honorific equivalent of basileus, and also as the title of Zeus, who is called “(w)anax of gods and men”. Although there was no wanax anymore, the name was remembered, and so was the exalted status of the man who held it.
The Greek word basileus is usually translated as “king”, but this is not accurate – it really should be translated as “chief”.
The town of Lefkandi, on the island of Euboea, flourished during the Mycenaean Age, but declined during the destruction period. Then it revived in the Submycenaean period, and was exceptionally prosperous by Dark Age standards until 700, when it was abandoned.
In 1981, excavators discovered the largest Dark Age building known at that time, built around 1000 BC, and measuring 9.1 x 44.5m. Beneath the main room was a bronze amphora containing a man's cremated remains, and beside it were an iron sword, spearhead, and whetstone. A woman's skeleton (probably his wife) was next to the amphora, with gold ornaments. The skeletons of four horses were buried nearby.
Not long after the funeral, the building was demolished and covered with a huge mound of earth & stone. This man was clearly the basileus of Lefkandi and the surrounding area, and was given a warrior's burial. The actual function of the original building is not known – it may have been his house, or a large tomb.
Nichoria was an important subsidiary town in the kingdom of Pylos, and located in the south-western Peloponnese. It was abandoned after the attacks, in about 1200, and revived around 1050 as several separate hamlets along the ridge-top. It was in a poorer, less progressive region than Euboea (which kept steady contact with the Near East), but it reached a population of 200 early in the 800's [i.e. not long after 900], and was “fairly prosperous in a humble way”. Nichoria supported itself with farming & herding (especially cattle).
The densest population area was the centre of the ridge, which was where a large building from the 900's was found, measuring about 10.7m long and 7m wide. It had one large room and a small porch, and was identified as the village chieftain's house.
It was the same shape, and made of the same materials, as the other houses on the ridge, but was larger and built better. The floor was packed earth, the walls mud-brick, and a steep thatched roof extended over the shallow front porch. It was extended in the early 800's [i.e. not long after 900], with another smaller room being added in the back, and a large courtyard in front of the porch. The house was now 15.8m long.
It was abandoned in the late 800's [i.e. before 800], but a new 2-room house was built right next too it. This new house was even better constructed, and the courtyard was longer. However, Nichoria's population was declining around this time, and the whole site was abandoned around 750 BC. This may have been because of Spartan aggression in Messenia.
The houses of the basileis show that they were important people. The construction & renovation of their houses required the time & labour of a good number of workers, unlike the ordinary people's homes, which could be built by their occupants.
The basileis' houses may have had some communal functions – there is evidence that the Nichoria basileus' house served as the settlement's religious centre, and perhaps as a communal storehouse as well. But even though the basileis had the highest status in their communities, they lived in a way that was very similar to those they ruled.
For the ordinary people, the government, economy, and other social institutions didn't change much during the Dark Age. Each generation could expect to live the same way as their parents, with the same traditions and beliefs. Throughout their history, the constant reference to the ancient ways was one of the fundamental parts of Hellenic culture, even as conditions changed.
