What was the Pre-Homeric Period?
pre-homeric period is the name given to a part of the history of Ancient Greece, which goes from approximately 2000 to. Ç. up to 1200 a. Ç. This period corresponded to the formation of the Greek people, from the existence of two great civilizations in the regions of the Greek world, and the arrival of several other peoples.
The two great civilizations existing in Greek territory at this period were formed by the cretans, also known as Minoans, and by the Mycenaean, also called the Achaeans. Other peoples who arrived in the region of Greece, migrated from other regions and who were important for the formation of the Greek people, were the aeolian, Ionians and dorians.
The establishment of the Pre-Homeric Period follows a scheme made by historians who divided Greek history into different periods, determined by the general characteristics of the region and of the people. Thus, they were established as follows:
Pre-Homeric Period (2000 BC Ç. - 1200 a. Ç.);
Homeric Period (1200 BC Ç. - 800 a. Ç.);
Archaic Period (800 a. Ç. - 500 a. Ç.);
Classic Period (500 a. Ç. - 338 a. Ç.);
Hellenistic Period (338 a. Ç. -146 a. Ç.).
Cretan
Ruins of the palace of Knossos on the island of Crete*
Cretan civilization developed in the island of crete, located on the Aegean Sea. Human habitation in this region dates back more than 9,000 years, however, research indicates that the appearance of typical Cretan characteristics only existed around 2000 BC. Ç. Cretans formed villages in different parts of the island of Crete. In these places, large palaces were built, of which the palace of ours.
Historians believe that groups that inhabited the island of Crete had migrated from Anatolia (present-day Turkey). This is stated based on the art produced by the Cretans, which had numerous similarities with that of the peoples who inhabited that region. The main artistic record of the Cretans was the frescoes drawn on the walls of palaces.
The Cretans had trade as their main economic activity and, because of their geographical condition, developed great skill for maritime navigation. The extension of its maritime trade reached mainland Greece and other regions of the Aegean and Black Sea. The Cretans sold various products such as olives, grains, figs, etc.
This people began its process of decay from 1500 BC. a., and the historians stipulate that a series of factors explains its disappearance. One reason was a succession of natural disasters (volcanic eruption, earthquakes and tsunami) which together weakened the Cretans and their ways of earning a living. This weakening caused the absorption of these people by another that was emerging at that time: the Mycenaeans.
Mycenaeans
The Mycenaeans were an Indo-European people (people who migrated from Central Asia to Europe, the Iranian plateau or India), who settled in Mainland Greece around 2000 BC. Ç. and, in the period of 1600 a. Ç. to 1200 BC a., lived its height, including absorbing the Cretan people and culture. The Mycenaeans had extremely fortified cities that developed an intense trade, especially Mycenae, the main Mycenaean city.
The Mycenaean cities were well fortified, and some of them even had walls more than 10 meters high. Although the center of these cities was also the palace, they developed a strong commercial link with distant regions of Greece, such as Egypt. The main Mycenaean authority was the king, who ruled with the help of a warrior elite and priests.
Historians speculate that if the Trojan War has existed, it has been a conflict of the Mycenaeans against the Hittites in Asia Minor, between 1400 a. Ç. and 1200 a. Ç. The main record of this war is Homer's epic poem, the Iliad. There is no proof of this conflict because there is no archaeological evidence to support its existence.
The Mycenaeans began their decay from 1200 BC. C., in a manner similar to that of the Cretans: natural disasters weakened them and allowed them to be absorbed by a people who arrived in Greece at that time: the dorians. With the destruction of the Mycenaeans, the Greek cities suffered a process of emptying, accompanied by a ruralization that was the great characteristic of Greece in the Homeric Period.
*Image credits: Dziewul and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/historia/o-que-foi-periodo-pre-homerico.htm