The Dark Ages (Sub-Mycenaean Period) 1100-900 B.C.

The final collapse of the Mycenaean civilization around 1100 B.C. ended the Aegean Bronze Age, and a period of severe economic and cultural depression followed. The climax of this depression occurred from approximately 1100 to 1050, in what is known as the Sub-Mycenaean (on the Greek mainland) or Sub-Minoan period (on Crete). This period saw only crude, simplified versions of the old Mycenaean and Minoan pottery.  Metal craftsmanship was rudimentary, although a new technology, iron working was adopted from the island of Cyprus.

The  Protogeometric period (1050 to 900 BC), was a time of slow recovery. Trade links with the Near East were established again, and there was a gradual increase in wealth. Colonists from mainland Greece and the nearby islands settled on the west coast of Asia Minor and the north coast of the Aegean.

In this period craftsmanship in pottery and metalworking again became skilled. The region of Boeotia in central Greece was important in Mycenaean times, but we lack a complete picture of the region in this period.

The Geometric Period (900-700 BC) continued the upswing, with innovation and transformation in Greek society. The population dramatically increased and urban life re-emerged with its overpopulation and social tension. In relation to this, the Greeks moved to new lands to the east and west and founded commercial trading posts and colonies.

Written language which had been lost with the Mycenaean civilization, re-emerged with the adoption of the Semitic alphabetic script, borrowed from the Phoenicians. This would make possible for  the epic poems of Homer, such as the Iliad, to become widely known.