Mycenae and the Heroic Age
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The Dorian Invasion and the end of Mycenaean civilisation
Causes of the weakness of the Mycenaean civilisation are probably, firstly, the weakening of their strength through the continual involvement in war; secondly, the possibility that the war chiefs were unable to rely on the support of the peasants being too used to dominate them; thirdly the general decline of trade and the weakening of the Mycenaean economy. According to Greek tradition, the Mycenaeans were attacked by the Dorians, who spoke a coarse Greek dialect and came from the north. Thucydides states that the period after the Trojan war was one of considerable internal conflict in Greece. He also relates an account of the Dorian invasion in league with the Heraclids. The archaeological record supports this thesis. At some time around 1250 BC there was some destruction at Mycenae, which may have been caused by enemies or internal discord. Subsequently, defensive structures were raised in height. Fortifications were built at Athens, Tiryns, Gla in Boetia and Phocis, in Thessaly. A wall was constructed at the Corinthian Isthmus. There was severe destruction at Krisa (in Phocis), Gla in Boetia, Mycenae, Tiryns, Menelaion in Lakonia, Pylos, Nichoria in Messina. However, eastern Attica and the Aegean were not affected. Mycenae was reoccupied, but was thereafter in decline. There was a migration to Acheae, Kephallenia, Cilicia, and Cyprus. The attack probably came from the north-west or north-east.
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Contents of
Mycenae and the Heroic Age
1 The fall of Knosos
2 Crete circa 1400 BC
3 Mycenae
4 Mycenaean palace architecture
5 Mycenaean burial practices
6 Mycenaean influence
7 Cyprus
8 Decline of Mycenae
9 The sea raiders
10 The wars with Thebes and Troy
11 The seven against Thebes
12 Troy
13 The Dorian Invasion and the end of Mycenaean civilisation
14 The Heraclids
15 Disputing the theory of the Dorian invasion
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