A Companion

to
Archaic Greece
Ed,ited, by

Kurt A. Raaflaub and }Ians van Wees

@WrEY-BLACKI/EIL
AlohnWiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
 CHAPTER THREE

The Early Iron Ag.

Catl,terine Morgnn,

lm e collapse of the Mycenaean palaces (ca. 1200), the Early Iron Age runs to
: p<int. around 700, where we can begin to recognize the social and political world
csed bv archaic literary sources. It was no Dark Age, even though the hindsight
i+ encourages us to look for signs of "progress" towards an ideal of the archaic
d {<sical polis may simplify approaches to it. This chapter explores the multiple
6ies of traders and raiders, princes and priests, city-builders and craftsmen. Not
Fro\-e ro be the kind of supra-regional or long-term stories which demand their
s in tertbooks. But 500 years is a long time, and "Greek" lands (strikingly defined
tenomena such as the swift spread of the Greek alphabet and pantheon) exten-
c rd varied. VVhat with hindsight may seem to be transient or distinctive to certain
rbls and places is just as important in understanding this period as are the roots
longer-term historical phenomena.

After the Palaces

lhost all of our stories start in the twelfth century, in a post-palatial (Late Helladic
IIIC r phase of what Klaus Kilian aptly termed "Late Mycenaean city life" (I(lian
1988: 135). Here he had in mind the Greek mainland, and especially the Argolid,
rhere almost all of the major palatial centers - Tiryns, Mycenae, and Midea included
- had substantial settlement on and/or around the earlier citadels, wittr earlier fortifica-
tixrs repaired and maintained.r At Tiryns and Midea, the partial reconstruction of
e megaron of the previous palace was presumably intended to house the community
nrler. These new buildings incorporated the previous altar and throne (Maran 200I;
Italberg 1988), thus alluding to the authority of the Mycenaean ruler or wanax, and
nilar claims can be found in other areas of elite behaor. Alongside the major changes
io burial ritual discussed below, twelfth-century cemeteries at a uumber of sites have
Fo,luced a small proportion of exceptionally rich graves, a significant number of
 44 Catherinc Morgatt

'hich colltaiucd irrt-tts aucl annor (Plpirclirnitriou 2006). Llclced, eycn bclo\\,
this
suler-rich elitc, svtnbolizing n'rirlc u'Lrrior status in burial is u.idespreacl cluring
this
pcriod - in, for cxiltnple, the extcnsir.e ccr.ncterics of u.cstenr Acl.raia.r Whctlicr
or
n()t thc clcacl rcalli'u'cre lcacling \\'arriors (Whitlcv 2002), rhey u,crc trcrrtccl
as sucl-r
itr burir-rl, lncl it is telrptittg t() sLlsqest thrt tl're prilctice reflccts an irclartatigp fl.or
tl'rc militirn. ic{cokxl, olMyccnreur kingsl-rip (Davies anc-l Bcnnctt lggg).
Ill this post-rirlrrtial uorlcl, prcvious svr.nbols oluthoritr. u,ere rcusecl llcl irclrrpted
'ithit-r a u'iclc variett' ol (generallv gcogrilphicllv nrorc e.rtensive) political
....rr1-
figr-tr;rtiorls. Yet tl-re trausition fior.n trIvcenrrean kingclonrs rulcd bv ir
rrrazra.r, u.ith
tbc qn-si-rc-1r ils r1 sccotlci orcler',,.,;rgist..te, to a prolit:ration ol l<cal basilcisclrir1g
EarlY Ir<lrl Age, is <re olt]te least unclerstoocl aspects of our periocl. We
clo r-l6t kn1q,
exactlY lrou'tlrc attthoritv c>f basilctts n':rs cor.lccivecl (lct irkrne hou.it nat,hayc
c-lift
frcd i.rccorclirlg t<t place rrncl tir.ne), urcl since er,en. moclcrr translation olthc
tcn-n,
irplrt, pcrhtrps, fiot-t-t the lttoclr'ue "rlller," carries its o\\n c()nn()tations, carc is ncedcci.3
Itl nlost reuicltts, tlrcre is sotne archeokrgicll er.iclence firr srcial hierrrrchr. (ir-r house
size atrd loci-ttiot-t irs rrt Nicl'roriir, I(lirzor-nenri or Thernron, fbr cxample, or i ctrlt
roles or fiulern'exper-rclittrrc),.rlbeit less markcc-l rhiu il.r the Late Broze Age. Whcre
'e hrve a lirrgc ellottgh sirnrple of grirvcs to rnake statisticrl anafi,sis r,ieble (chicflr,,
bttt I.lot crclttsivch' in Athcrrs), attenti()n has Lr.-en rler'otccl to cosicierig \\.6at wc
lcartt about cot-t-tl-ttttttl fl'atneurrks fbr the cxprcssion ol strttrs irncl prlu,cr over
cr-ttl
tinle fl'clt-t-t p;lttcrns olurortniul'beirar.ior.r I(nslip \\,rls thc likcl' basis fbr (encl pri,rar,
nlealls of crprcssion of ) thc "lerrclcr plus tbllou'ers" stnrcture ulrich u,e .o,i-,,.,r,,r",1t,
infbr fbr Erirlv Iron Agc societics across Grcece. But since kinshi-r is a socirrl rater
thru l bi<llogical pheuomcnon, this obsen'rrtior-r is rrrclr. infbrniative. Usutrllr,,
u,e
crlnllot tell 'hcthcr statlls \\is inheritcci ()r \\()n bl, ecrr-ron-lic, nrilitirn, or <tther ntcalts
a "big rnan" svster.r.r.5
ir-r

Burial and Society

This ttnccrtair.rfi' lrrrgelv cierives fi'om problcurs olinterpretation u.hich firllou. chagcs
irl br-lrial crlst()ttts. TItc s'ic{espreacl (iritl.rough flr fiorn universal) firshirn f'rrr sin*gle
btrrial fi'or-n Lrrte Hellaclic IIIC onu'arcls, enrline n.rultiplc irltcrrrcrs i, cl.ra,ber
tr,rbs
<rr, firr tlrc elite, tholoi,'.tncl somctimes involr.ing thc complcte rbanclol1meut
of carlicr
ccnletcries, 'ls itl ltlillt\' 1reas irccon.rpaniecl, or rapiclll, fbllou,ecl b\,, a u,hctlcs:rle
shift
fror-rr ir-r1'run.rrtiot't to cremition (Ler.r.ros 2002: ch.5). Crcn.rati., had
bcc. practicecl
:1t \':lriolts stages olthe Brouzc Age, birt \\,1s no\\,fiarrrec{
on r1r1 rrprccecletcc1 scirle
(Starnpoliclis 2001 ). As hirs courl.ronlv been obsen.ccl, the relative frecrenq, q.ith
'hich firvorecl rites chrltsccl thlough the ELlv Iron Agc prec[rdes a prir.r.rarily rcligigtrs
explanatior.r: surch'nrorc sigr.rificant \\,11s thc st.rcirrl cl.ril to [.e gainccl
fl.ont tl.re
spectacle rulci invcstncnt involvecl in;r licr.ritc of plssagc (A,Iorris l9g7:
chs. 3, g).
(lreurrrtitlt.l clclt ir-r spcctrlculrr f.rshion u'itl thc
r".irlr". Lr,dr,, irrcl fircilit.rtecl con
s-ricttrtts constllllPti()tl olothcr oflbrir-rgs. It thus qa\,c sc()pc
to prolor1g celcbratios
at the grrlve, atlcl to tlrau' grcatcr .rttention to the cleccirsecl ancl his fil-nilr,, .hicl.r
rvirs firllt'erploitctl in tlre sttcceecling cer.rttrrics irs tumuli l1'tc7/or grar,e
r.narkers Lccar.ne
 TlLe Earlt, lroru Age 45

er-er larger and more elaborate. The richness of the warrior cremation in the central
shaft oithe Toumba building at Lefkandi (ca' 950) is a case in point (see below)'
Usually, the major loss resulting from a switch to single burial is that of the physical
ssociation of individuals in shared family or kin-group tombs. In some regions, mul-
tiple burials sun/ived or were revived for varying reasons. For example, the cemetery
ai Elateia in phocis may have reached a peak of wealth in the immediate post-palatial
period, but new if smaller chamber tombs continued to be built into Protogeometric
,rd beyorrd, and remained in use even longer (Dakoronia 1993a). At Argos, the
of ever-larger cist tombs with multiple burials in the eighth century prob-
"pp.rrrr..
indl.at s renewed emphasis on lineage among the elite (Hgg 1983a; Foley 1988:
"tiv
35-40). And perhaps most strikingly, at Knossos the long-term use of chamber tombs
nd shaft graves in the North Cemetery allows us to reconstruct patterns of inherited
rights and custom, such as the right to be buried with weaponry (Cavanagh 1996;
Siodgrass 1996).In regions such as Macedonia, Epims and Thessaly, the continuing
populariry of tumuli through the Early Iron Age and beyond is usually taken to rep-
iesent long-lived kin associations. This may be so, although usually only small parts
of t,ery exnsive cemeteries have been excavated, and recent discoveries in Thessaly
in particular have shown differences in age/sex representation, offerings, and spatial
arrLgements of graves within individual tumuli which imply that they could contain
different forms of group. A good, archaic, example of this is an apparent military
association at Ag. Giorgios near Larisa (Tziaphalias 1994)'
Noetheless, in most parts of the southern mainland in particular, addressing
questions of inherited versus acquired Power demands that we identify and interpret
spatial associations between single burials and where possible, correlate their pattern
of off.ri.rgr. The existence of family burial plots has been claimed at a number of
sites, and iertain examples predate the eighth century (Lemos 2002 187-8).
A small
eartl,Tmid-ninth century grave group on the north slope of the Areiopagus in Athens,
tbr example, has been tni"tiuely identified as the family plot of the Medontid genos'6
This inchdes the grave of the "Rich Lady" (ca. 850) whose 8I offerings included
a of orientaiia) ancl a ceramic chest with five granary models on the lid which
'ariety
likely symbolizes one source of family wealth (another being the eastern trade dis-
cussed below). Most groups, however, date from the eighth century onwards,
when
ne, burial plots appear, pressure on space made the preferential use of certain parts
of existing f.-.a.ii", (such as the Athenian Kerameikos) an important issue, or when
the laying out of whole new cemetery areas (as at Eretria) allows us to trace con-
..-porurj, perceptions of who belonged where' Such groupings vary in strength'
and, their interpretation as direct representations of family or genLs is controversial.
Certainly, it is a further step to see them as simple precursors of archaic and classical
groups which present their own dificulties in interpretation (Houby-Nielsen 1995).
In the Athenian Kerameikos, fbr example, there is clear variation in the ties between
the burial groups represented in the great Archaic tumuli, and, for example, the largely
male dead in Grave-mound G and the South Mound who shared the symposiastic
aspects of the luxurious, Lydianizing lifestyle of tryphe (Houby-Nielsen 1995: 152-63)'
The ties symbolized here span the range of elite male activities, from kinship to war-
t'are and drinking and dining associations - the public virtues which played such an
46 Catheriue Mory;au

itnportatrt part in constrllctins tl.rc reptitirtion of the goocl aristocrer. For the Earlr.
Irotr Aee, hon'cver, ri'e still hck tl-re largc n-mlti--reriocl sar.r.rple fiom -rrrv rcgion ncces-
Silll't() [)l-lt stlCll c\[]rCssi()ll ilrt6 ColltCrt.

Settlement Histories
It u.irs long thotrgl.rt thirt thc Earlv Iron Age sau' a n-rrj()r cleclinc in popr-rlirtion, u'itl-r
slttall, scrttel-ec1 settlcmcnts coalescing intcl larger polis centers ol.rh. fl'om tl'rc cisltth
ccrltllll' otru'arcls. Thcrc u'irs ccrtirir-rlr. a qreat incre;-rse in the nurnbcr utd size ol
rrcl-raeologicallv visiblc scttlet.neuts icr()ss the Grech urrlcl cluring thc cishth ccnrlll.,',
although sincc tl-rc EIA is urore ()r lcss invisible in thc n.rrjoritv olsurfirce snrt'cvs, the
c()tttr:1st I.ttirv bc cxlggcrrted. Overirl],it is r-rou'clear thrrt earlier clepopularior-r is largclv
l:rn rrrtifact olrrchacologicll researcl.r. Over tl're rast clccrrcles, e\ca\'1tion tncl publica
ti<rr of matcrial fi'ont regions as clivcrsc rrs East l.ocris (Di-rkoronirr l993tr) irncl thc
Cvclecles (Gour.raris 1999) hiis confirmccl the continued ir.r.rportance olrcgirnr-rl ceutral
plirces u'itl.r associ'Ltccl socio-political ic'lcntities fbclisccl lrron ther.n. Thc locrtion of
these sites, ncl the s'av irr u'hich tl'rcr, ()peratecl u,ithin l.ricrarchies, in rclrtion to peer
sitcs, or s centers of territorics, r'ariecl greirtlt,, hou'ever, tncl in n-ranr, reas is still
lrrclv unclerstoocl (C. Morgirn 2003: chs.2,4). Across the nr'.riltlrncl urtl ir.l r.nurv
pirts ()lCrctc, there u'as lol-tg ternl c()ntinuitt,in settlemcnt i1t, or close br', nranv Late
-I-his
llrouze Agc big sitcs. does not irnrh,an unchangerl rcgional role, illtl'rough tl-re
loss of thc infirn'nation proviclecl bt, 1,-,..r B lerri'es us derenclent on archcologic;rl
eviclcncc to rcconstruct this. Ll slc cirses, there secnls t() hrr.e been 1 ltl()rc or less
ir.t.u'ucclirtc rlcclinc in size il.rcl/or compleritv in relrrtion to rrevious scconcl-orcler
sites or ucu'tirttndations. Earlv Ir Agc Pvlr>s (Griebcl lnd Nelson 1998)sccms t()
havc bcct.t 11 n()tabh' sr.urller settlcnrcnt than Nichoria, rrt least rultil rhe rrbrrndonment
of thc ltter sornetimc bcfirrc thc micl-eigl-rth ccntun.) cven though lJronze Age Nichoria
hacl previotrslt'been ir substntirrl villirge ir.rcorrorlltcLl into the Furthcr Province olPr.krs
r1s ()nc olscven local econonric ccntcrs.- Elses'here, hou.ever, thc grruth ir-r regional
it't'tportrrtrce clf sites sttch trs Atl-rcr-rs or I(nossos, rnc1 the relegirtirr ol others slrch ls
Mt'ccurrc or Tin't.ts, occurrecl onlv ccr.lturies later as part of the lilrger (ar.rcl souretimes
violcnt) processes u,hich surrotrntlecl the fornrrtion of polis l-ricrrrrchies.
An ir-nportlnt phenot.neuon of the first centurics of the L,trh, Iron Age is thc
expirttsion of activitr. rrouncl thc fiinges of certain prcr,iotrs pirlirtill centers, itlthougl'r
sit'tcc these usuallv col.ttinuccl to be occupiccl, tl-ris shoulcl bc seen ltot ill tcrms ol
"rcfirgee" llovefirent but rather clf litcrrrtior.r of clepenclcr-rcies, u,ith consccluent trcc-
clotl to erlloit t1'rcir rositir>n in kei'krcrtiol-rs solelt,tor thcir ou'r.r trtlvantage (Fnrhlll
1995:246-7). A notirblc e-\u-npler fblloii'ing the c-ler.nisc of the palacc lt Thebes, is
thc cxprrnsion clf settlet.t.tcr.tt r Euboea,s lt the rort olPt,rgcls-I(t'r.ros on the Locriur
ctrrst <r-rprrsite (rrevioush' thc seilt of .1 tln-si1'c-zr), irnd akrq tlre rac1 inlrrrtrl ri'hich
coltllccts s'ith the ttorth south route to\\'rlrcls Dclphi iucl thc Crrinthirn Gulf (Criela;lrcl
2006).The loittc clrtrrrctcrizccl [-rv close mrrterirrl counecti()r1s betueen Euboea,'l'hcssalr,,
.Nlacec.louirr, Atticr irucl thc nciglrboriug isllr.rcls, usuirllv tcnnecl "L,uLocrtr.r" irlthough
u'ithout implving thrt Euboeir neccssrrrilv initii.rtccl it, lastecl ti'onr ca. I100 iltto the
 Tlte Earl lron Agc 47

ninth century (Lemos 1998). Moving inland, the cemetery at Elateia is one of a group
along this road which saw a striking wealth of investment in the immediate post-
palatial period (Dakoronia ),993a).In the midst of these cemeteries is the sanctuary
ar Kalapodi, founded in Late Helladic IIIB2 as home to a large-scale festival involv-
ing the sacrifice and consumption of meat (including many wild species invoking
hunting activity favored by the male elite and appropriate to the patron deity, Artemis)
and cultivated and wild plants. The dedication of spinning and weaving equipment
r reflects a further aspect of Artemis' persona of particular relevance to women, and
r small metal offerings are closely similar to their more plentiful counterparts from the
Elateia graves.e
The wealth of the kfkandi elite reached a peak around 950, when two outstandingly
rich burials, a male cremation and a female inhumation, were placed under the floor
of a vast building (some 50 m long) at the site now named Toumba after the mound
subsequently erected over the structure. This was probably a funerary building rather
ran the mler's own house, though the latter possibity cannot be completely discounted
,Coulton and Catling ).993; Lemos 2002: 140-). These burials were accompanied
b1- rich textiles, jewelery, weapons and orientalia (including heirlooms), by four horses
in a separate pit, and by a vase as a grave marker (I-emos 2002: 166-8; Popham 1994).
Heroizing, Homeric, overtones have been widely noted (e.g. Antonaccio 1995b), and
rhe cemetery w,hich rapidly formed around the structure contained the cremations
nd inhumations of elite men, women and children who seemingly claimed associ-
adon with the power of the dead rulers. Was this a perhaps a bosilews and his clan)
Burials continued for over a century (until ca. 825), and from ca. 950 onwards were
mirrored by rich graves and settlements on the opposite, Locrian coast (including pyres
at Tragana with oriental imports: Onasoglou 1981), and by a marked expansion at
La.lapodi, when the ternenls was extended and metal dedications increased in size
and number.ro Outside Crete, Lefkandi offers perhaps the closest Greek parallel for the
princely burials which were such a feature of surrounding lands to east and rvest in
the eighth and seventh centuries - at Salamis on Cyprus, for example (Karageorghis
2003), and in Campania and the Bay of Naples (D'Agostino 1999a). The major dif-
terences are the date of the Lefkandi burials and the concept of heroization which
the1, embody (Morris I999b). Spectacular as these archaeological remains are, this
Earl1, Iron Age story had limited longer term implications.
The same is true of a second distinctive phenomenon of the earliest centuries of
our period, the so-called "refilge" settlement which is most spectacularly shown in
rhe mountains of eastern and central Crete. Settlement of this kind was not new,
but from the end of LMIIIB (ca. 1190) it occurred on a larger scale than ever before.
It is therefore tempting to interpret it in terms of flight in the face of post-palatial
incursions. Yet the topography of Crete, the largest Aegean island, is characterized
bv a sharp transition bctween its mountainous spine and a coastal plain, the latter
generally more extensive and hospitable in the north. This juxtaposition of ecologies,
combined with the island's location on the major east-west trade routes of the
southern Aegean (lones 2000: esp. ch.4), sustained a complex pattern of responses
ro various outsider contacts. Around I20 defensible Early Iron Age sites are so r
known (Nowicki 2000). A few are true refuges in the sense of being extremely difficult
48 Cathcrine Morgnn

9f acccss rcl onlv occasionallt, inhirbitccl. Bttt tl'rcse tencl to be closel' lir-rkecl to thc
m()rc c()l1r1r1or-r dcf'ensiblc nplirncl sites, iu urore accessiblc locatiorts, u'l.rich cnjoved
vrllttilge poir-rts ovcr inlancl plains trt-rc1 thc coast llike, arr-rd '.1ccess t() r()utes to the
sl.urre firr clesir.ible pLlrposcs such ,rs tndc (albeit involving difiicult climbs n'l-rich of]rcc1
their ourr protcction). Comr-r-rnr.rities such as thosc irt I(arphi, Vr<tklstro, ancl I(ilrlusi
fiacl access to I u'icle varietv ol importccl goods, mait.ttinec1 relilti()ns lvith los'l;rr-rd
settlcments, \\'ere rrblc to exploit \\'cl1-\\'aterccl arablc uplands lncl to sttstrin often largc
p-rgpulltions, \,et \\,cre reachecl onlv r-ia stcclr 1nc1 ofter-r c-litficult paths.
'fhev fbrr.ned
part r>f upl;u-rcl settlclrent uctu'orlis, the nrture,ruc1 scle of u'hich vlriecl ovcr til.l.lc.
l(ayousi Vroncla, firr cxtr.r.rplc, s,as tirntrciecl in I-irtc Miltoau IIIC (ca. Il90-1070)
1s onc of ten interdcpenclelrt rluclcltecl harnlets ancl villagcs in c.listir-rct uichcs arottnc'l

a cotplcr of r-rpliu.rcl vxllevs (Haggis 199;200I). Togetl-rer, these sitcs iuclicirte clensc
settletet of the area (Hirggis estim'.1tes 600-1,200 inhabitants), but sit-lcc thel'each
m1ir1tliecl their rturr shrincs ancl ccmeterics, sot.r.tc fort.lt of (pell-urps clar-r-basecl) c'livi-
sirtls t-t-ttlst l-ravc precluclecl tl-reir ;ltr. irlgi-tt-tlatior-r' 81'
pst'reollletric titucs' comtttotr
c()llcenrs rre ir.rclictrted bv thc tbundrtion rf a sl-rrine at Makellos, ror-rghlv ccltticlistirrlt
bctl,ec settlclneltt cltisters. u'l-rich cor-rtinued in use into tl-re archaic pcriod. Bnt rr
cornbil.ltion rl resource collstraints nd the pr-rll of the ser resr-rlted ir-r a reduction
iu sitc runrbcrs fi-tn LN,IIIIC intcl Prrtogeontetric, t'et exparlsiorl both rt those u'hicl-r
surr.ir,ec-l ..rcl in luiln\ parts 6l tl-rc lou'lar-rcls (includir-rg fbrr-ner pal,rccs sttclt irs
I(nosscts, u.here the North Clcnteten'u'as firuucled in tlte rnicl-elevcnth ccntr-rry'). Tl-rc
r.en, r'itriLle l-ristorl of mountrir-r scttlemcltt across Crete reflects c-lif]i:renccs in this
ballce as 1-ell as thc extent of krcal res()urces. In the Lasithi area, I(arpl'ri 15 1'-rical
it-r errirr.rding su,iftlr. fior.n r villtrge to a lrrrge tou,u u,ith 1 territ()r\' rr-rc1 satellite vil-
lagcs (N<rn,icki 1999; 2000:157-64.238), br-rt then being abancloncc.l irt the er-rcl
1f LMIIIC in tlvor ol lou'cr sites such rrs Lttto, u'hicl-r sccmed to oflcr a bctter bal-
rrcc of rcsourccs, pr()tcctioll, and access to the coest. Else\\'here , nlottltrlill sites
closer t9 tfic coast, such rs I(avousi I(astro ancl Vrokastro, erpatldccl tl-rrougl-r the
Prorgqeomctric ancl Gcontetric periocls. I3y c.. 70,r, I(arrusi u'as a densciv packecl
site t its pelk <tf popuhtior-r; it cleclincd r.r-rarke clll' rtter 700 bttt u',rs ll()t comPle teh'
abacloec1 Luttil classicrll tir.l.lcs (Coulson et al. 1997). Cle:rrlt,, Cretan lnruntriu sites
u,erc tirr tior-n jr-rst t[.re rcfirges of pirnickir.rg coast-clu,ellers flceing incursi<ltrs fi'on-r rhe
sea. Ther. \\,cre i1 contplex resp()nse to thc clrpornruitics attcl dangers irl'olvecl itl itcccss-
ig urlirr-rc1, coastl ancl mritinte res()Lrrces, 1r1cl thcir long-ternl flrte clepcnclecl on
thc perccivecl aclr,,lrtirgcs to be girir-rccl fi'or-n tl-re r'rrious c()ntacts involved.

Mobility, Migration, and Trade

Uti[ relirtivcly reccnth', t\\() cornrnon vies's of the tarlv Iron Age cmpl-rasized n-rigra-
tior-r irncl cicpopulatior.r. These rcstccl ()n rn utrti>rtttt.lr-ttc allirttce of litcrrl reaclings
of irrchrric and lirtcr cpichoric mvtlt hist()rics, in u,hicl.r thc origirts of rirrticular cotn-
l-l.lur-lities tr.crc locr-rtcd in the surrosccl trilrrl migr;-rtiot.ts olthe deep past (notorioLlsh',
the L)orir.u.r iuvlsion), irr.rd interpretrtions of the r-rrchaeolrgicirl rec<lrcl \\ich lttelrptecl
to clefie r.ltatcrirl "cultures" in tenrs of peoples, rrncl acceptcd as r-ncatlir.rgtr-rl s'l-r,rt
 Tlc Early lron Agc 49

-e now understand as mere gaps in research. This is not to imply that there were no
significant changes in population level in some areas) merely that they were fewer, less
dramatic, and less peculiar to this period than previously supposed. Demographic
mobility is certainly evident throughout our period, but in widely paralleled circum-
srances which orve nothing to great tribal migrations. Irng-term cycles of setdement
movement within a relatively confined area can be seen in the pattern of creation and
abandonment of sites around the Pagasitic Gurlf in Thessaly. The abrupt abandon-
ment of the major Mycenaean site at Iolkos (modern Dimini) coincides with a marked
erpansion at modern Volos-Palia, which probably then assumed the name of Iolkos
Adrymi-sismani 200). Sudden as this shift may seem, the longer-term perspective
of the succeeding 500-600 years reveals similar expansion and contraction and the
eppearance of other new or re-foundations around the Gulf, including Demetrias
and Pagasai, which show how the relationship bemveen Dimini and Volos-Palia fits
rithin larger processes (C. Morgan 2003:95-102).
l' Shorter-term demographic instability is evident in the Early Iron Age settlement
F history of the Cyclades and neighboring islands, long thought to have been largely
h rninhabited before a general increase in archaeologically visible settlement in the eighth
cennrry. Recent research has shown the record to be much fuller and more complex,
horvever, with near continuous activity at many principal settlements at least from
Protogeometric onwards,rl yet considerable variety in overall settlement strategies at
island level. This variety depended on such fctors as mineral and agricultural resources
,rhe latter comparatively scarce on such small and rugged islands, and particularly
rulnerable to the effects of bad years), and the proximity of neighboring islands, the
mainland, and trade routes. The use of stone as a readily available building mater-
ial, combined with often confined settlement locations which made tight planning
essential, has left an unusuaily rich record of well preserved abandoned sites, such as
Koukounaries on Paros, Zagora on Andros, or Emborio on Chios (Coldstream 1977
r2003): ch. J.2). Much can be learned, therefore, about planning in relation to com-
munity and household size and structure, but it is hard to generalize on the basis
of the knowledge so gained (C. Morgan 2003: 49-54). Prominent as these sites
ma\ seem when studying Ear Iron Age architecture and town planning, even within
rhei island context they need to be understood as part of the complex setdement
dvnamics that were a particular feature of island history. It is therefore not surpris-
ing to find Cycladic communities prominently involved in often quite short-distance
resettlements (internal "colonizations") in the archaic period if not earlier.12 Equally,
siven the potential for conflict in such situations, it is surely no coincidence that
the earliest polyandrion so far discovered is a constmction of the end of the eighth
century near Paroikia on Paros (Zapheiropoulou 2000a). \44ren communities did
cn'stallize into poleis - a phenomenon which may have occurred relatively late, after
e Late Geometric period (as Gounaris 1999 suggests) - they did so in ways which
echoed localized patterns of cross-island and trade-route connections, producing some-
times quite high numbers of poleis in small areas (Kea, for example, had four), not
all of which survived in the longer term (Reger 1997).
More individual forms of mobility included the travels of craftsmen, traders, and
small groups of foreign setders within established communities. The Homeric picture
50 CatlLcrinc Mortan

of tlre trrvclir-rg dewtiotuVos, toutir-rg his skills firm household to l-rousehold, is lr-r
ap'rc'.rling one, s is the rural srnithv in Hcsiod's Works and Dats (493-4). Ncitl"rer,
honct'cr, is eirs\. to find in thc archaeologic;ri record, u,hcrc tttention rirthcr focuses
()lt lrl()rc visible firecl installations, slrch es the kilns ir-r the Potters' Quarters at Athcns
nr1 at Torot.le,t't or the mctalu'<>rking frrcilitics lt Geometric Argos anc-l eighth-centlrn
Oropos.l+ Iustallati<ns for crafts such irs p()ttel1. or nretalu,rrking, n,hich usecl readilt.
transportablc r' l-naterirls, \\'ere certrinlt, connectecl ,ith scttler]tent celltcrs througl-r-
or-rt the E'.rrlv Iron Age, irncl the link grc\\'stronger as scttlcmcnt exransion firrm tl-re
cighth ccntull onu.irrcls increasec.l ti'rc local r-narket fbr thcsc products (Hlsahi 2002:
285-95, C). A,Iorgan 2003:71-3). Btrt this is onh,part of the ston,: sncrurics tro
u'ere it.t.tport1nt centers of (n-rosth. seasonal) rlanuflcturc, mainh, of metalurrl< but
uot onlv of votives.r5 Ther. u'crc r.najor econon'ric centcrs, u'ith the irbili,to cor-r-r-
tland resortrces rnd craftsmen on a large scale, ancl \\'erc s() cleepll, er-nbeclcleci in
uost regiot-trl econot.nies that rftcr-r r-ro n.reaningfirl c{istinction can be clriuvn
betn'een the sacrecl ancl thc seculr (C. Morgirn 2003: l 19-20,149-55).
Tracing the r-t-tovemcnts of individurl crrftsnren tellLls to rch,()n the usuallv highlv
rrobleuatic iclentification of inclividual objects as the \\,ork olirrn-rigr'-u.rt or itinerrrnt
crirftsureu, on the brsis olsn4c or the skills reclr-rirecl to u,ork ccrtain ir.r.rportecl mater-
irls (irrn., firr exar.r.rple). Debate hi-ts long surrounclecl the origins ol the crrftsmcn
u.ho procluccd urrks such irs the spectecnler brzc r,otivc shields fronr the Iclacan
Cn.c on Crctcr6 ()r thc fivc ivon'fi:r.nale figurines f}om thc micl-cighth-cer.rttrrl,Oclos
Peirios griu'c l3 in Atl'rcns (Lapltir-r 2001 44-5). Was it possible to lcarn to u'orli
nc\\' materils, or firmiliar mirtcrials ir-r nes' u'irvs, u'ithout thc pht,sical rresence ol
cxpcrienced crlfismenf lT I(nou.n urrrkslro1-l areas, such as an cighth-centun. golcl-
smith's shop lt L,retria (Thcr-nclis 1981), rer-eal nothirrg of thc cthr-ric origins oltl-re
crrrftsmen u'ho nsecl thcn'r. Not until tl-re sirth centunr ciln \\'e trucc such origir-rs via
crlfisl'r-rcl'r's 111nrcs. Atten-rpts to ic-lenti' gr1\,es ils tl'rose of craftsr-nen, let alone as
tl-rose of craftsr-nen of r certain origin, h'.rvc provccl cve n urore controvcrsial, as thc
crse oltl-re Tekke tholos;tt I(nossc'rs shou's (Hofhlan 1997: ch. 4). It seer.r.rs certirin
tl'rat itincrlnt craftsmcn, lr-rd specificirllt', itiner'.urt specialists in har"rdlir-rg rarer mter
ials or producing certrrir.l ilrtifict tvpes, operiltccl in mrrnv parts of Greecc through
out thc Elrlv lron Agc. Btrt trrcinc inc'liviclual crscs in tl-rc archteologicirl recorcl c,rn
bc highlv probler.r.rr-rtic.
Ecltrlllr,, u'hilc firrcigr-rcrs visitecl utcT/or livccl in Grccli cor.r.lr.t.runities. their visibil-
itt, largelv clepcncls on thc crtcnt tr s'hich thev chosc t() represent their ctl-rnici, in
rrrr rrchacologicirllr.retrier';rble u'ar, (e .g. Hol]iuan 1997 ch. 3). Promincnt cscs inclucle
the lirte nir-rtl.r- to earh'/micl-sevcrlth-ccnturl Pl.roel'riciirn tripillar sl-rrine in Teutple B
at I(ot-t.tt.nos, n'hich setlec.l rs a tircili. firr trlvelers rrIong thc trrclc r()ute u'1.ricl.r rrrssccl
rrlong thc s()Llthcm coirst of Crete (Shirri' 1998), lncl the c'listinctivc Phoenici;rn qr.rve-
stones founcl irt I(nossos ant-l Eler-rtl.rcnrrr.'t In other instanccs, hvbridization, or jlrst
sir-nplc changcs in the cxeclttion of cllst()ms u'hich probablv dcvclorecl over tintc,
tn'.rt, risc cloubts ;-rboLtt tlreir origins lncl significlnce. Thc curious seveuth-centLrr\r
turn burirrls lt Arkacies ilre :-1 cse in -rrir-rt,: u'hile iuonralous <n (lrete, thet' also shcu'
cliflcrerrccs fi'om their surrosecl North Svrian prototr,res (Hoflir'tl 1997: 165-72).
The nrost securc recollstructi()ns rcst ou the liinc'l of con'lirir.li-ttion of clucs usccl to
 The Early Iron Age 51

race the presence of Levantine residents at Pithekoussai - graffiti, distinctive forms

of ritual behavior (burials in this case), and the use in both domestic contexts and
graves of particular types of artifact. Plates, for example, were rare in the Greek home,
but at Pithekoussai, after their initial import in Phoenician red slip ware, they were
rapidly copied.le Visible cases were likely the tip of the iceberg, and the decision to
mak a distinctive identity itself raises questions. Many migrants may have chosen
to assimilate to a host community or to express their identity in ways which left no
material trace.
Patendy, trade during the first centuries of the Early Iron Age trade differed in scale
and perhaps also nature from that of the Late Bronze Age. Yet Greece was hardly
isolated, and by the ninth century at the latest, there is plentiful evidence for rich
and complex connections (especially with the east) to rival those of the Bronze Age
jones 2000: 50-82; Crielaard 1998; Stampolidis and IGrageorghis 2003). The notion
of elite gift exchange has been used to explain the movement of certain (usually costly
and/or antique) items treated by their recipients as luxuries (Crielaard 1998). More
eenerally, however, identifying the origins of traders raises problems similar to those
noted above - and this is all the more frustrating since traders were uniquely placed
not only to recognize and supply local needs, but to make markets by identif,iing
n-hat might interest whom. Who but such a middleman would have known that an
-\thenian potter's malformed hyd.ria could be transformed into a tall ht,atey for the
Cretan market (Papadopoulos 1998), or could persuade Euboean potters that there
-ere customers in Tyre for plates, as well as shyphoi. with pendent semi-circle decora-
tionf20 In the later eighth and seventh century, the range of local scripts in which
grafiti were written on local pots at I(ommos allows us to identir what Csapo has
termed "an international community of traders" (Csapo l99l; 1993). But usually
our only evidence is the origin of the goods carried, and while this can provide clues
as to possible carriers, it is never conclusive, as is clear from the debates surrounding
e nature and extent of "Greek" trade with the Near East (to which rve will return),
or Euboean involvement in long distance trade to the north, east and west.2r
Discussion of Early Iron Age trade has tended to focus on the movement of raw
material (such as metals, to which we will return), or finished goods like fine decorated
pottery which can be readily provenanced via style. But a particularly significant
phenomenon is the use of distinctive transport amphorae, r,vith their implications for
commodity transport, organization of shipping and marketing. The earliest post-Bronze
-\ge group so far identified comprises two very closely related types with semicircle
decoration, which were probably produced somewhere in southern Macedonia, and
remained in circulation for some three hundred years across a broad arc around the
northern Aegean, from Lefkandi to Trol. and Lesbos (Catling 1998). The coarseware
transport amphorae so miliar in later centuries made their first appearance in the
late eighth century, on Lesbos and in Corinth and Athens.22 The most likely expla-
nation for this development is a desire on the part of shippers for a standard, readily
stackable shape to facilitate the loading of the maximurn quantity of liquid. This in
rurn implies the co-existcnce of a much larger movement of agricultural produce
rincluding oil and wine) in conventional containers, highlighting the importance of
long-distance trade in such commodities. It is therefore interesting to note the routes
 t
52 Catberine Morllnn

along s.hicl'r these ar.r.rrhorae first irppeirrccl. Iu thc of Corinth, I fbrt-n of proto-
case
Corinthiar-r A 1mph()ra clevekrpecl fr-on'r eirrlicr st()rgc jars l'as first frltncl rt Svracttsc
irr.rcl csrecilllv Otrurto. In the latter case it u's accompartiecl b1' Corinthian finc drir-rk-
ing rrnd pouring vcssels u,hich tbrn-rccl part olthe imported clrinkir-rg sets of the locrl
clite, marking an escirlation of cor-rtlrcts u-l-ricl-r clatc firr bi-rck into thc rtirtth cellttlll'.
Il1 tLlrnl it fecl r ttrstc fbr sr.mposiLinr ecluipr-neut trl1ltsrttittcd bv the clite of Otratlt<l
to their Nlessarian peers (D'Anclritr 1995). Thc lseucc of thcse amphorae lt sites
ctt rtte to the Srlcl'rto suggests clirect trrc.lc s'ith Corinth, bLrt u'hetl.rcr this u'as solelv
i1 the |acls of Corir-rthians, let irlrne l.l-rcther Corinthir-rs \\'ere permirnellth'or se"-
s<rn,rllv rcsicler-rt at C)trant(), is less cleirr (Ynterrir 2000: 23-32).

Subsistence

Wher1 ,e cgsidcr the lli.ltrlrc ol Errlv Iron Agc sttbsistctlce ccot]t>uies, it is r-ro'
clcar thit tl-rc u,orld of the sr.nrrll firrmer, so graphicirllv clcscribec-l ir-r Hesiod's Wor'ls
nrtfl Dats.prbirblv clericted rcelitv in nrost prts of (irecce tl-rrougl-rtlut thc Earli'Iron
Age. Sr-rggestions thtt depolulation ancl tl.re collrrpse ctf pirlitcc ecot'tot.l.lics firelccl a
rcsnrgerlce olp:rstoralism (Snoclgrrrss ),987:192-209) irt pirrt rcflects over-cnlphasis
()n r-rpp.lrcnt colltr.lsts ,itl-r the Lineirr B recorcl, evell thouqh this reports orllv thirt
snt,rll portion of the N,lr,cen;.'reJu cconourt'irl 'hich the prrlaces 'ere clirectlv it]l'<lh'ed
(H,rlsie,rc1 2001; Shelmercline 2006). Insterrd, thc cndir-rg of i,ipu'lrt-l rnobilizati<ln of
slrbsistecc cc-nmoclities in thc cotlmaud ccottomies rl thc r,rl;rccs hlld thc ctlct
ef liberating lcrcrrl corununities to fircus ou thcir oun itttcrcsts (Foxhall 1995:244-5).
Tl-ris, rrrthcr than r c()llplete cl-range ()lstratcg\', uaY explait-t lltctlonlerla stlch es the
cliflcret kill pltterns o'iclcnt in the hcrc.ls <f h,irrh, lron Age Nichoria.r't The elo'er-rtll
tct inth centlrics silv neithcr extensive dc'ropulltior-r nor I u'holcsrle shift t<> specialist
p;rstoralisr (fbr rrhicl-r cvidence is gcneralli'r'en'sc;trcc) bttt, iu Jtlhn Cherrr"s rt'ords,
i',r r.r,crsi,,r, to ur()re lilci'rlizccl. ir-rtcnsivc, t-t-tixccl, lt()11 specielizecl ti-rn-r-ring sYstellls il-I
u,hich irr-rirnals scn,ecl ntucl.r the sme firnctions ts thcv l-rlc1 befitrc tl.re rise of strrtie cl
states i the Aegci'u-r" (Chern, 1988: 28). At scttlemcnts sttch irs Volos Pirlirirr (Iolkos)
or Assiros (G. Jor-res 1982; 1987), thcrc is ar-nple cvidencc firr the cultivltion rncl
storrge of I u,idc rar-rge of ccrei-rls, pulscs irr-rd gerclcn cr()psr s()l1lctl.ring echoecl in
the rccorcl of firoclstufli crsur.necl cluring rcligioLrs celebratior-rs at I(rlirpodi (IG<lll
1993). Storagc ancl cxch,rnge \\'ere ncccss1r1'bnlflrs agirinst bad I'ears, ils Hesiocl
clcscribcs. But it is irlso tvorth er.nphrrsizing the ccutral importatlce of rtliml scrificc
ac1 thc shirrecl c()l'rsllmptiol-r of ir u'idc rangc of fbcclstufh at Eerlv Irotl Aqc srluc
tuirrics acr()ss the Greek u,orlcl. Tl.rcre itre A{\,cetucan prccecleuts fir the Prilcticc of
lurnt r.rir-nrl s."rcrifice rt Pr.los (Is:rakicloLr ct aI.2002), atttl ritttrll brrtrquctit'tt \\.iIS. rls
6ted, ir ntajor frtr,rre olralacc lifb.r+ Yet tl.rc scrlc auc-i ccutrtl role olcollstllllpti()ll
irt klarlr, Iron Agc shrir-rcs is strikir-rg, and the change in settir-rg, fl'onr thc cotrfitlccl
contcrt ol pillrlcc cr shrine t() the open air, t-t-tttst rlsr h,rve chu'rged perceptiotls ol
the er.ers (Hirr-r-rilakis nd I(onsclirki 2004). At IGIap<;di, the Amvkl'aior.r, ()lvn-rpil
1tcl Istl.rr-r-ria. sl-rarccl s.crifice lncl clinirrg ccmeutcd socitl ties ancl erl,rblec-l irlclividu-
als to clisplat,tl.reir rcrsonl comu.rtu.rc-l of resources (Morgan 2002b). Frot.t.r its ven'
 The Early Iron Age 53

n' : )- beginning in Late Helladic IIIC, the festival at Kalapodi featured mass consumption
h. - oi a range of foodstuffs, including wild animals and plants, and a variety of grains
*rat led the excavator to characterize the festival as a pansperlnion, symbolzing both
t -l hunting and cultivation (Felsch 1999). In most regions of Greece, figurine dedica-
!ft-._ 1'. tions now focused on animals and other symbols of human activity rather than the
h:- :cr highly abbreated personifications of deity/worshipper current during the Late Bronze
.\ -\ge (French 1981) although the image of the goddess with upraised arms lingered
,-)' somervhat longer on Crete (Nicholls 1970). As has already been noted, throughout
re Early Iron Age, sacred and secular aspects of economic activity were inextric-
ablv internvined, a situation which become ever more complex (and arguablv more
skerved) with the expansion of cult systems from the eighth century onwards.

Sanctuaries

.'-t Prior to 750, the major cult centers of the southern and central Greek mainland
.- i] -ere open air sites without specifically religious buildings. This is not to imply that
rituals were temporally or spatially unstmctured. The sacrifice and dining practiced
ar open-air sanctuaries implied a recognized location and occasion (Morgan 1999al.
h. III.2). The ever-increasing volume of dedications (dre mass of tripods at tenth-
ard ninth-century Olympia, for example) must have made spectacular monuments
in their own right, and required some management of display and probably recycling
C. Morgan 2003: L53-4). The range of gender, age and status interests symbolized
in votive offerings gradually widened through the tenth and ninth centuries and
espanded markedly during the eighth, with ever greater investment differentiating
rich from poor. This is particularly evident at shrines such as the Samian F{eraion,
$-here waterlogged conditions have preserved materials lost elsewhere, allou,ing us
to see the full spectrum of dedications from the gold and ivory of the wealthy to
1 e simplest gifts of the poor (rieleis 1988; Brize 1997). At most mainland shrines
re first major building activities were landscaping operations designed to manage
'i
: ryace for assemblies and the display of votives - the mid-tenth-century terrace at
.l Kalapodi is a case in point.2s From Submycenaean onwards, large-scale images of
.:l deities are strikingly absent on the mainland.26 They lingered longer on Crete, but
1 er-en here, there is a gap until the three late eighth- or early seventh-centtry sphyre-
.1 laton figtres from the altar of the Dreros temple (Prent 2005: 174-200; Romano
.., 2000). Large-scale anthropomorphic imagery reappears with the spectacular eighth-
century amber and ivory figures which "peopled" the teruemls at Ephesos, although
since the earliest temple here held a base for a cult statue) these probably represent
norshipers or cult personnel rather than the deity (Muss 1999;,2007).In general,
dre rich imagery of Early Iron Age votives tends to reveal more about the interests
and social personae of worshipers than deities.
Alongside these open air sanctuaries, a number of settlements have produced evid-
ence for ritual within prominent domestic structures ("rulers' houses"), Nichoria is
a much-cited case," but one might also consider Aetos on Ithaka which continued
long past the eighth century (Symeonoglot 2002: 5 1- 3 ). These two models of cult
54 Catlcrine Morgott

orgauizltion \\'ere not sir.r-rplc altem;rtivcs, but it-r nriruv regiot-ts opcrirted in perallel.
Thus it seen-rs likelr.tl.rrt the Nicl'roria elite ir'l'ro reinfbrcccl their strtus bv ccntrol of
tl-re ritnel rcri\,ities in Units IV-l ancl IV-S elso n-racle oflcrirrgs r-rt Olr'mpia, staking
thcir clrir-r-rs to recoqniticn in a u,icler firrun-r (Morgan 1990: 65-85). Lt thc sontheru
and centrrrl mtrinland, purpose-built ter-nplcs \\'ere a phcuot.ueuot.r of the li-rtc cigl.rth ancl
sevcnth centuries, but ther. arc lttesteLl rluch eirrlicr clseu'herc. Thc Protogcotlletric
Building It ;rt Nfcnc'le Poseicli in Maceclor-riir is the erirlicst uriulancl cuclidate )'et
clisc<rycrccl (Nkrscl.ronissioti 1998: 265-7), but evicleucc frol.rr (lrcte is t.t-tttch l.tlore
plentiful (Prent 2005). Crctan settlcments m()re comlnoult,couteit'tctl cult r()ollls ()r
cornrlexcs, i1s th()sc at I(arphirs or l(cphirlir \/lsilikis (Elirtclukrs I998), lntl u'herc
settlercnts fbcuscc{ on old palircc sites, such rrs I(nossos or Phlistos, cult fircilitics
s()lttctilttcs exploitccl thesc ruinecl strlrctllres t() cre;1te c-iclibcrrte linhs to past ilr.lth()r
in,(Prent 2005: 508-54). Orer-r-air srrnctuarics rrre kttou'u (I(ato Svrt-ri fbr cxr-rnrple:
Lcbessi i98I), but in gencrll, cult activit\.secms m()rc settlemcrtt-tlased that.r itr tltlcl-t
ol tl-re l-nrrilrliurcl .

Metallurgy, Cult, and Warfare

TI-re clcvelopmcnt ri'hicl.r gavc its nr.urc t() our peri<tcl artcl lctt it Prirtictlliul)' pro-
r.lincnt l.nark is thc riccluisition of iron riorking technologv ir-r tl're Aegcirn. Follouirlg
the clcrisc ol tl-rc Hittitc empire, u'hich hr'rc.l gurlrclccl its sccrets cirrcfulh', tl'ris tecl-r
olrgv l.irs trnsnrittecl cluring tl-rc clever-rth cclltLrrl'r'ia C)r'prr.ts, rr'hcrc it d'.'rtcs brrck
to thc r'eltth centurr,, r-rd in tir.r.lc ;llku'ed Greeks t() trallsfi)rll1 u'l-rrlt hacl rrcviottsh'
Lreen r spor:iclic iutl lurrrn,imrort into.r cctrtrll eletneut cllttcrrl ecot-louties.]" L,mphirsis
rlp()11 silltctll1ries ls celltcrs ol conspicu<)Lrs consr.llllPtiotl rrlso ertctlcls t() thc ttse ol
letals, sir.rcc, togethcr u'ith r.r-riliu.rr1, recluircuteuts, the maltltf,rcturc of votil'cs 'irs
ee rf the principirl uscs olr-r-rctals in thc erlv Greek u'orlcl. Aclmittecllr', the recorcl
is bir-rsccl t()\\"rrcls qrrl\,es irncl sncturrics, u'hcre recvclirble t-t-tctl u'i-ts perlllilllcllth
rer.1r'erl fi<rt circultion (r,otives coulcl bc nteltecl ciou't-t, br,tt the tnctl rcmritlecl
the propern'of the dcitr,). Br-rt it secrus unlikch'thirt thc 'ricttrrc is u'l-rolh'itlirccltrlte.
-l'l-rcre
is evidcltce <tt metirlu,orking instrrllirtions attirchcd to scttlcnleltts, bttt carc \\'as
tken to rcct,cle s'l.rcre possiblc, irnc-l so r.ret:.rl fincls ir-r scttlentellts re relativelt'r,rrc.
We are clepcnclcr.rt on Homcr, ancl cspcciallr. Hcsiocl, firr .rn ir.r-rprcssiott of hou' ulct,rls
cgulc.l be usecl, ancl an ur-iclcrstanciing of thc vcrv Lrrgc rattuc ol (otterl perishable)
rrltentltir,es. Inc1eec1, the extent to rr'hicl'r r.uetal ttse reirllv pcnetriltcLl illto thc even'-
c1ry lir.cs of rrll br-rt tl-re clite rcmrrins i1 mrtter of sl.rccuhtion. Unlike ttrouze, u'hicl.r

cler.nrrncls tl.re irrport of tir.r fkrn-r manv hundrecls of milcs berrncl (ireck larlc-ls, iroll
u'rrs rctciih, ar.rilrrble across Grccce. Ar-rrl u'hile 10% tiu is rccl-rirecl to creete;-r brotlze
ri,hich rir,rls iron in hrtrciness, r'l'lost bror.rzc irllovs cluring thc Late Brottze ancl trrrlv
Iron Ages contlinecl ,r n'uch highcr prop()lfi(r olcoprer, uc1 u'crc thtts softcr irlthor.tgl.r
rerfccrlv goocl fbr jeu.clcrr,()r \'()tives strch's tril-rrc1s (Sr.roclgr:rss 1989: 29). Yet
irt>n
is firr ruore cornplicatctl ncl tir-l-rc-cor-lsur-ninq to s'ork. Tl-rcre is ,r clcgree of cxoticisnl
ancl rr-rysten.in Holncr's use of the r.erb phnrmasn (to clrLrg or beu-itcl.r) to clcscribe
ironrrrrliir.tg in thc cor.ltcxt of rr sinrilc in u'hich ire liliens tlte sottncl of ir<trl tlueuchccl
 The Early lron Age 55

in cold water to the hissing of the stake as it entered the Cyclops' eye (Otl1xey 9 .391-4).
The suggestion that iron use had a democratizing effect on activities from agricul-
rrr-re to warfare (Childe 1942: 183) therefore seems unlikely. It was hardly cheap, it
::ll had the potential to liberate bronze for ever more iuxurious uses, and in so far as
-:.1 s-e can reconstruct its use in ritual contexts (despite problems of preservation), it
J-
s-s treated as of significant value in its own right (Haarer 2000).
.L
The decision to divert so much metal to military purposes rested on two inter-
connected factors - the importance of warrior status to aristocratic masculinity, and
)r *re relationship betr,veen equipment and favored military tactics (Snodgrass 1999:
| ::C ch. 2, 134-6). The former can be traced throughout our period, but since expensive
:is cquipment could be bequeathed down the generations, it is not surprising to find
ofibnsive arms more commonly offered in graves than defensive armor. Panoply graves
ere ahvays exceptional whenever and wherever they occur, be it Submycenaean Tiryns,
cighth-century Argos or fifth-century Corinth (Morgan 2001b: 22-4).If Alcaeus'
later description is any guide (Z 34 Lobel Page)) armor and weapons may rather
hve been displayed in the halls of the elite (a custom attested also in Persia: Flerodotos
1.34.3), although inevitably, this is hard to trace archaeologically - a rare exception
is the so-called "sanctuary" or anl,reionat Afrati on Crete.30 For much of our period
, at least from ca. I I00 onwards), it is clear that the mode of fighting demanded litde

or no armor (presumably perishable materials like leather would have sufficed), and
iust a light shield, a sword and either a pair of throwing spears or a bow and arrows.
From the last quarter of the eighth century) however, the various elements of the
hoplite panoply - the corselet) greaves, helmet, and shield (Snodgrass ).999: 48-60,
f 36-8) - begin slowly to appear and to be refined. Nowadays, few would subscribe
to the old notion of a hoplite reform which linked equipment and tactics in a model
of fr-reaching social and political change (ultimately leading to the rise of tyranny:
tbr a review, see Morgan 2001b: 201). More plausibly, a gradual tightening of the
open warfare of earlier centuries, with a more complex mix of battlefield tactics,
r-reated a need for greater personal protection, and the resulting improvements in
equipment themselves speeded a process which in time produced the classical phalanx
'r-an Wees 2000a; 2OO4). Tactics aside, such evidence as we have for the causes of
eah, warfare and military leadership emphasizes the role of local rulers in mobilizing
their followers (sometimes supplemented by "loans" from friendly peers) in causes
of immediate concern. Thucydides' review of the nature of early warfare (1.I5), while
designed to demonstrate the unusual importance of his real subject, the Peloponnesian
\Yar, emphasizes this local aspect. His sole exception) the Lelantine War (of which
'e otherwise know little), was singled out because it drew in wider alliances rather
than for the ftindamental nature of the cause or the forces involved. Localized conflicts
\\-ere not necessarily trivial; there are rare instances of wholesale destruction and/or
conquest, in the Argive sack of Asine, for example, or the first Messenian war.3l But
the fundamental role of aristocrats leading their dependants or followers can be traced
r-ell down into the archaic period (Morgan 2001b: 27-38). Not only was the motif
of vengeance long-lived (Lendon 2000), but aristocratic self-interest was frequendy
lrapped up in personal defense of what could be claimed to be wider "state" interests,
as the seventh- and early sixth-century history of Attica shows (Frost 1984).
56 Cnthcrine Morgnn

Eighth-century ExPansion
()Llt rls a periocl ol
.r a1. ecc()Llltt of the Etrrlv Iron Age, the eighth cetlttllll stalltls
transfbrmtion. At this -rclint, \\'e cil ccognizc mluv traits fimililr il.r the arcl-ric
*,orlcl of cin,stttes - irn extcnsive nctu'ork of sanctlrirries ancl tcmples, grtln'iuQ to\\'11s.
llpl-rlbetic tvriting, -tttcl oversees settlcnlents. It is often scell i1S rl "Greeli Retllissance"'
,rlil-urugl-r irs q,e he.r,c colne to unclerstrncl t1-re rirpicllr'expanclir-rg arclucological recorcl
.rf -,r.rio.,, ccntllries) the urakrgr. u,ith tl-rc Littropean Reuaisstt.lcc bectlmcs less precise '
Istercl. ,e fic1 a more cor.r-rplex ancl regionlllv r'rri;rbie tnixture oltraclition,
trlus
trirtrsfilrmatiotls have :rlrcircl' bceu
fnrmatior-r. ar-rcl ir-rnovatiolr. Ccrtain crntir-ruitics rud

mentionccl. perSirps the most obvious cltiruses irt thc archrcologicr-rl reci>rd tbllo'
fi,,t the erpasioit of scttlcrnent both in the crtti-ttrvsic-le ucl at poPulatioll cellters'
Although the ler.cl of prc eighth-celttull settlclrcnt in t.t-tt>st ptrrts of Grecce has bcer-r
grcatlr, ulclerestim'tccl, therc rr's uncloubtccllv ir siguificatlt itlcrease irl eviclencc for
L,r.l ,.ttl.,ret (chieflr, buriils), ls u.ell 'ls exp'.rttsio't xt principal sites, ti'or-n thc eighth
itrcre-rsc (Srlodgr'rss
cel1tru1, .ug.arcls. f'his .s ilitiirllv rttributecl sir-r-rplv to -rorr-rlirtiolt
I980a: 20-4),irlthougl-r this is unlikely to be the sclle cxplniltion atlcl no stllaight-
ptll'rtt-
tirrr'ercl c.rrelation a,-,r-r Lr" r-n;rclc bctu,cen the voltu'ne of mrteriirl cviclct]cc atlcl
uheu u'here particttlar
lati.r] size. In the cirsc ol graves, it is essentiirl to cousicler ,ulcl
cirrcgories of pcople rr,.r" gr"n,..1 the rite of fbrmrl bttri'.r|, ls lvell lrs the
nture xncl
()f
visibilitv.lmgrtu.n.practiccs (Nlorris 1987). Nor-rctheless, itl the gre1t llliliorit\
c..1scs, cxpxllsiolt at principal settlel-nents, like Atl-rcns
t>r Thebcs, u'ls accrt.tlpatliecl

bv increasecl ctivit\, 1cro;s cver lirrger :rre:rs of cottlltn'sicic (Bintliff ancl Snoclgrass
lggg; Nlcrsch l()g7). PhYsicrrl sYr-toikisn.r cannot Lre the main reasot-t, dcspite lilter
of urav hirve bcct]
tr.rclition (C. IvIrrgirn 2003: 17l-6), irncl a nuurbcr otl'rer frrctrlrs
t() ()l' Perlrlallellt bascs
in <>peratiou - resicler-rtiel grotlps n.ral' split crcate tet-l1POrl1r\'
.1,,r. to clist,rt lacl. ir to allou, cstrblishccl principles ol resiclerltial tlrg'luizirtiou t<r
[e maint;1inecl. L,xpransion rrt Inrrjor scttlclttents probablv clct-tlirtlclecl tl-rc ri-rnking
of
lle\\'settlcnlcnts \\'erc
ar'ilable rcsourccs bv clistatlcc ancl;lccessibiliv, lncl eveu tvhcu
cretecl. r.nore lirncl r.ould be nccclecl (ever-rtr-rallv clrau'ing in marginal lancl)
if thc
sarre sttiltegics of exploit1ti()n \\,erc to be maiutait-rccl u'ithout intensificatiorl.32
popslirtier-r pressllrc tncl rrcssure on l,rucl are relirtive collcePts. Ll both cilses, thc
clcsire to rrrintiri tl-rc status quo ir.r tcrms of settlctneut tletlsit\', the
rcsiclcntial rights
of inclivic-luals or: firmilies in particrLl'..rr arc1s, r'tcccss t() ccrtaill agricttltllral or pastllrc
lard,6r cr-rltir.atior.r of the s,rn.re cro.rs using the samc Prilcticcs, cottld le,rd to extellsifica-
tior-r betirre. or algngsicle, inter.rsificati'r. The movcmcnt tr colotlize,
'hich in tl-rc
\\,est bcgarl u.ith Eubocirn settlcrrent et Nuos it.l-rmecliteh' tblltll'ccl bl' Corir-rthian
at Sr.rrcirse (lccorclir-rg to Thno,dic{es .3), r.r-rust therefbre te utlclcrstoocl
u'ithirl the
*,iclcr cir-rtcxt 9f mor.cn1eltt lcross irncl bcyotrcl (ireek spcirkir.rg lrlircls, [c it over
coll
relatir,elv short clistar-rccs, u,ithin \\'hat \\'r1s to becotne the tcrriton' of the st'.1te
cerecl (Dymc i the crse olAcl.raie, firr ex'.rntple: N'lorgar.r anci Hell 1996: 1tl6-9) or
tr-rrtl-rer, itc r-rre;rs such as the crthern Acgean irncl tl-ic islirucls (Snoclgrlss I994b)'
To sorlc e\tcltt, the clistinction bcr.cen ilrterntl aucl cxternirl colollizatirt-l rests
()11

the nchronisn-r of rlorlem nrtionirl borclers. Yet there u'ere rell cliflbrcnces in the
 The Early Iron Age 57

Errrre of the host populations, not only in terms of social and political organiza-
in and attitudes to material wealth, but in their identification (however poorly
nderstood) with broader notions of Hellenism, noting especially the geographical
ErEnt of the spread of the Greek alphabet in the late eighth and seventh centuries
tlohnston 1999). Neither internal expansion nor migration commonly led to the
rrdement of virgin territory. The responses of established settlers varied greatly. For
.T-mple, the custom of making offerings at conspicuously old (usually Bronze Age)
mbs is found in many parts of Greece during the eighth and seventh centuries,
cieft- in Messenia, the Argolid, and Attica, but also widely elsewhere.33 Anonymous
mb cult has been variously interpreted as asserting rights to the land of one's
rrccstors in the face of incomers, or establishing "ancestral" or "founder" claims in
m- territory.3a \Vhatever the case, the desire to anchor a personal or collective past
Lr e landscape is clear, and there is a long-recogruzed conceptual link between offer-
iEs to the nameless dead of the deep past, and other forms of ritual connected with
urmunity ancestors - feasting in cemeteries, for example, as at Mycenae, Asine or
liexos, or more rarely cults of named heroes like Helen and/or Menelaos in Sparta
tntonaccio \995a ch. 3, 199--207).

Greeks Overseas
Or- ll the developments considered in this chapter, permanent settlement overseas,
rhich escalated dramatically with the beginnings of western colonization in the last
decades of the eighth century, was perhaps of the greatest long-term significance.
fhe full story of its motivation, development, and consequences belongs in later
apters. It is now clear that most of the earliest colonies attested by Thucydides
rcre founded within native settlements which were either destroyed (in the case of
Syacuse) or gradually displaced. They were also small-scale; the laying out of a chora
rnd svstematic town planning on any scale lay some way ahead.3s A rather different
picnrre emerges from the long and complex history of overseas connections to east
nd s.est through the Early Iron Age which formed the background to permanent
rmlement. To the west, the twelfth century was a period of intensive contact with
Italv, and Apulia in particular (lones 2000: 44-6; Fisher 1988: ch. 5). The inten-
s- and wealth of settlement around the periphery of the former kingdom of Pylos
- notably in the Patras area and the Ionian islands - created a new focus of inter-
ction across the Ionian and southern Adriatic seas, indicated both by the move-
ment of pottery and by Italian emulation of Aegean ceramics. The principal Apulian
ndspots, Roca Vecchia on the coast near Lecce, and Punto Melisso by Cape Leuca
,rithin sight of Corfu), confirm the importance of this network (Benzi 2001;
Guglielmino 1996). Thereafter, there is a hiatus in material evidence until the begin-
ning of systematic imports (initially Corinthian) into Otranto from the ninth century
onrvards. Whether or not Corinthians lived at Otranto even temporarily, the Messapian
i<lentity of the setdement) as of the entire region, is clear. \4ren Corinth did establish
a colony along this route, it was rather on Corf. As Douwe Yntema (2000) has emphas-
ized, the problems of interpretation surrounding imported artifacts at Otranto recur
5B CatLeriue MotLtan

in eyen mclrc complex fbrrl else'here along tl-rc Ioni;ur coast, irncl lttentpts to char-
ircterize "nativc" as opposccl to "Grcck" pl-rases of prrrticular settlcments are fi'irught
u'ith diflicult\'. Lr the crse ol Irtcoronata, for examplc, it is clcbatable u'hether tl-re
qnantit\. of Greeli imports u,hich clistir.rguishecl thc colrstrl site ol Lrcoronirtrr Clrecir
fr-om its iullncl ncighbor, Lrcoronta Lrdigenir, shonlcl bc sccr.r as rcflectir.rg tl.re
c-listinctivc iclcntin' ol its inhirtitlr.rts, rather thrn nltivc intcrest ir.r ir.r.rports u.l.ricl-r
encouragecl a seconcl settlement b1' the cclast (Yntcml 2000: I1-13).
Sor.ne Grcek settlenlellts u'ere fbunc]ec1 anel'in areas u'l'rere Grccli goocls, ancl rrob-
bh,,'rlso travelers, hacl circulatcd firr sornc timc. Pithekoussai or.l the isliu.rcl ollschir
in tl-rc Bry of Nlplcs is such i1 crlse . Thc scttlcmcnt \\'as clearlt, F,ubclean, both in
arcl.raeologicelh'i'isillc cust()lns alld ncicnt trciitiol-r, ;rlthr ugl.r other ethnic groups
tradecl ar-rcl probabh, scttled thcrc tro (Iclgu,ar' 1992: 3I-42, \07-20). Follou'ing
Strabo (5.4.9) urr1 Li\'\,(8.22.5-6), Eretrians urcl Chalcidiuls u'crc inr,oh'ccl in the
finnclatior-r, rnc1 thc identitt, of the oildsts if thc rclatcd nrrinlancl col-rv of Cnmac
(Megacles rf Ch'.rlcis lncl Hippocles of Cvmc) clrlu's in Enbocir's thircl major settle-
rrent, CYme, nou, knourl to [c ur c\tel1sivc cighth-ccntr-rn, t()\\'r] (Sapouna-Sakcilcrrki
I998). Thc firunc{ation of Pitl.rekoussri consoliclrtecl E,uboeirn cngagerllent \\'ith
u'ell establishecl netn'orks of Ph>cniciln, Slrcliniln irnd r';rri<us Itliiur groul':s n,l'rich
cxtcnclccl oLrt to Sarciinia,rncl ur to Etruria lnrl bcvoncl, perhars attractc(l b1, r,l.1.
in metrrls nc1 nctlu'ork.3t' This multi-ethnic rnilicu. u,here Grceks rrnc'l Phoenicirns
trrclecl ar.rcl probabll. lived irr ckrsc rrximitr', is cxrrctlv tl-re kincl olsituetion in u'hich,
clr-rring thc cighth ccntlr', Grecks nlust hrvc lermecl to u'rite thcir ou.r.t languirge
nsing an ;rclaptccl Pl'rocniciur alphabct. Thc role ol thc Phocniciirns as teachers n'-ts
er.npl.rasizecl ir-r ar-rticluitr'(Herocicrtos 5.58.f 2), irncl its in.rrortancc is cleirr fi'onr the
trct that thc simplc prcscncc ol inscribecl Phocniciirn objects in r.nuch e arlier Greek
contertst' hi'Lcl no imprct. Thc Bev ol Naplcs is not thc onh' cancliciirte fbr the placc
rltransfr - Al tr,lir.rir, Crete, Nrodcs, or mainlrrncl ciq,such rs Athcns ()r thc citics
olEutrrca hr'e also been pro-rosecl (Coldstreirnr 1990). Rut the case is greath.strcng-
the nccl il ir grlffito on a l<>cal flask in grlvc 482 ol the ()ste rir dcll'()sr ccme tcn, in
Lrtirrr.r.r is ircceptecl irs (ircck, rls the grl\'c ciln L{atc n() lrtcr thln775 (Riclgu'irr' 199).
Thc rcirc.lir-rg renrair-rs controvel'sial, hou'ever, rrnc-l the u.icler issue unresolvec-l (see fur-
ther cl-r. 28, bclou'). A scconcl krng-temr c()nscLlucncc olEubocu'r scttlcnlcnt il.r tl'ris
rca stclrs fror.r-r its rrorimig, to thc incrcasinglr. hierarchical r-rative societies olCirn.rpania
ancl sotrthern Latium (c.g. Pontccrgllrrn(): (-,t<>zz< 2003). Follou'ir-rg the estrblisl-r-
ment of Clrcck scttlcmclrt olr thc ncighboring n'ririr-rlancl at Cnmae, there are inc-leecl
similrrities betu,een the rich eirrh, ser.enth-centrrrv u'arrior ancl "princcl)," crcmation
burirls ()11 the rrcropolis ancl buri'ls olthe super-clite in the Eubocln hornclrrnrl, such
1s thc West Girte at lrretria (Crieliurcl 2000,500-3). Il'cn str()lrgcr, hou'o.cr, arc

links u'itl-r thc bnriirls of thc "princclr." elite of Cirnrriu.ria ;rncl ]-tium n()tcd irbove:
thc aristocrrcv of Cnme positior.recl thcr.nseh'cs Lrctu,ccr.r tl.rcir Eubocrr roots .111c-l
the r''.rlues of the ntiye elites l'ith l'hom thev most closclv intcrrrctecl.
Cor.lnectior.ls u'ith tl-re eilst \\'ere everr richer ancl morc complcx, n'itl'r ir pllinrpscst
ol shifting rcgior.rirl Cireek, Ct'priot, ncl Lei'ntinc intcrcsts movinq anrl trtilizing ir
r'rietv of prorlucts firrr.r'r clining p()tten'to golcl jelvelen,. Lr the e'.rstcrn Aegcrrn, str()llg
 The Enrly Iron Age 59

connections between Crete, Cyprus, and the Levant continued through the twelfth
nd eleventh centuries, when contacts with the mainland Greek world were in tem-
porar), decline (Stampolidis 2003b: 48-55). By the tenth century, oriental imports
sere plentiful in elite burials at Lefkandi too (Stampolidis 2003b: 5I; Popham 1994),
and they increased in number in the following centuries. From this time, pottery of
probable Euboean origin is also found in Cyprus and in very small quantities in the
Ler-ant, notably at Tyre and Ras al Bassit/Posideion (Lemos 200f ). Yet when one
T t- esmines find-contexts, the nature and purpose of import seems somewhat different.
i-.- -.1 On C1prus, Greek pottery (mosdy Euboean and some Attic drinking vessels and other
:.-r rables,are) circulated as exotica in local elite-controlled exchange systems from the
-ts hter tenth century until ca. 700. Together with a range of other non-Greek imports,
-l rese vessels formed part of the banqueting sets found mosdy in funerary contexts
.i nd certain sanctuaries, and seem, therefore, to have answered a specific desire among
dre Cypriot elite to command imports from far and wide (Crielaard L999a).In the
kvant, by contrast, tenth-century imports at Tyre and Ras al Bassit were initially
dosed container vessels, implying the movement of commodities (perhaps fine-
quality olive oil), with a full table-setting appearing somewhat later.38 As noted, the
identiq, of the carriers involved in this trade remains a matter of debate, especially
s the late tenrh century also saw the beginning of Phoenician expansion westwards
s-hich proceeded rapidly thereafter (Markoe 2000: ch. 7).The establishment of the
iripillar shrine at Kommos dates to the early ninth century, the first Phoenician pres-
ence at Kition on Cyprus to the mid-ninth, and in Iberia, a phase of "precolonial"
contact was followed by setdement by the end of the century (Almagro-Gorbea 200I).
There is no shortage of possible carriers, and every likelihood that most routes were
equented by almost all nationalities at some point in this long period.
As in the west, the eighth century saw an increase in the volume, variety, and geo-
graphical sprad of Greek imports, raising the possibility of temporary or permanent
Greek settlement. FIere too, the full story falls outside our period, and we can only
rouch upon its beginnings. Perhaps the most debated case is that of Al Mina on
rhe river Orontes, the probable port of the neo-Hittite state of Unqi which had
its capital at Tell Tainat on the Amuq plain. Prior to the foundation of Al Mina,
-. t the very beginning of the eighth century, Greek imports (exclusively pottery)
*-_ _1 s-ere relatively few in number and found in high-status contexts (Crielaard 1999a:.
280-4). Thereafter, they increased gready in quantity, shape, range, and origin, includ-
irrg, by the second half of the century, Cypriot imitations of mainland vessels too.
\\ho controlled this flow? Did the coincidence of the foundation of the settlement
nd the expansion of imports represent a local re-orientation of trade, or a Greek
initiativef The question of whether (and at what point) Al Mina had a permanent
or seasonal Greek population remains open) and the partial publication of the site
makes arguments based upon find statistics somewhat risky. It is, however, worth
noting that the architecture of the early site fits local standards, and the pottery
tr :' assemblage does not look much like usual Greek kitchen kit. \44rile it seems an unlikely
Greek foundation, the idea of some seasonal residence remains attractive (Luke 2003:
rl esp. ch. 3).
0 Catlerine Morgatt

City Life
In the olc1 Greek u.orlcl the founclation of neu. settlements ancl merkecl expirnsion
at ahrost irll establishecl centers cl,rrir.rg the latter part ol the eighth ccutlrrv in r'-
ticular, raises neu,cllrestiolls about the u'ider r<le ol"cities." lVirat social urcl polit-
ical r-rcecls cur Lc seen in thcir rl'rvsical organizatiorl rncl thc fbnl olpu.blic builcling
and lantlscaping prjects unclertrkenf A certain iurorult crn bc 1ermt ti'orn tou'n pliur-
cven though thc krng-tcrm succcss of major scttlclncnts (r'rotablv Athcns: Prlrlurl1
r.rir.r9,
irncl Stamp'rolictis 2000) ler'cs r,rs clepcnclcnt u'ron thc vag1ries olrescnc erclr'tion.
It is certirinlY trllc thrt scttlcrlrcnts constmcted ir.r pl'rvsicallr, constr'.1inecl loctions -
isllrncl sites, lr1n\ ()f u.hich u'e lc choscn firr thcir clcfcnsii,c rotcntials') te ncl to be
lurore c()r-r-rp1ct, u'ith more eflbrt erpenclecl to aclapt eristir-rg builclings to ch:rnging
soci'.rl neecls thirn n.oulcl hrr,e been necesser\' hecl there been fl'eeclor.r.r to erpancl.
Where lincl s'as availlblc, ls lirr eumple, irt Corinth, Eretria, or Pherai, sr.nall rcs-
iclcntirl grourir-rgs rcplicltccl themselves over llrger irreirs (C. X,Iorgln 2003: ch.2),
inclicating rr clcsirc tc mrintrin the kincl ol kin iurcl/or resource-tocusccl tics that l'rc1
r,rnclerpimrecl previclus scttlcmcllt befire 'accerting rnv shift in scele or intcnsirr'. Whcre
house structrlres re u'ell presen'ccl, thcr, reveal sir-uil'.-tr provisiotr ilcross il u'iclc gccr
griiphicirl areil.+o Ar-rcl u'l-rcrc acccss rncl \\'ter suppl\, rerr-r-rittecl, rrcropoleis tirrrned r
focus ancl often a religious ccntcr) as 1t Atherls.ar But u'hether settlcnre rt c\pf,nsion
involvecl a scalar shift in intensitt, or sirrplv extensior.l acr()ss a u'iclcr rtrcl, the result
\\,ils r1r1 lrr.rprececlentccl ncccl to cier1 u'itl-r tl-re demancls of proximrrl rcsicicncc. Thus
"clitc" quarters could bc privilcgccl ovcr others,| \\'ater strpplies u.erc gutrclcd crre-
fulIr,, lr.rcl ri'e find tl.rc bcginnings of the mechanisr.ns firr con.rn.runi, rcgulirtiot.r
,hich cr-ne to complcnrellt custolnlrr\', oral la.. Orirclcs \\'crc rur in-rportrDt n'tcrllls
ol glining clir,ine approvrl f<r nc\\' ()r c()ntcntiolrs strategics: earlr, crr.l.ultltior-rs of
Delphi clc.rlt u'ith milttcrs such s religious prctice l l'r'rilitrrt' allii.rnces ;rncl tl.re aclop-
tion of lnvs, s u'ell as \\,estem colonirl vcntrlrcs (.N'lorgan 1990, I8-90), ar.rcl the rathcr
Lltcr rcc()rcl of Doclon;r shou,s rr lich conrpcnclium olissnes fi'on-t inhclitncc t() ()\'cl'
scas trrl\,cl (Parlie 1967 ch. ). Fronr thc seconc.l hallolthe seventh centun'onu'arcls,
lcg:rl inscri'rtior.rs, strch r1s th()se ()n thc tcmpic of Apollo Delphinios rrt l)reros ou (lrete
(NIL r"rr.2), r.rsecl the arrthoritv of u'riting r-rc1 clivir.rc slu1cti()n to rcinfbrce specific
provisions u'ithiu u'hirt probrrblv rcn-rrrinccl ir prir-nrrrilr,()r11 conte\t ('fhomls 1996;
C. Nlorgan 2003: 7-80). Prornir.rcr.rt rm()ng the erlicst nscs olu'riting \\'ere those,
such ;rs thc nurking of proper,irnc1 s.u-rctuan,cleclications, u1-rich crrloitccl thc longevin,
ancl exoticisnr oltl'rc u'rittcn u'orcl to pulrlicize;rncl rrolong tl.re signific;rnce of u'h,rt
hircl hithcrt<r bcen orllr, expressecl turclerstirnclir.rgs (Thonrirs 1992: 56-61).
Public rchitecture urcl pl.rnnir.rg - esreciallr. the eirrliest i1g()l's, u'ith tl-reir impli-
cation ol politic,rl cle Llte luvc long Leen seen s evidence fbr the er.nergence ol
tlre firrrr olp<rlcis fhmilirr in subsec-rent centnries (-Nlorgan irncl Coulton 1997 107-9).
In tl-rc old Greek u'orlcl, it is clelr tht thc f'om.rirliztion clf, tbr cxrulple, egor ilres
u'as r-r phent)n1er1()11 of the sixth ccr-rtur, onu'rrds, nc1 this hs drl'nvr-r unfirvcrirble
cor.nparison u'ith "aclr'u'rcecl" rcsic.lentirl ar.rcl public pl'.rnning in certrir.l colonics (e.g.
Megara Hvblae;r) u'hich irre sce n ils cn-riroclr,ir-rr politicrrl iclcls in rtlvancc ol tl'reir
 Tbe Earlt' Iron Age 1

motherlands.a3 Yet this is a false comparison. Topographical constraints aside, the

use of space in mainland cities - be they independent poleis, such as Corinth, or
poleis within ethne, srtch as Aigion in Achaea - was not "unplanned," but was, rather,
[.1 aticulated by a long history of social and economic relationships (C. Morgan 2003:
'-:- +8-71). It is, therefore, highly unlikely that changes in the use of space (in the areas
I-
devoted to certain activities and in the exclusivity of that association) would occur
r-_
-l in the same way and at the same time as in new colonial foundations. More striking
: _1- is the creation of new sanctuaries in both the old world and the colonies, in poleis
and ethne alike. As the case of Corinth well illustrates, shrines such as those at Perachora,
t t. Isthmia, Solygeia and the various cult places of the city itself, could be related within
phvsical and ritual networks which connected major centers to key points in com-
munity territory (villages, border locations, roads and passes), and which could be
L_-j augmented over time as settlements grew or declined in importance and social
:-- -'.. priorities changed (Morgan 1999b: ch. III.3; Bookidis 2003). They thus provide
a communal fiamework for thinking about territory and the place of individual
settlements, social identities and interest groups within it (De Polignac 1995a). This
-l
ertended to the symbolism of wealth and social persona in dedication, as noted above,
especially where particular forms of offering appear in greater quantities at certain
shrines within a region. In the Corinthia, for example, arms and armor tend to be
[_,i ollbred at Isthmia, and iron spits and orientalia at Perachora (Morgan I999b: 411).
But perhaps the most obvious change, at least in the southern and central mainland,
is the appearance of purpose-built temples from the late eighth century onwards,
.\ again in both independent poleis (such as Eretria) and poleis which were to form
-'J- p.art of ethne (Tegea. for example, or A.no Mazaraki in the territory of Aigion: Ostby
i: -1 1997; Petropoulos 2002). Across the Greek world, the very varied apPearance,
m-_:\ decoration, interior arrangement, and contents of these buildings point to a com-
!i plex range of motivations for their construction. Early seventh-century Isthmia
il t- seems to have served as an elaborate store for offerings and supplies for the rapidly
erpanding festival (Morgan 1999b 203,144-8), rvhereas thanks to its internal organ-
ization and sculptural scheme, "Temple A" at Prinias on Crete has been interpreted
san and.yeioz, or meeting house, akin to a Near Eastern warzeabhottse (Carter 1997:
8-9). All were, of course, votives in their own right, even if we can only guess
ar the mechanisms by which materials were assembled and labor commanded for
their construction.

Elites in the Eighth Century

Such changes form the context within which an escalation in other aspects of elite
status expression occurred through the eighth century. In most parts of Greece,
ristocratic wealth and power did not compare with that of the princes of eighth-
century Campania and Cyprus, or seventh-century Etruria and Latium (Morris I999b).
Erceptions tend to occur on the margins, where rulers were in regular contact with
eir non-Greek neighbors. Cumae is such a case, as noted, and at Eleutherna on
: ::l' Crete, the beheading of a captive at the grave of an elite warrior reveals the ability
 CHAPTER FOUR

The Eighth-century Revolution

Ian Morris

Introduction
I the eighth century sc the communities of central Aegean Greece (see table 4.1;
and
figure 4.1) and their colonies overseas laid the foundations of the economic, social,
.ilt.r."l framework that constrained and e'abled Greek achievements for the next
five hundred years. Rapid population growth promoted warfare, trade, and political
centralization all around the Mediterranean. In most regions, the outcome
was a
new form
concentration of power in the hands of kings, but Aegean Greeks created a

of identity, the equal male citizen, living freelywithin a small polis.This vision of the
go.rd so.iety was intensely contested throughout the late eighth century) but by
the
Ind of the archaic period it had defeated all rival models in the central Aegean, and r'vas

spreading through other Greek communities. only a minority of Greeks

were free male
.itir.,r., b.rt the struggles around this social category made Greek society distinctive.
Ever since a post-Mycenaean Dark Age was defined in the 1890s, archaeologists
have seen the eighth century as the beginning ofa revival from it. In
the first archae-
ological ,y.rth.ri, of early Greek history, Starr suggested that "the age of revolution,
Z|O_.O|Q,was the most dramatic development in all Greek history" (196I:99), and
f 5-84)
Snodgrass's interpretation of the period as a "structtlral revolution" (1980a:
has shaped all subsequent scholarship. Snodgrass argued that population growth stimul-
ated state formation, and that Greeks made sense of the changes goig on around
them through artistic, Poetic, and religious ir-rnovations'
In the 1990s some icholars suggested that this model exaggerated the scale of
collapse after 1200 BC, the depth of the Early IronAge depression, and importance
of the eighth-century revival (e.g., de Polignac 1995b; Foxhall 1995; Langdon\997a;
S. Morris 1992). They were right that the explosion of fieldrvork since the 1960s
had complicated the picture, syntheses (Lemos 2002) still reveal tenth-century Greece
as impoverished, simple, and isolated compared to the Late Bronze or
archaic ages'
The critics also pointed out that Greek society continued to cl-range throughout archaic
 Th e EiglLth -c c?ttu n' Rev o lt tti on 65

Northern
Greece

Wcstcn-r

(lrcccc
.'\
%o\.

I00 200 kilor.nctcrs

Figure 4.1 Four material culture regions in Aegean Greece

and classical times; post-eighth-century Greece inherited much from the Early Iron
nd even the Bronze Age; there were variations within the Greek world; and post-
eighth-century Greece had much in common with other Mediterranean societies. All
rhese assertions were true: classical Greece did not leap fully formed and unique from
Zeus' head in the eighth century in an absolute break with the past. But these crit-
icisms of the structural revolution thesis, nevertheless, missed the core point: there
ae few episodes in world history before the industrial revolution when a society expe-
rienced such profound change in the course of a hundred years. A quarter-century
of research has modified Snodgrass's model in many rvays, but its core features (demo-
gaphy, state formation, social conflict) must remain at the heart of arry balanced
discussion. The 1990s revisionists systematically avoided such economic and socio-
Iogical issues. The title the editors chose for this chapter - "the eighth-century
rer.olution" - is appropriate.

Background: The Dark Age

The destruction of the Aegean palaces around 1200 sc was part of an east-
Mediterranean-wide pattern. From Egypt and the Levant to Sicily and Sardinia the
66 lan Morris

fblki'ing centurics sau' recession, irlbcit 1t viltf ing sc'lcs rrttcl paces; bttt Grcece -
rrncl rirrticuhrlr, the centrrl Aegerrr-r - expericncccl the r.t.tost sevcrc collrrl-rse. Prpuh-
tion, cratt tcchnirues, ;-rncl socil l-rierrrrchv clcclir-rec1 il-r thc nvclfth ancl elcvcnth
centun'. Stnclirrds of living fell sharplr,; aclult heights ancl ages at cleatl-r u'crc lotver
thirn in Ltte Bror-rzc or clirssicirl timcs. houscs \\,ere st.nallcr irnd less u'ell br-rilt, house-
lrolcl goorls poorer, rnc1 civic u.nenities'.rlmost entireh'atrsct'tt (.Nlorris 2007).In the
I990sr.nrnvhistoriirr-rsrejcctccltheli-rbel "DlrkAge"tbrtl-repcrioclcr. 1100-750ec,
but life in Grcece ir.r tl-ris cr1 \\,1s r.norc s'rctchecl thi-rn at rur\' ()ther til.ne ir-r rntir-ritY
(scc c1-r. 3 irbrve ).

Economics
Dem.ography
fhc population of Greece , thc Aeger-ur bsil'r irncl its overseas colotrics,
c1cfinecl as
rrobrrblr. clotrblcci in tl-re cigl-rth centullr. This is, of coLrrsc, i1 gtless, rtttcl tt.t ;1\'eregc;
pop-ulirtion gre\\' nl()re rapidh, in sorre pl'.rces, si.tch rs Ettbtte ttcl Corinthia, th,ru
ir others, such irs thc u,cstem n-rlinlncl. Suoclsrrrss (1977r 1980a: 18-24) oltce sug
gested fi-ont grirve c()Lutts thrt gro\\'th reachcci 3-4 perccnt per rlrrrrllttt ir.r Athens
irncl Argos, llealting that popul1tion doublcd cven' f\\'ent\')Iears. I hirvc trrgtted that
ritual chirnges inflte the nurber of knou,n eigl-rth-ccntur\ gl'i1\'cs rclrtive t<t those
of the Drk Agc, mtrkir.rg grrl\'es no gttidc to cletlouraphv (Morris 1987; 1998b; cf.
Scheiclel 2004;r). Flou'ever, scttlemelrt excrtvatiot.ls nd surface stltl'cvs c1o shou'that
.ropul."rtion grcu.(Scheiclcl 2003; Morris in prep.). Aouncl 1000 the lirrgest conr-
rnur-rirics (e.g., Athcns, I(nossos) hircl rcrl'rlps I,500 pcople; b1,700 thet'l-rtrr.nlrcrecl
rt leilst 5,000 (l4orris 2006b).
Greek popultrticin grou'th \\'i1s pi-1rt of r broadcr Mecliterraneau revival. Dcslite tl-rc
difficr,rlties ol corr-rparing surl'ev drta (Alcock ancl Chern, 2004), rrelir-ninarv stttdr,
sllggests that 1-ropulation greu, cven,u'here fr<>m Iran to Ibcria in the eighth celttlltl'
(Niorris in prep.). Ag'.rin, tl-re prccise tir-r.rir-rg variecl, rnd locl frrctcrs such as Assl'rirrn
deportations coulcl luve clevastating conseqlrcnces, bttt thc geueral plttcrtt is clear.
Ihe rclsons are lcss cleirr, although the geogrirphical scalc of the phenomenot-t
probablr'n-rles out cultu'irl ti.ctrrs (e.g., chirr-rges in urerri;rgc pJttents or birth spacir-rg)
es the pritre rr()\'cr. L)emogrlpl'rcrs generirlll' argue thirt t.nort:tlitr, rrtes drit'c sustaiuecl
grrtu'tl.r ancl clecline, i-u-rc1 that the crogcnotts rliscr.tsc pool ancl clirlrrte lnatter more
than enclogcnons tictors.' ltor.n,n eviclcr-lcc sr-lggests thilt rulcicnt Nleditcrrirnerll PoPtt-
htions confrn'necl to "r1'.1tlrrl fbrtilitv rcgimes," in s'hich \\ionren bcgan bearir-rg
chilclren soon after nrcrlarche, ancl ccntir.mecl irs rrrpiclh, irs -rossible until deirtl-r (or,
firr tlrose \\'()riren s.ho livecl lor.rg errough) menopausc; Schciciel 2002;2007). In
l1ltrtral fcrtilitv regir-ncs, \\'omeu's il\-erilge age at cleatl-r lirrgclv cletert-l-titlcs popula-
tior.r size.
'fherc is some er.iclcnce th1t climtic changes might hn'e incrersccl agcs at cleatl-r
tcross rhc lvlecliterrurcirn. lletu.een 850 ancl 750 therc n'rs a broacl sl-rift liom a l-rot,
c1n' sub-Boreal clir-nrte regirne to a cool, u'ct sul-Atlirntic s\.stcm. Accorclir-rg t() ()Ile
 'l'h c Eightlt -c elr ffi, Ret o I uti on 67

--'-_ paleoclimatologist, "If such a disruption of the climate system were to occur today,
- .-- re social, economic, and political consequences would be nothing short of cata-
-:tl.r s[ophic" (Bradley I999: 15). Palynology reveals countless local variations, but the
'. cr general outcome was disastrous for temperate Europe, rvhere the main factor in
mortality would have been pneumonic infections in winter and the main limitation
'-,te on agriculture was cold weather and unworkably hear,y bottomlands, but good for
JC, e Mediterranean, where the main killers were intestinal complaints in summer (Shaw
, _:tV 1996; Scheidel 200I) and the main agricultural problem was interannual variability
in rainfall (Garnsey 1988). The cooler, wetter sub-Atlantic regime exacerbated prob-
lems in Europe and eased them in the Mediterranean.'
But whatever the cause, the consequence was more mouths to feed. Doubling
p'opulation usually means more than doubling society's problems. If 90 out of every
100 people had access to a socially acceptable level ofresources in 800 and the popu-
ltion doubled in the absence of other changes, then only 90 out of every 200 would
hare done so in 700. IJnless my estimate that the population doubled is very wide
J\, offthe mark, we must conclude that either (l) the numbers of the poor and hungry
-.ji multiplied dramatically, (2) resources were redistributed, (3) new resources were brought
- :11
inro use, (4) output per capita increased sharply, or (5) massive social dislocations
ensued - or some combination of the above.
, -lS

-..tt Responses
- )C

:i. Three broad categories of response were available: intensification, extensification, and
-.,tt reorganization. Intensification of agricultural production became possible because
population growth made more labor available. Inputs per hectare probably increased,
although the ratio of producers to consumers may have worsened. Greeks may also
har-e applied more capital per hectare. There are no signs of major technological advances,
--1e
although iron tools perhaps came into wider use; the earliest examples from a domestic
-- -r1' conrext date around 700 (Mazarakis Ainian 1998a), though their scarcity may reflect
:_1' e\cavators' priorities more than technological trends. Manuring may have increased;
- -i] the "haloes" of sherds around sites in some Greek regions now seem certain to be
refuse included in manure. But 75-80 percent of the sherds in Boeotian haloes are
classical (Bindiff2002: 30), and intensive manuring may have been a fifth- and fourth-
cenrury phenomenon.
Hanson suggests that irrigation and arboriculture increased in the eighth century
11995/1999b: 60-3, 77-81). Seeds from Miletus (Stika 1997) and Samos (Kucan
2000) reveal a wide range of fruits grown in the seventh century, and olive pollen
increases sharply in Messenia after the Dark Age (Zangger et al. 1997: 589-94).
But direct evidence for irrigation remains elusive. Similarly, despite advances in work
-.t on agricultural terracing, little is clear about the eighth century. Study of Iron Age
seeds and animal bones is in its infancy, but what data there are reveal stronger geo-
graphical than diachronic variations.3
The second response was extensif.cation, whether internal, external or long-distance.
In many parts of Greece, population apparently fell so low in the Dark Age that
good arable land was unoccupied in the eighth century. Surveys suggest that much
6B Ian Mot't'is

populirtion grori'th in the eighth iurcl seventh ccnturie s consistcd rf "intcrn'l cokrniza
tior.r." Lr Atticri, l)ark Age settlemcllt hacl fircusec-l on the coasts, ancl neu. sites appeared
ir-r inL-urd arcr-rs in tl-rc cigl-rtl-r ccnturt,. Thc "cxtcmll" r-r-rrroach \\,rs to tlke lrrncl fi'or-r-r
r-reighbors. Tl'rc clrssic cxanrplc is, rf coursc, Splrta. Dcspitc rcvisi<r'rist cliticisms
(Ltrraghi ar.rd Alcock 2003), m()st hist()rirrns bclicvc that Sparta conclucrccl Laconia
in the r-rinth ccntlrnr and rcduccci rnuch of thc populirtior.r to hclotagc, thcn tricd to
rcc.luce socill tensions br. repelting tl-ris in Messcnia, probeblr. in the 720s. Storics
of other late -eigl"rth-ccntu11, \\'rlrs l-n;-lv l-nc.rn thxt othcr gr()ups also triccl cxpansiorr,
but none \\'i'rs so successfirl.
"Long-clistirnce" ertensificrrtion first occurrecl befbre 750 at Pit]rekoussai urcl in
734in Sicilr,, ul-rer-r sor.ne Clreeks relocatecl to fbrtile lrncls fir au.r'. Nlanv settlcmcnts
rr<r clcrubt firilecl, ancl evelr the successful ones stxrtecl out small. De Angelis (2003: 44)
estilrates thirt Megirlir Hvblrcr incrcasccl fic>m about 225 rcoplc in the t'cars 725-700
to 2,275 bv 525-500. Pithekotrssai grcu'cvcn flstcr, rcrcl-ring 4,000 br, 700 (Morris
19961: 57).'I'he larqe nr-rmber ol(l<>rinthian, Eubocan, ancl N'Iilcsian colonies t.l.tust
hr'c rcchrcetl local probler.ns, but u'e shor-rlcl n()t cxaggeratc colouizirtiott's it-t.tr;-tct on
Aegeln porulatior.r. Scheiclel (2003) cstim'.ltcs thc tcta1 nunrber olAegear.r er.nigrants
benvccn 750 irncl 50 at around 30,000, problbli, just I-2% olAegeiru Greeks s'h<
lii'ecl in thosc vctrs.
1]ut coloniztiorl u'rs rro j1s r \\'.rv t() c\p()rt peoplc. Thc u'est cspcciirllt,Sicilr'
- hacl morc rrirble lancl than the Aegean, nd morc rclirlrlc rdnfirll (De Angelis 2000).
Bv 500 colonizrtion nrore thrur c1txrLrlccl the ru't'tonnt olarable l;rncl on'necl, ancl virstlt'
incrcasecl fixrcl procluction. Unusuallv l..rrge grain silos suggest thi.'tt scttlcrs rt
N{egrrra Hvblrca u,ere llreirclr'proclucir-rg bevonr-l snbsistence befbre 700. Whilc u'c
c1nn()t proi,e that thev erported grain to thc Acgcan, this seerns ven, like lr. (Dc Angclis
2002).
-fhe
t[-rird possiblc respollse to clenrogr;rphic pressurcs v'l.s rcotganization. Ef]icier-rt
propert\.rights ar.rd lou trlnsction costs cn be clecisive in cconomic g>u'th (North
198 I). We heirr scYcrl stories abollt irtteurpts to pr()motc frrn-rilr.pr()pcrties in tlris
reriod. Thcrc rc hints of eclual-sizecl, frrr.nilr'-nrr-r rkrts in carlv n'cstcrn colonies, i-tnd
Aristotlc c()lnmellts thirt Pheiclol-r of Cclrinth ,rr-rcl I'hikrlrros at Theles pirssed liuvs
to prescrvc tirn'rili'plots, rrob;-rblr.in the late eighth ccntlrn (Politics I25b13-1,
127431-l6). But other rcsirres persistecl: in seventh-centul1. Attica aristocratic
htpatridoi '.rprlrentlv helcl nrost li-rncl, s'ith the rror srrking it rrs shrrccroppersl
lackirrg sccnre propertr,rights (Aristotle, Constittttion oJ'Athens2.2).Thc rn()st fiulolrs
(ant'l rroblematic) st()n'hirs Lvcurgus tlivicle Laconiir irucl Messenia eqr,ralh,allrong
Srartiirtes, n'itl-r hclots l'orking it rrs shrrcc>ppcrs (Hodkinson 1992 2000).
Sonre cor.r.rr.l.lnnities probablv rcsxrnclccl to popuhtiorl gro\\'th bv rcclistributing lirncl
r.nore cr1ualh,, ir-nproving lancl : lalor rtios irncl rirising procluctivitr,,+ anc'l b1, ir.r.rpror'-
in5J prr4rcrfi, riehts, s iclces ol citizcnship becemc strorlgcr. fhis proc.lr-rccc.l r',rriecl
lirnclscrrres of ficc, pr()pcrt\'-o\\,ning trrt'ncrs, gencrallt, occupviug irbout as mlich lirncl
rrs i-r r-rlrclcr firmih' coulcl cflcctivch' u'orh bv itscll (Fo-rhlll 2003). FIou'o'cr, the o'id
ence is anccclotrrl, itntl u'c ci-u111()t c()nstrlrct 1 svstcmrltic picturc. Sin-rilarlr', u'hile thcre
is clerr evidcncc firr trrclc ,rncl thc ex'ransion ol Grcek settlcrncnt, therc is rrs vet no
\\'i'r\ to rlLlrlntifY tl.re girir.rs fror-n exploitir.rg cor.r-rparirtiYe ac-lr,ar]tases.
 Tb c Eig b tlt -c cl ttt ffl Rc t, o luti o n 69

''rL.

"-t - -Lt Li.ving stand,ard,s

.*:11
Despite their obscurity, Greek responses to population growth were apparently effec-
r lts -e. The evidence is coarse-grained, but as population rose, perhaps ten-fold between
.,- t
900 and 300, standards of living rose even faster (Morris 2004b). Skeletal measures
":o
of age at death and stature show some decline after 1200, then steady improvement
'Js
cross archaic and classical times. The data remain too unrefined to distinguish eighth-
century trends from later archaic ones, but output apparently kept pace with popu-
lation growth. The evidence for morbidity, nutritional stress, and physical injuries is
1l
more complicated, with inter-site variations overshadowing diachronic change (Morris
:\ 2007).
Data on housing are more abundant. The size and quality of houses declined after
..:\ lI00 nc, from median Mycenaean sizes around 70 m2 to about 50 m2 in the tenth and
ninth centuries. Mean house size changed little across the eighth and seventh cenflrries,
l:[
hovering around 45-50 m', but variation around the mean increased (table 4.1).
1., .t
Rich houses got richer, and poor houses poorer in the late eighth century. The only
!. . :\
-L)
nvo large buildings from the Dark Age, the Lefkandi "heroon" (ca. 00 m2) and
:
Thermon Megaron B (157 m2), seem to be special-purpose structures rather than
conventional houses, but around 700 the "Great llouse" (Hl9/22/23/28/29) at
Zagora on Andros probably covered 256 m2, and may have had a second floor. Only
one very small house, the Smyrna trench H oval house (14 m2, is known from the
-)'
Dark Age, but houses under 20 m2 proliferated around 700. Interestingly, most come
-',t
trom Naxos, Syracuse, and Megara Hyblaea in Sicily, where eighth-century houses
s-ere typicalll, just 4 x 4 m, suggesting that life was harder for the first colonists than
tbr Greeks r,vho stayed in the Aegean, but there are also small houses at Smyrna and
inZagora area J (Morris 2004a). Exceptionally big or small houses became rare by
. -.t
e late seventh century. Sixth- and fifth-century houses clustered tightly around the
.-t
mean, which rose to about 125 m2 after 525 (see table 4.1).
.\ Construction - stone foundations with mudbrick walls in most areas, but all-stone
l
construction in the Cyclades and Crete; thatched or flat, clay roofs - changed little
)
across Dark Age and archaic times, but the quality of workmanship declined after
1I00, then revived in the late eighth century. By 700, some houses had drains, and
.. c
bathtubs appeared in the seventh century for the first time since the Bronze Age.
-'I-\.
Clay roof tiles were used occasionally in the Bronze Age, and were common on tem-
t' ._\
ples after 675,b:ut only became normal on houses after 525.s
a

,i
Table 4.I 25th percentile) mear1, and 75th percentile of Greek house sizes (m2),
1000-600 nc
-,1
_-l Period Percentile
I 25 50 75

ca. 1000-800 nc 4o 50 ii
ca. 800-00 sc JJ 48 69
70 Inn Morris

Overall econormic trerud.s

L,igl-rth-ccntr-rn' Greeks intensificc.l, cxtcnsifiecl, irncl reorgirnized procluction. Tl-rc
cletrils arc ttnclcar,but trends in living stanLlarcls shou' thirt their responses u'orlicd.
In fi.rct, thc eighth centrrn.began one rf the n.lost sr-rstainecl rrnd rapid irnprovemcnts
in aggrcgate and per capita consumption knoun fiom thc pre-r.noclcrn u,orlcl.6
Wc c<ulcl conceptuillize thcsc rcsp()nses in terr.ns of a svstcm finding a neu' cclui-
libriun-r 1s cxogenotls clitnate ch,rngcs shified its clcmographic parrr-neters. Tcchno-
logical, ir-rstitutiot.tal, ancl lcg,rl snlsr.ster.l.rs irll reactccl, ftcclir-rg back ol.r each other tcr
I.nirintaitr birlauce, urcl triggcrir-rg firrtl-rer responscs in political rncl svrnlolic sub-
svstems (ct. llcnticu'1972). Since tl.re 1980s thcorics of tl-ris kincl hr'c lost fivor in
archireolog\',7 but a s\stems moclel docs r.nirke sense of Cireek histolr., u.l-ricl.r nrovecl
fi'orn a lou'-level Dark Age ec-iilibriur-n u'ith a sn'rall populirtion, poor lir,ing stancllrds,
limitecl hierirrchl,, ancl liuritecl cratis to a high-lcvel classical ecluilibrium (bv prcmoclcrn
stanclirrcls ).
Bnt uuclerstncling u'hat l-rirppcncd ir-r tl-re eigl-rth centlrrv irlso rccluircs icss rlstrct
fi'ameu'orks. We neecl to tri-1ce hou' inclividnrrls ancl groups corltestec.l the rvailable
rcsp(1scs) hou'corlrpctition lirnitecl their choices, u,hv certain rcsp()rlscs emergecl u'itl-rir-r
tl-rc Grcck urrld, and u'hv Grccks reactecl tcl shrecl ropr-rlation gr()\\'th difltrcntlv
f}om other -Nlecliterrirncln pcoplcs.

Social Structures
All the responses sketchec.l :rbove ri'ill har.c strair-rcc-l pre-eristing socil relationsl'ri'ls.
For exar.nple, extensification (u'hethcr intemal, cxtcrnal, or long-clistirr-rce) lrigl.rt creirte
sturcl\'inclepcnclcnt farmcrs, ()r support the rise of u'ealtht, lirncllords, depcnding rn
u'l-ro is inrrh'etl rrncl hou' capiti-rl is clistributccl; but it is unlikeh' sir-r-rrlr. to reproduce,
on,r lirrger scl1e, thc rclations of procl-rction th1t previouslv appliecl. Similarlr,, ir.rter.r-
sification might u'ic.len gaps betu.cen pcsilnts u.itl-r capitirl and those u,ithout, or r-r-rigl'rt
elrc()urgc kin or vilhgc-basccl c(x)peration, ;rgirin clepending on hou' it is org;urizec1.
As eighth-centurv Grccks scrrrnblccl to makc a living, their clecisiol'rs gcncratcd rcsist-
nce irncl conflict.

State forru.tion
A major olrtcomc \\'rs thc creation of someu'het llorc orgar-rized irncl centrrlizcd
I
sirt' "s()lnc\\,hr1t," lecattse com'r'arecl t() m()st ancieut stiltes, eighth-
cot-l-tt-t-ttu]ities.
centlirl. Greek orglr.rizrtions \\'erc vcnr u.cak (cf. Trigger 2003:7\-27 5). Sonte his-
toriiurs (e.g., Berent 2000; Hansen 2002) even clcbrtc u,hetl-rers,e shoulc.l call classical
1t
o I ei s " stateless socictics. "
Territoriirlll' extensive politicirl orgar.rizations probablv cxisted befbre the eightl-r ccrr-
tnn', n'ith local chiefi (perhaps cllcd ltasilcis) hirving soure influence u,ithin p1rticu1l1r
villagcs or groups of i'illages, ancl cor-r.rir-rg together in lirrgcr confeclerations firr c.lefbnsc,
religion, u-rc1 pcrhaps tracle (cf. Doulan 1985). These confc1errtions probabli, recognizecl
 Th c Eighth -c clt tu.t'it Rcy o I uti o n 7l

one chief as paramount ruler. Coldstream (1983) noted that Dark Age pottery styles
otien coincide roughly with the borders of later poleis, suggesting that these organiza-
- :rc rbns grerv out of earlier spheres of cultural and perhaps political interaction. Archae-
: t1. ologs cannot prode direct evidence for political institutions, but the most plausible
::ltS .ory is that the eighth century's challenges provided incentives for chiefs to work
rogether more closely, forming something like primitive states; and that those chiefs
:- -:l- so s,orked together successfully had advantages over neighbors who did not, forcing
---
() - e neighbors either to copy them or be replaced by more organized rivals. As this
o process went on, offices and powers were increasingly formalized, and rudimentary

-'l-
rates took shape.
-in For the purposes of this chapter I take "state" to mean "coercion-wielding
:il rganizations that are distinct from household and kinship groups and exercise clear
-- -1S
rioriq,in some respects over all other organizations within substantial territories.
'
::l-ll he term therefore includes city-states, empires, theocracies, and many other forms
f gor.ernment, but excludes tribes, lineages, forms, and churches" (Tilly 1992: l-2).
' -at
-- -'-:e st;rte" u'-rs nomralll' one ol mnv ()rgi-lnizatious u'ithin a gi"'eu areir, c-lefiuecl
ris superiorifl,o\,er other orgirnizirtions in u'iclcling fbrce. Its ofEcirls r.r.rigl-rt clair-r-r
:t't r monopolize legitimate violence within a given area, but rarely actually did so.
: -
--r' lather, "a state is an organization with a comparative advantage in violence, extend-
rg over a geographic area whose boundaries are determined by its power to tax
onstituents" (North 1981:21). It makes litde sense to try to set a threshold, saying
har coercion-wielding organizations of a certain size and power count as states and
hose that are smaller and weaker do not; rather, we should imagine a continuum
rf organizations and the eighth century as a time when, in most parts of Greece,
- l. olitical organizations got more powerful. As population grew) the tempo of state
.'- -:c f,rmation accelerated, but Greek states remained weak by east Mediterranean stan-
rards (Morris \99I;1997a; 2001a).
-n
i :uggest thirt eiglrtl-r-ccntrir\, chief} fburrcl that Dark Age institr-rtions (u'hatever
,l
-.:i u.erc) no longer urrkccl u,ell. Populatior-r grou,tl-r seriouslv lflcctecl lccess to
'
.lt
.:.1. crazir.rg) \\'i.1tcr) hor.rsing, rituals, rncl clccisior-r-r-nl-rking. Frmilies tl-rat hircl flour-
.; ,.rJrl under the olcl rrcicr nou'strugglecl; others tht hcl strugglecl uou'flottrishec1.
.. ---ret's u'ho clicl not clerl u'ith the conflicts this created urr.rlc1 rl()t last long, but tl.rose
---,r cliri resolve them, succcsslllv managing lar:ger groups olpeoplc, bccltnc much
--,rr-e rou'erfirl tl-ran Dark Age ltasileis. The cl-raller-rges and opportunitics u'ere prob-
-r.\'gre1test in larger t()\\'11s) like I(rossos, Athct-rs, ancl Argos, and in settleinents
like Corinth and Eretria, which grew from almost nothing to several thousand people
in the eighth century.
It seems reasonable to imagine increasing tensions between villages as well as within
em, with regional chiefs facing similar problems as village-level leaders did. No doubt
many solutions were uied, but across archaic times limited political centralization was
e most effective. Local chiefs/basileis agreed to work together, surrendering some
po\\.ers they had previously exercised within their villages in return for a share in
broader powers in a larger territory. It must have taken time for the boundaries of these
larger territories to crystallize, as leaders addressed various urgent questions. Should
Eleusis join Athens, even though Eleusinian chiefs might be junior partners, or try
72 Ian Morcis

to go it i-rlonc) Coulcl Argos tolcrirte Asine as an indepencleut orgar.rizationi De Poligr-rac

(1995a) rlausiblv sllggests that thc plrrcement of rcligiotis silnctuaries hclpecl fbn.r.rr'rlizc
fi'ontiers in the lirte eighth cclttur\'.
As u'ell as u.orkir.rg or.rt the geogrirpl-rical scillc ol their rolitical orgauizltious,
mel.nbers of chiefli, councils l.rircl to negotiate \\'hat po\\'crs thc\' \\'i1l1tecl ccntr'Il
institutior-rs to hlvc, anc-l u'hat thev u,antecl to prcsen'e '.rt the local level. Again, corrflict
u'as inevitirblc. Sonre cl-riefl mirv hrve been chlmpions of sr.r.rall g()\'emnrent) \\'ant-
ing the centrl couucil to lc ln il'rstitution of tl'rc last resort, perhrrps orgattizir-rg r-r-rljor
u'irrs, nrling on clispr.rtes that c()uld n()t be resolvecl locall1,, trr.rcl keepir.rg pcircc befir'een
the bnsileis, but rkring littlc clsc. ()thers r.nrrv hru'c \\'1ntecl officills lilie the arclott
c'r hosu,tos to be irble tr replr-rce locll clrstoms s.ith cctrtralizecl rules, cxtract resollrccsl
end run religior-r. Pcrsorralities rncl rcciclents ll-rlrst have plavccl a huge rolc in locl
oLltc()mes) \'et thcre 'as a slott', overall trcnc-l tou'irrd cctrtrrlizrtiot].
Most likelt'\\'1r \\'.rs tl.re ir.nr-r-rccliatc cirtalvst. Cor.urcils cl Lnsilcistt'ho could not figl-rt
off nrorc cfl'ective ncigl-rbors urulcl be replacecl [\, ot.tcs u'l'rr coulcl. (]oturcils ltld
t6 mobilizc nc1 train n,arriors, lnc.l trbove ,rll, mirke sure thilt chiefi pttllccl togethcr,
bringing their rncn to figl-rt ertcrnl enemics. We might lcrrci the lliod ncl Odysscl'
as bcir-rg cautionar\, trrlcs about thc costs of intrl elite conflict." Wi-ren Agrrmetlit-totr
rrrcl Achilles feuclecl ovcr tittii, onlv the 'l'rojans prclfitecl; u'hctr the sttitors refirsecl
to ct cleccntl),, Ithilcr becantc l tirilecl statc, onlv srr,ed tiom srsi.r bv clivir.re ir-rter
vention. It is tl'rcreforc not surprising tl.rrt tl-rc crrrliest lrru'coclcs ct.t.rphasize rrocerlttrc
or,er subsr'.uce ((iaglrin 198: 6-17; scc rlso ch. 20, bclou').'l-he cocle fl'or.rt Drcros
(ce.625) lr,rs the to'r officiirls -thc hosruos,rhe druioi, '.rncl the Tu'ctrtv of the Cit'
- s\\'eilr rl()t to co()pe rte u,ith uu,one u'ho trics fo be hosutos nrore thtlt ottce it-t tctt
i'ears (NIL no. 2; Fontlra no. II). Ilefirsal to surrenclcr offices retn,riuecl ir probicrt.t
irrto tl.re sixtlr centurr' (e.g., Aristotle, Contittttiott 0.t''Athcns 13.2).
The precisc fbrnts rf cigl.rth-ccnturi, roliticrrl orgirnizirtious variecl. Thcre u'as a
qenerrl trencl tou'arcl r.nrking tl.re olcl rcgional basilcis figureheacis or t.lttttll oflicials
clcctecl firrr-n an tristocrrrtic collegc. Spartrr, ls so often, \\-i-1s i-ur e\cepti()l)r l<eepir-rg
nr.o kings u.ith vert' real rou,ers, pcrhirrs as ir c()nlprol.t.tisc n'hett villirgcs roolecl tl.rcir
pon,cr ir-r thc ninth or cighth centurl'. Sonretir.r-rcs. rs in seventh-cclttlltl'Athctrs, rt.lrro\\'
lristocrrrcics Lrsecl stiltc institutirrr-rs to pcga their ou'l-t intcrcsts; elses'hcrc, the l-lteu
s'ho controllccl stirte offices ue{r()tiatccl u'ith thc 1111ss of citizens.
lJt sttc institntions u'ere alu".rvs u'e.rk. (lonfiscirtecl propert\', firles, \'()lulttarv
crntributions. anr-l ir-rclirect taxes on nritrkets ncl hirrbors were thcir mirit-t sctltrccs of
rcvcltlle in irrchrric tir-r-res: dircct tax-rtion u's alu'avs consiclerecl ir-rconrptrtible l'it['r
fl'ccclour. Str-rtcs u'cre thercfirre poor. 'fhcv orgauizecl t'arfi.rrc, but ir.rclividttirls lore tl-rc
rnrin costs (anror, trrrinir.rg, firod). Fleets brrelv existcd bcforc 550. Fortifictrtions
u,ere sinrple. States ls() plicl fbr sor-nc rcligior.ls activitics, irttcl tet.t-tplc br-rilclir.rg r.nav
htr.e been thcir ntair.r ()utl\r. But srles of phurcler rfier nrilitrn, r'ictrtries probablv
crrvcrccl r.n;rny ol the costs. Thcse senerelizrtior-ts irppliecl a Jbrtiori in thc cightlt
cct.rtul1.. Put simplr,, sttcs clicl not c1o r-nuclr ercept keep thc L)crlcc, cirll r.rp thc rrt-uv
firr n'irr, r-urd spencl l'inclfirll profits or.r tcrnples. l,r'er-r orglnizing color.rial vcutures
l'nav h..rve bccn lirrgelv ir-r privirte [rtr-rc1s.
 Th e Eigh tlt -c entu t i, Rct o luti on 73

- -1qn'c
Egalitarianisrn
:'r.'r1izc
In addition to resistance from aristocrats eager to preserve their own powers) state
-.:ions, officials also faced resistance from below. The strength of male egalitarianism and
:entral communal solidarity in the face of would-be rulers were, in comparative terms, the
: nflict most unusual and most important features of archaic society. By 500, in some poleis
:.'r\-.Ult- ev produced d.rnohratia, opening decision-making to mass male participation.
: :l]i'Iior The immediate cause of the shift in political power toward the poor in the late
- i-een slrth century (Robinson 1997) was new ideas about egalitarianism, but late-archaic
-.;'clon der-elopments built on the eighth-century revolution, which redefined ideas of com-
-lrccs, munity and equality that had grown up since the eleventh century. Explaining this
r loc'.-rl - e heart of the eighth-century revolution - requires a long-term approach, encom-
pessing the whole Greek world, and combining archaeological and textual data.
^\fter a chaotic period in the twelfth and eleventh centuries, a new ritual system
rmed in the central Aegean by 1000. It drew a line within the community. The
linerals of people of property, well-off peasants as well as chiefs, produced dis-
tinctive burials with high archaeological visibility (Morris 1987), and the worship
on the gods largely, though not entirely, went on inside chiefs' houses, physically
Iimiting the number of people who could take part (Mazarakis Ainian 1997). Poorer
Greeks, excluded from both these arenas) were rendered archaeologically almost
inrisible.
But having divided the community into two groups, Dark Age rituals denied strong
.lisdnctions within the upper group. Burials, cult, and housing were all simple and
homogeneous. The broad Dark Age elite effaced conflict, dision, and difference within
fus orvn ranks. Its rituals also made sense of the post-Mycenaean world of poverty,
foolation, and decline, drawing sharp lines between present and past, and the local
'
- iYils context and the broader world (Morris 2000: 208-38).
-iicials The expansion of Mediterranean trade around 900 challenged this ritual system,
' :cpir.rg nd it broke dorvn completely after 750, as population growth and connectivity soared.
- -r thcir \cs'rituals - more open, competitive, and varied - flourished. We see them at Corinth
Llrro\\' rs early as 775, then at Athens, Argos, and Eretria by 750. The evidence is poorer
-!- lltclt dservhere in central Greece, but elements of the new ritual package are nonetheless
ridely apparent by 700. Large cemeteries open to the whole community appeared,
. -1nti1fv t first with great variations in burial forms, grave goods, and monuments. Simultane-
..:ces of ouslr', open-air sanctuaries proliferated, with millions of dedications, ranging from
-'ri'iti.l household pottery to precious metals. fu noted above, people built the first really big
- )rc thc houses, and larger numbers of really small ones. The new rituals recognized a broader
- i;tti()ns ,ommunity than before, and made room for difference and competition.lo
'-g lIil\, This redefinition of community was the core of the eighth-century revolution. The
, r[a[lr. old ete/non-elite boundary started dissolng in the central Aegean. We cannot prove
'- cishth drat population growth caused this massive ritual upheaval, but given the responses
.a nIY m demographic pressure and the forces of state formation described above, the con-
r 11 [Llres oection seems likely. The earliest literature implies conflicts between mass and elite
nd rvithin the elites. There is no way to link texts directly to artifacts, but I would
/+ Ian Mon is

like to describe rte possiblc set of connecti()11s, tvhich, I believc, lccottilts ibr illl
the availablc evidcrtce.
Populirtion gr()\\,th causccl redistributions rf pou'cr trll arottttcl the Mccliterr1lleilll
i the eigl'rth ccl1tLu1,(gencrtrllr,, sce Rubt, 1999). In Italr', bnriels stlgsest thrt thc
first strong chicfi er.r-rerged, irncl in Srrclinir tire Earlv Iron Agc lords reached the
peirk 6ltl-reir u-ealth ancl potr,er. In Sicili', sotitheru Frrnce ltlcl estertl Spain, clevel-
,r',,.,-,"rrt. u'cre sktu,er, but there is also goocl eviclcnce fbr ilrcreasir.rglv cer-rtrrlizecl
u,ealth anc-l political po\\.er bet*,ecn 800 and 500.rrln the eastcru Meclitcrrtrtlelt.t,
g,here tcrts proviclc r fuller picture, Egtpt irr.rcl Assvrir sirn' lrcal instittttiol.ls fltlurish
irt the crpensc of central courts in the micl-cigl-rth ccltttln'. In Assl'ri tl-ris lhirsc,
k<ru,r1 as "rhe lnren,al" (783-744), encled ri.ith figlath-Pileser III's coup aud tratls
fbrrnatir of ror,rl po\\'cr) rnd ir.r Egr,rt tl'rc Nubitrr-r 25th Dvl'rasn'also br,rilt strollgcr
cclttral istittions. Ir-r Ar.ratolia, ,,-r. pl-r1,giln at-rcl Lvdirn kingcloms bcc'.rue major
firccs in tl-re cigl-rth cettttttl'.''
O11. i1 tl-rc Aegc..rn, it seeurs, dicl thc cighth ccnttul' rzor prrclttcc nlore pou'crfirl
kir-rgs. Thcre, [rcal chieti p-ro<tlcc-l thcir rcscttrccs trt fort.l.t oligarchic collegcs, rrtltit-tg
thrugh liritecl-tcrrn oflices. 13r, 650, anv m1lt u'ho u'oulcl be hir-rg u'irs r-narginalized
,ts ,t tlrapos. ar-r illegitimate usurper. The most inlp()rtent qtlestiolls to irsk rbout thc
cightir centlrn, :rre hou. ,rnci u,hv thc central Acgeirn mot'ccl t()\\'1rd male citizensl.rip
ratl-rer t1-r,-,1 kigship. I scc fgur relevant virriablcs: histott,, ecot-totnics, l'itr, ancl rcligion.

History

Bt,750, there s.rs ir cluarter-r.nillelrniur.r.l-olcl trldition of hontogcneor:s l)arh Agc elitcs,

clenl,ig iternai cliflerences rrncl competitiol-r irt tl-rcir rituirls. Dirrk Age regiorlrrl bnsilcis
claimir-rg tlre rigl-rt to c<tn]r-r-Lrncl lcsser local rulers tnust h'.rYe beetl pri ttti ittttt'pot'ts,
g,itl-r Iimitccl p()\\ers. By the cighth centlul tl'ris lcgacv of elitc hcltnogcnei', ls ()lcl
to eigl1th-centun, Grcelis as the Enliglrtenment lcgacl' is to tls) lrl\' I-raYc been i1 scrioLls
iclcol<tgical [arricr firr r.ltcn trr.ing to centrtlizc po\\'cr ir-r their <ls'lr hatlcls'

EcLttt ottt ics

1 archiric Grccce, therc u.erc lto \.er\r rich meu. lleroclotus u'as it.llpressccl that the
A-renir Clleir-rias (Alcibiac{es' fither) paicl firri1 triretnc fi'or-n his oun rocket in 480 nc,

but also s..1\,s thilt in thc s;-u-ne \rerr a L'cliirn tttrt-ttccl Pvthios o1}recl Xerres 2'000
talets 9f silycr and 3,993,000 gold darics (8.17;7.28). The ricirest eigl-rth-centurl
Greeks r.r.rav sir-nph, h,rve lcked the ri'hereu'ithal to set ther-nseh'es lbove rir','rls rl'ho
\\,rurtecl to keep ther.r-r ir-r chcck. Possiblr' thcre u'cre extrcmelv rich I'neu in thc nir-rth
irr.rcl cigl-rth centuries u,hosc estiltcs u,erc brrkett r.rp in tl-rc sevcuth i-rr-rcl sixth centttries;
H<;rer has Eut1tacus S1\' th1t "l1ot evetl t\\'ellt\I tllell Pnt together hlYc slch qret
n,elrltlr" rs Oc1\,sscus (Ort. 14.98-9). Rut thc u'erltl'r he clcscribcs - 59 flocks of co's,
slreep, grats, ancl rigs, plus i1 tl'cesttre root-n guirrclccl bl'iru olcl lrdr' (Od.2.337-47;
14.9-104) - tyould not hiu,e impressecl Lvcliirns or Phrt,gians, let trlouc Assvrit.t'
or Egr,-rtitu.rs. If sor-ne Dark Agc arist()crilts rerllv clicl staud otlt fbr their u'e'.rlth, 'c
woulcl ncecl to expl'.rir.r u,hv none of thet.n (erccpt, perhirrs, tlte one buried uncler
thc Letkrndi irpsit'lal builcling) left rnv signs rf it.
 Th c Eighth -cct Ltt n'\, Rc v o luti ott 78,

Wnt,

It a handfut of warriors dominated the battlefield, they might be able to centralize

po\1'er. Great heroes certainly swept all before them in the llind, though Achilles'
*ills weakened, not concentrated, political power. Further, it seems as if Homer told
' :,- sories about how he thought great heroes owgbt to act, set against a contemPorary
-,-'l realitv of mass infantry armies (van Wees 1997; 2004). Certainly in the seventh
nd sixth centuries there was no scope for super-warriors to slice their way through
r.-l lidzen armies, and this had probably been true for several centuries previously.

Religion
One of the strongest contrasts between archaic Greece and the Near East was the
importance of divine kingship and priestly castes in the latter and their almost total
bsence in the Aegean. West Asian kings regularly claimed special access to the gods,
supported by powerful temple institutions, and Egptian kings claimed to be gods.
Religion may have been an important source of social power in the Bronze Age Aegean,
but not in archaic times. Mazarakis Ainian Q,997) argues that Dark Age chiefs con-
ducted religious ceremonies in their homes and appealed to divine authority. The
'l carliesr texts claim that good basileis receive wisdom and protection from the gods
Hesiod, TheogonyTg-93; cf. Od.yssey 8.166-77), and Martin (1984) shows that these
ideas probably go back to an older hexameter advice-poetry tradition. We should
probably assume that Dark Age basileis claimed privileged access to the gods, and
rhat many Greeks accepted this. The separation of secular and divine power that
-\lazarakis Ainian traces between 750 and 700 was one of the most important soci-
ological developments in Greek history.

\Ye cannot assign primacy to history, economics, war, or religion: all four factors
turned together in a tight circle, multiplyrng each other. They raised barriers to
s.ould-be great men who tried to exploit the new possibilities of the eighth century
tbr their own ends. A fbw men succeeded, becoming the archaic tyrants so reviled
in the literary tradition, but it seems important that as early as Solon and Theognis,
topoi about tyrants insisted that they appealed to the mass of citizens for support
against a corrupt aristocracy (McGlew 1993).
I suggest that as the Dark Age aristocracy fragmented in the eighth century)
producing the fluidity and competition we see in the archaeological record, appeals
to the poor (exemplified by the assembly debate in Od.yssey 2) became increasingly
important. Champions of old visions of an undifferentiated elite reached out across
the barriers between elite and non-elite, to preserve the principle that no one aristocrat
should dominate the others. The fact that kingship did not take hold suggests that,
bv and large, they succeeded. But the price they paid to defeat would-be kings was
the collapse of the old elite/non-elite boundary. Increasingly, the old elite conceded
i that the whole male community now belonged to a relatively undifferentiated group.
The old elite homogeneity was generalized to the entire resident male population,
creating a new category of identiry, the citizen (polits), and a new definition of com-
munity (polis).
76 Ian il[on"is

T[]e lrtc-eishth-ccntrtn' stru-qgles transfbmecl cllder nrtions about class, uenclcr,

ethnicitr', the pirst, the east, LIrc-l thc qocls into nvo bro;rdlv opposec.l icleologics th;rt
I htrvc calleci "lnicldliug" irncl "elitist" (Morris 2000: 155-91). Ancient llthors c1()
not self'-ic'lcntih'in this \\'a\'; the midc'lling/elitist o-r'rosition is a moc1el thrrt siruplifies
a rlore cotnrler ancl urtstrblc reirlitr'. But this is the poir-rt of moclels (Morris 2000:
159-l). Tl-re sirt-rplc miclclling/elitist c()ntrast lrkes scnse of r ranse of phenorncr-rrr,
fi'orr thc poelrs thel.nselvcs to coinage (I(urkc 1999), burials, l'rousc clcsign, anci cult
practiccs (trlorris 1998a).
'fhc core of the midclling icleolog\, \\'1s thc idea that all lrcal men \\'cre rrorc or
lcss tl-re satttc, aucl thirt all others - fbreigr-rers, \\,omcn) slavcs - u-crc utterly clif]br-
eltt. TIte onlv lcgitir-nlte allthorin' cu-ne from u'ithir-r thc locirl ntrrlc coml.nnnin,. Appcals
t() ties \\'ith gods, easteru tlonarclts, and rncicnt heroes \\.ere \\'orthless. Fllitists claimccl
preciselr, the op-rosite: their ciivine, oriental, ancl heroic c()nnecti()ns set their aboye
the rabble, rncl the\, .rione shoulcl rule.
The rtticlclling poets u'cre rich rlcr-r, singing for othcr rich mcn. Thev u,cre not
pr()to-clemocrrts. -lhrougl-rrtrt thcir poetr\,, thct, insistcd that thct, shoulc-l mlc, but
shotrld do so rs plrticularlv u'ise reprcsentativcs of tl.re rloclerate citize n comlnur-rit\..
Tl-re firstvcrbirl errrcssirn of the miclclling philosophv comes in Hesiocl's Works and
Dars. f the beginning ol Grcck literarv production, rrotrnd 700, ancl thc rrchaeo-
logicirl o'icleuce fbr thc reclefir'ritior-r ol communitl, rlakes it sccm likelv that tl-rese
attitlldcs toctk sl.rapc ()\'cr the prcvious generlti()n or t\\'(), il-r thc lrrtc eig[rth ccl-ltlltl.
-fhe
elitist visiou, I snggcst, fbnr-rcc{ in o-rpositior-r to miclclling iclcologies in the srrme
reriocl, ancl the varirbilin' of the htc-eighrh celltLlr\r arcl.rrreological rccrrcl reflccts
the i-rsc of n.litterial culture to e-\prcss competir-lg visions of the grocl societv.rs
'I-hc issucs hircl to Lc urrked ()Lrt separtclv ir-r each of tl-re firmative polcis,
"tncl
11o t\\'() fbllou'ccl cxacth' tltc srt.ne path. On thc u,hole, centrl Aegciur cclr.llntu'rirics
ctnbracecl thc miclclling iclcologv Lv 700. A stable s\mb()lic svstem cler.elopecl ir-r tl.re
sevellth cetltttll', featuring toor, hor-r-rogcncous qravcs ir-r largc celleterics. Warrior
lLrrials clisapper-rrec1. Sluctttrries lccrrr.ne thc mair-r contcxt fbr spcnc-ling, chicflt' on
claborate cott-ttt'lttual tertlplcs. Peorlc declicrtccl ven. lrrgc r-runtters olpoor o1L:rings.
Ricl-r r.l-retal olllrincs continuccl Lurtil about 50, btrt then dcclir-recl. Elaborrte oricntaliz-
iug ntotifi tverc tat.necl. Houses slclu'h, gre\\' lirger, ancl their clir.ersin, cleclinccl, trr.rtil
bv 600 tterrh, irll tvcre tnrtlti-ro()r'n rectilincrr strulctlrrcs arourld central c()urtyarcls
(Morris I998ir: 13-3I ).
But tlris, likc tl-re miclclling icleokrgt. itself-, is a moc{cl sinrplifi,ing a morc cor.nple-x
rcaliq'. At Athetts, trcnds \\'erc rcversecl rrouncl 700, irncl clistinctlv rld-1isl-rioncd
ritttals otrcc i-rgain clir.iclecl thc cor-l-lr-r-nu-ri, in thc seventh centlul. Lr Ior-rii.t, sol-ne ol
the Cvclrrclcs, arrcl Bocoti;r, the firll lrchric ritui.rl package onh,appcarcd arolurd 550,
Lr'u'hich tirc Athens hlcl returnccl to thc general ccntrrl Aegean plttcm.r+ L.r tl-re
\\'csterll col()nies thcrc u'erc plrrr-ruecl scttlelnerlts at Naxos, Svracuse, ancl N,Ieqarir
Hr'lrlea betirre 700, but fu,conrr-r.mr-ritics hacl thc resourccs to build mirjor tcn.rples
firr anotltcr hr-tnclrecl t'clrs. 'I'he large eighth-centlrn celretcn at Pithekoussai (13uchner
irnd Riclgu'irv 1993) is cltrite likc coutcmporarv ccntrill Acgeirr.r gravevirrcls, but f'eu,
cigl.rth-centnn' Lrtrriirls are kuott.t-l fl'on.t other sites; rir-rcl in rrrcl-raic and classicll tin.res,
Sicilian ccmeteries \\'crc nlorc r,rriecl thrr Aegci.u-r oues (J;-rckr-r.ran 2005).
 The Eighth-centurl Revolution 77

Greeks outside the central Aegean and its colonies shared in some, but not all, of
- -lt ese developments. Cretans and western mailanders built temples like Aegean Greeks,
nd s'esterners may have pioneered the new rel-igious practices (but see ch. 14, below).
\\tstern mainland settlements and cemeteries remained small until the sixth century)
nd are poorly known; Sparta, which responded to the eighth century so distinctively,
has produced almost no archaic remains other than its temples, although the recent
Iconia survey (Cavanagh et aJ.. 1996;2002) may change that. Cretans also opened up
eir cemeteries like Aegean Greeks in the late eighth century, but mornrary variability
increased on Crete throughout the seventh century, with warrior burials remaining
Etopular. Warrior burials and mounds were also popular in northern and western Greece .
Onlv at e end of the sixth century, when the elitist ideology collapsed, did regional
pftems converge (Morris I998a: 36-8; Whitley 20Ol:231-55). In the fifth century,
trroadly similar rhythms operated in material culture all over the Greek world except
ibr Crete, which we are only now beginning to understand (Erickson forthcoming).

Culture
Ihere are hints in the texts drat the conflicts of the eighth century were sometimes
settled by violence, but the main arena of debate was probably cultural. The period
sarv an explosion of cultural innovation. Eveq,thing from mythology to house design
n-as rurned upside down. Archaeological sites give an impression of feverish energy.
Eighth-century settlements have much thicker deposits than Dark Age ones, reflect-
ing a fienzied level of building, demolition, and rebuilding; and they simply have
rore material culture .
Art historians regularly speak of the late eighth century as the start of an orient-
alizing period, when the Greeks, drawn into a wider Mediterranean world as popu-
lation and trade grew, saw and adopted Near Eastern designs. This is reasonable,
but the most significant development was the Aegean Greeks' redeployment of Near
Eastern techniques to respond to the unique social issues of the conflicts between
middling and elitist ideologies.
The most obvious example is the Greek alphabet. Greeks had known of Near Eastern
scripts since at least 900, but only developed their own writing, based on west Semitic
consonantal scripts, around 750. The adapter improved the script's ability to repres-
:\ enr vowels, but the remarkable thing about the earliest Greek inscriptions is how
-,1 many of them are poetic (Powell 199I: 119-86). This usually means one or two
i lines (mostly hexameters) scratched on pots, but since Albert Lord's pioneering work
i ,I-ord 1953), most Homerists have believed that around 700 sc someone took down
bv dictation the 28,000 lines of e lliad. and Od1xey, the 2,000 lines of the Theogony
and Worhs arud. Days, plus countless lines of now-lost poems (|anko 1998). There
are competing theories, imagining a drawn-out process of fi-xation without texts (e.9.,
Nagy I996a: 65-l\2), which raise interesting questions but seem less plausible.
There is little evidence for commercial writing before the sixth century and none
at all for scribal bureaucracies of Near Eastern types" to comPare with the poetic
inscriptions and the likelihood of major dictated poems. Powell (I99I; 2002) has
78 Inn Lorcis

irrgr.rccl tl'rirtthc rnirin impetns fbr the creation of the irlphirbet u'as to fix in u'riting
ilccounts of thc p,.rst, rlt 1 timc u'hcn thc rchtionshi'l bcnvccn prcscnt llrd plst bccar-r-lc
ircrrtelv ir-r-rp<rrtirnt (cf. Morris 2000 261-7;200Ib: 81-2). Thc carlicst poctn'ovcr-
u'l-reln-rir-rglv c()llccms rhe heroic ilge ancl theogonics.
Thc su-r-rc conccnl u'ith thinking tl-rrough relationsl'rils bctu,ccn the present lurcl
the l-reroic prlst m\, lic Lehinci the e xplosion ol figure ri art ir1 the lrrte eighth centlrr\.
Clreek virse ririnters hrrcl occasionrrllv shou'n [.rurntns rrnd rnimals rcross thc L)iirk Age ,
but irrounrl 800 (}rrinthilns encl Argivcs ldoptccl nimrl fiiezcs, probablv insrirecl
bv Eastern errrmples, ancl irround 750 Ather-rilns 1'lionccrccl thc usc olhunrrrn figr.rrcs
(Hnrri'it 1985 71-121; Snodgrass 1987 132-69). L,r'cnthing abor-rt thcsc sccncs rcrurins
contror.ersil, but Snoclgrrrss has nlacle a goocl case that the scenes ri,ere genericlllv
"hcrcrizinq" (Sr.roclgr;rss 1980a: 65-77; I99ll). ]nst as an cl.tpter clevelopecl Near Flasten.t
scri-rts so thilt plrticular poctic visions of t['re heroic pirst cor.rlcl be presen'ccl, r;rintcrs
clir'l the same l,ith Ncar Eestcrn lrtistic techniclues, const.lnth' Lrsing thc heroic pirst
to thirlk about the prescnt. Pou'cll sllggcsts thrrt Neirr Eastern art irlso stimulrted thc
clcvclorr.nent ol Clrecli n1\,th()l()g\,, r1s rur attempt to rr.rke sense of tl-rc nnfrrrniliar
irrrrrqcs no\\' entering thc Acgcrrn (2002: 146-87).
Nluch in Greek r.n1'th crrn bc trlccc.l blck to Near Ifrstern prototvpcs (S. N'krrris
1992; West 1997), but it is harcl to kr-rou'ri'hether the shrrrecl eler.nents rlcr.clopcd in
tandem in thc Bronze Age, ()r \\'cre Iron Agc inrp()rts to the Aegean, likc s-r-iting
i-rncl reprcscntrtionrl art. FIer()d()tus'storics (l.4-58; 2.54-57) tht (lrocstts olLt'c1iir
cor-rsultccl Greel< orrclcs anc'l thrrt Egr,l'rtiurs clair.necl that somc (irccli tracles hrrl
Egvrtiirn tirnnclers, r'irr Pl.rocnicilur intenlrecli;rries, suggcst that L,ast .Nlecliterralteall
peoples inscrtec'l Greece into thcir ()\\'n theogor.ries, just irs (lrccks insertecl Italiiurs
irntl Sicilirrns ir.rto their ()\\'n nl\.thicrrl genealogies.it'Herorlotus irccc'rtccl Ncar Flilstern
irnd Egvptiirn origir.rs firr so'crrl Greel< ciivinities, just as El),n]irns lurcl llot.nr.ls sorne-
tinres acccptecl Greek stories r.rbout thcir origins.r'
Greel<s irlso strrrtccl corvir.rg Near Elstcrn lr()rllimcntirl scttlpture irr thc latc cighth
centr.u1. ar-rcl Egv'rtilr.r in tl-re latc scvcnth, bur c'lic'l not have the sort of prrlaccs lncl
grancl r-nrrnsions 'here such str.rtucs \\'crc colrnror.rlv clisrlirYetl ir-r the Elst. Lltc cighth
cclrtun (,rctirns clisplavecl sttrlcs ir.r ccrrcteries, but;rfter 700 this prrrcticc clcclinecl,
exccpt in Attica, s'here tonrl 1n()nr-iments seem t() hirve been an ir-nl)()rturt rart of
attcr.npts t() preserve ur-nrsual soci;-rl distinctions (D'Onofiio l9B2; 19[J8). Funerrn'
sculptnrc scems to har-c bccr.r thought incor.rsistent u,itlr nriclclling attitucles;
silnctr.r-
irries uere the onlr. plrces \\'hcrc sr-rch clispltrvs \\'ere irccept;-rble.
Thc u'ay cighth- .urcl seventh-ccntull'Circck patrrs and artists took Ne..rr Eirsterr.l
fbrr.r.rs i-u-rd usccl thcnr in clifferer.rt conte\ts r.nav hrrve lot to clo u'ith thc innor'rtiou
rncl encrqr,of '.rrchic Greek irrt. Operrrtir.rg outsiclc thc oftcr-r-rigicl institutionl fi'nrc
u'orks of Nerr Esterr-r rrnd Egvptilrr prrlrrccs, Grcek rrrtists u'cre fi'cc ro er'rcrirnent.
and indccrl h'acl to e.rpelir.nent, to r.nake tl.rese rrc-loptcd medi speak to thcir conccrns.
Grcck crrftsmen therl torli their lrr.bridizccl sn'lcs to thc u'cst -NIcc'litcrrrnean. In the
cighth ccntllr\r, rr-rlv sr-nall ru-n()r.lnts ol Greek mrtcrirl relchcci \\'cstcrncrs. In Sicilr,,
s()uthcrlr Itlv urcl Srrrclir.ri;r n;rtives rhvays r.r.cc1 tl-rcsc artifircts u'ithin triciitii'ral ritu,rls,rs
just irs Cireeks l.rrcl irclaptccl Nclr L,.stcrn rncLli t() thcir oun nceds, and onlv in the sixtl'r
celltul1. dicl Grcek rnateriirl cultnre heve e serious ir.r.rract on local s,rrvs ollifb.
 Th e Eighth - century Rewlution 79

Eighth-century Greece in Comparative Perspective

Since the 1990s there has been a major shift toward Mediterranean-scale history,
erpressed most forcefully in Horden and Purcell's The Cowupting Sen (2000). \A/hen
Snodgrass developed his structural revolution model, it seemed reasonable to treat
Greece largely on its own terms) but that is no longer the case (see ch. 2, above).
This broadening of perspectives was one of the major accomplishments of 1990s
scholarship. In this chapter, I have argued that the motors of change in eighdr-century
Greece - demography, perhaps climate, competition, centralization - affected the
n'hole Mediterranean, but the Greeks' responses to them - particularly the creation
of egalitarian male citizenship and the set of cultural conflicts around it - rve re unique
to the Aegean and its colonies.
But although I970s discussions of eighth-century Greece now seem to lack a
\Iediterranean context, Snodgrass (1977a) had in fact looked toward a much wider
context) linking eighth-century Greece to archaeological debates on state formation
in other parts of the world. Non-classical archaeologists only rarely take Iron Age
Greece into consideration) but two aspects of the Greek case seem important for
current arguments. The first is archaic Greece's peculiarity. Generalizing models trade
:l
offexplanatory power against specificity, so we should not expect them to describe any
particular case exactly; but archaic Greece's basic social stmctures seem incompatible
:,.1
n'ith most models of state formation (I. Morris 1997q; Trigger 2003:142-3). Since
_l
the 1990s comparative archaeologists have developed alternatives to neo-evolutionary
_-t
models, particularly the "dual-processual" model, recognizing the possibility of rela-
_--s
tively unhierarchical, "corporate" social structures like Greece (Blanton et al. I99:
: :.1
esp. 2, 7) as well as more individualistic "net\'vork" systems. The rapid improvement in
living srandards and growth of markets in archaic and classical Greece also challenges
much conventional thought in archaeology (see Smith 2004).
i--.r
Secondly, eighth-century Greece is not just a problematic example of a worldwide
-l phenomenon of state formation; it is also one of the best-documented cases of the
."-.-
more specific process of the regcneration of complex society after collapse. Building
l' : -i.
-f on 1980s interest in the collapse of complex societies, regeneration is nolv emerging
as a rnajor research topic.le "Collapse" and "regeneration" are varied phenomena,
r--l'
.. making systematic comparisons difficult. But if we take Childe's (l-950) famous ten
criteria of civilization (urban centers, craft production, taxation, monuments) non-
productive elites, tvriting and numeracy, practical sciences, art, long-distance trade,
craft specialization) as our starting point, eighth-century Greece is one of the clearest
cases of regeneration after collapse (Morris 2006a).

Conclusion
The eighth century was a turning point in Mediterranean history. The Greeks were
I -,1 caught up in larger processes of climate change, population growth, expanding trade,
and political centralization. In another essay I have called this "Mediterraneanization,"
80 Ian Mon'is

ir spccclir.rg-up r>f conncctivitr. that increasccl competitiorl, creating lrcu' u,iuncrs altcl
losers (NIorris 2003).
in classic,rl scholarship it-r tl-re p'..tst t\\'ent\r vcars has bcel-t
Or-rc of tl.re r.nain ac'lvinccs
thc r-nor.entent totr.arcl sccing Grecce in its Nlecliterrallcnlt cotlte\t, Lrnt I complra-
rive approirch in firct highlights thc peculiarities ol thc Greeks as u'ell as thc *'avs
thet'bckrngecl to a hrger s\stenr. Dcmogrirpl.n,ancl Meclitcrrrtteattizatiolt clr()\'e stilte
fornratictr.r, blrt centrrll Aegen Greeks unicluelv tcmpered this proccss l'ith ir-rcrcrs-
ing m.rlc egalitarianisr.r.r. Tl-rc nticlclling ideologv cbstrnctcd the developnrettt ()f state
po\\.crs anci rleririlccl kingsl"ri'r rs ir virble it-tstitutiou. Ir-r tl-rc cottflicts betu'ccn micl-
clling urd elitist u,;rvs of seeing the urrlc{ Greeks clevelopcd ntlttsttal iclc'rs ab<tut the
gorls, the pirst, ciirss, gencler, rncl ethnicitr'. I'hese cstrblisl-rcd the plrarr.rcters of archaic
cl clirssic;rl Greek culture, prviclir.rg thc rt'holc reilson u'hv u'e c()lltil1lle t<l stttclv
tl-re Greeks t()11i1\'.

NOTES
I E.g., Galloway 198; ).988; Reher and Osona 2000.
2 Bouzek (L997) andKristiansen (1998: 28-31,408-10) both stress the inverse relationship
berw.een demographic patterns in Iron Age Europe and the Mediterranean, and link it
to climate change.
3 E.g., Klippel and Snyder 1993; Legouilloux 2000; Snyder and Klippel 2000.
4 See Link 199I for seventh- and sixth-century examples; cf. van Wees I999a; 1999b.
5 Darcque and Treuil 1990; I-ang 199; Mazarakis Ainian 1997; Morris 2004a;2007.
6 Goldstone 2002; Morris 2004b; Scheidel 2004a-
7 Hodder 198: I8-33; Shanks and Tilley 1987: 3l-60.
8 Saller (2002) suggests that per capita consumption peaked around I.4 times subsistence
in rhe wesrern Roman Empire; I have suggested similar figures for classical Greece (Morris
2004b).
9 Among many orher things; for my own views, see Morris 200Ib; cf. Raaflaub 1998.
t0 De Polignac 1995a; D',Onoliio 1993; 1995; Houby Nielsen 1992;1995; 1996; Mazarakis
N1n 1997; C. Morgan 1990;2003; Osborne 1996a 70-13; Snodgrass 1980a; Whitley
l99la; 1996; 2001 77 -265.
ll Italy: Bietti Sestieri 1997. Sardinia: Webster 199. Sicily: Albanese Procelli 2003. France:
Dietler 1997;Py 1993. Spain: Ruiz and Molinos 1997'
12 For a good overview, see Kuhrt 1995:473-646.
t3 Morris 1998a:4-13;2000: 190-l; cf' Kistler 2004'
14 Morris 1987; 1998a: 3I-; 2000 287-305.
l5 Cf. Postgate 2001 on the variery of such bureaucracies.
I E.g., Herodotus I.94, 166-67 (Etruscans), 7.169-71 (Iapygians); Thucydides .2
(Elymians).
17 Hdt. 1.131; 2.43-64; Ilarrison 2000:208-22.
tB Sicily: Albancse Procelli 2003: l3L-6. Southern Italy: Burgers 1998: 183-6. Sardinia:
van Dommeien 1998: 10+-12.
19 Schwartz and Nichols 2006 c{. Tainter 1988; Yoffee and Cowgill ).988.