Greek History · Chronicle I of IX

Bronze Age Greece

Aegean Bronze Age

Cycladic idols, Minoan palaces and Mycenaean warlords: Greece before it had an alphabet.

Span: 3200 – 1100 BC
Entries: 18
Next: Archaic Greece

Frontispiece · The 'Mask of Agamemnon', gold funerary mask from Shaft Grave V at Mycenae (c. 1550 BC)National Archaeological Museum of Athens, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

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Entry 1 of 18

3200 BC
Early Bronze AgeCultural
Dawn of the Aegean Bronze Age
Copper and tin metallurgy spreads across the Aegean. Early Cycladic, Early Helladic, and Early Minoan cultures take shape on the islands and mainland.
Meanwhile, elsewhere
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
2700 BC
Cycladic CivilizationCultural
Flourishing of the Cycladic culture
The Cycladic islands produce the iconic marble figurines and longboats that define the Early Bronze Age Aegean.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
2500 BC
Corridor House EraCultural
Lerna's House of Tiles
At Lerna in the Argolid, a monumental two-storey 'corridor house' with a tiled roof and clay sealings is built — a high point of Early Helladic II society.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
2200 BC
Early Helladic CrisisEvent
Destruction of EH II settlements
Mainland centers like Lerna's House of Tiles are burned. Population shifts and possible new arrivals reshape the Greek mainland.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
2000 BC
Middle Helladic BeginsEvent
Indo-European Greek-speakers reshape the mainland
Material culture changes across mainland Greece — wheel-made grey 'Minyan' ware, intramural cist-grave burials, and likely the arrival of Indo-European Greek-speakers at the start of the Middle Helladic.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1900 BC
Old Palace PeriodCultural
Rise of the first Minoan palaces
On Crete, the first palace complexes are built at Knossos, Phaistos, and Malia, marking the beginning of European palatial civilization.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1800 BC
Minoan Thalassocracy ExpandsCultural
Minoan trade reaches Egypt and the Levant
Cretan Kamares ware appears in Egyptian and Levantine elite tombs, while Egyptian alabaster and Syrian tin reach Crete in return.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1700 BC
New Palace PeriodCultural
Rebuilding of the Minoan palaces
After widespread destructions (probably from earthquakes), the Minoan palaces are rebuilt on a grander scale. Linear A appears.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1600 BC
Shaft Grave EraCultural
Mycenae's Shaft Graves
Spectacularly rich shaft graves at Mycenae signal the rise of warrior elites on the Greek mainland.
The 'Mask of Agamemnon', gold funerary mask from Shaft Grave V at Mycenae (c. 1550 BC) · National Archaeological Museum of Athens, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1620 BC
Theran EruptionEvent
Eruption of Thera
One of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history devastates Thera (Santorini) and buries the prosperous town of Akrotiri.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1500 BC
Late Minoan IBCultural
The Marine Style flourishes
Late Minoan IB potters cover ceramic vessels with octopuses, argonauts, and dolphins — the so-called 'Marine Style', the high point of Aegean naturalism.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1450 BC
Mycenaean AscendancyMilitary
Destruction of Minoan palaces; Mycenaeans take Knossos
All major Minoan palaces except Knossos are destroyed. Knossos comes under Mycenaean Greek control, and Linear B (recording an early form of Greek) appears.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1350 BC
Mycenaean Palatial EraPolitical
Apogee of Mycenaean palatial civilization
Citadels at Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, and Thebes administer the Greek mainland. Cyclopean walls, tholos tombs, and Linear B archives flourish.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1300 BC
Cyclopean FortificationsCultural
The Lion Gate of Mycenae
The Lion Gate is built at Mycenae as the citadel's Cyclopean walls are extended; Tiryns, Midea, and Athens fortify in parallel.
The Lion Gate, the main entrance to the citadel of Mycenae (c. 1250 BC) · Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1250 BC
Late Mycenaean EraMilitary
Traditional date of the Trojan War
Around this time, ancient tradition places the Achaean expedition against Troy. Troy VI/VIIa is destroyed in roughly the same period.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1200 BC
Bronze Age CollapseMilitary
Destruction of the Mycenaean palaces
Pylos, Mycenae, Tiryns, and Thebes burn. Within a generation, palatial bureaucracy, Linear B writing, and long-distance trade collapse across the eastern Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1180 BC
Sea PeoplesMilitary
Troy VIIa burns; Sea Peoples ravage the eastern Mediterranean
Troy VIIa is destroyed by fire. Pharaoh Ramesses III repels a coalition of 'Sea Peoples' on the Egyptian Delta, and the Hittite capital Hattusa is abandoned around the same time.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
1100 BC
Post-Palatial PeriodCultural
End of the Bronze Age
The last Mycenaean centres fade. Greece enters the Early Iron Age — the so-called 'Greek Dark Ages' — with sharply reduced population, lost writing, and new burial customs.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
10 more entries, to 1100 BC

Bronze Age Greece

Dawn of the Aegean Bronze Age

Flourishing of the Cycladic culture

Lerna's House of Tiles

Destruction of EH II settlements

Indo-European Greek-speakers reshape the mainland

Rise of the first Minoan palaces

Minoan trade reaches Egypt and the Levant

Rebuilding of the Minoan palaces

Mycenae's Shaft Graves

Eruption of Thera

The Marine Style flourishes

Destruction of Minoan palaces; Mycenaeans take Knossos

Apogee of Mycenaean palatial civilization

The Lion Gate of Mycenae

Traditional date of the Trojan War

Destruction of the Mycenaean palaces

Troy VIIa burns; Sea Peoples ravage the eastern Mediterranean

End of the Bronze Age