Dark Ages to Geometric Period

1. Dark Ages to Geometric Period • Dark Ages (Architectural Term) = Protogeometric Period ( Pottery Term) 1100 - 900 BCE • Geometric Period (Architecture, Sculpture, and Pottery) 900 - 700 BCE

2. End of the Mycenaean World • Literary tradition from Homer and other ancient epics. Destruction of Troy at the hands of a contingency of Mycenaean warriors. • Destruction of Troy. Which Troy is the Troy of the Trojan war? Troy VI? Troy VIIA? • Destruction of the mainland palaces (Mycenae, Tiryns, Athens, Gla, Pylos, Thebes, Orchomenos) are all under different circumstances.

3. Theories for Destruction • The Dorian Invasions (Return of the Herakleidae or Internal Revolt?) • The Raids of the Sea Peoples • Intercity Warfare • Drought, Famine, Earthquakes, and Other Natural Disasters.

4. Dark Age Sites • Karphi, Crete* • Kavousi, Crete • Lefkandi, Euboea* • Nichoria, Messenia • Oval House, Smyrna*

5. Karphi • Middle Bronze Age to Geometric • Unwalled settlement • 150 adjoining rooms • Great House

6. Lefkandi - The Heroon • Heroon - 10th century • Cemetery - 9th century • Apsidal (50 m by 10 m) • Burial of man, woman, horses

7. Lefkandi - The Plan

8. The Centaur • Eretria Museum • Terracotta • 10th c BCE • Found in Heroon, split in two pieces, one in each grave.

9. Isis and Horus Necklace • Found in tombs near Heroon at Lefkandi. • 11th/10th century. • Faience, Egyptian in origin. • Isis and Horus statuettes common in Egyptian world.

10. Protogeometric Pottery • Shapes derived from Mycenaean oeuvre: krater, oinochoe, cups, amphorae. • Faster wheel. • Compass drawn pendent semicircles or concentric circles. • Kerameikos cemetery in Athens.

11. Geometric Cult Sites • Dreros on Crete* • Eretria - Apollo Daphnephoros* • Sparta - Temple of Artemis Orthria • Heraion at Samos* • The Argive Heraion* • Temple of Hera at Perachora* • Thermon*

12. Dreros • Temple of Apollo. • Earliest known temple - 750 BCE. • City fortification.

13. Cult Statues • From shelf in temple. • Sphyrelaton method: sheet hammered bronze over wood core. • Apollo, Leto, Artemis.

14. Eretria

15. Apollo Daphnephoros • Four phases of the temple. • Apsidal hut. • Second structure with apsidal walls. • Hekatompedon (100 footer). • Geometric Daphnephorion • All geometric structures leveled at the end of the 8th c. BCE. • Early Archaic hekatompedon (670 - 655 BCE)

16. Harbor at Samos

17. Samos from theAir

18. Heraion at Samos

19. Geometric Heraion at Samos • Local Carian deity originally. • Hera and Zeus married here beside a sacred bush. • Hekatompedon - 8th c BCE.

20. Hera Limenaia at Perachora • Corinthiad • Again, a port. • Apsidal structure. • Geometric bronze finds. • 9th/8th c BCE.

21. Perachora - Geometric Plan

22. Thermon • Geometric period, the site became religious. • 3 temples. • Megaron A and B.

23. Thermon - Temples • Archaic temple built over Megaron B.

24. Thermon: Megaron B

25. Geometric Pottery • Early - increased geometric patterns. Meanders become more and more prominent. • Use as tomb markers in Athens. • Very fine clay and fast wheel. • Athens at forefront of Geometric pottery production.

26. Agora “Rich Lady” Burial • Belly amphora - female. • Granary - symbol of status or wealth? • Cremation. • 9th c BCE.

27. Agora Male Burial • Cremation • Neck amphora • Sword around amphora • Horse pyxis - symbol of wealth?

28. Horse Pyxis

29. Athens 804 • Pictorial Narrative. • Prothesis and Ekphora. • Tomb Marker from the Dipylon gate cemetery. • 750 BCE • 1.55 m high.

30. Other narratives • Fox hunt? • Boeotia. • Boston Museum of Fine Arts. • 750 BCE

31. Sculpture • Boston MFA • Under 8 inches. • Bronze • Solid Cast • 9th c BCE.