The period between the fall of the Mycenaean civilisation and the 8th century BC is conventionally known as the “Dark Ages” of ancient Greece because of a relative dearth of evidence: Greece appears to be a more isolated and impoverished place, and some technological skills and also literacy appear to have been lost. In the 8th century, however, we see significant changes afoot not only in the archaeological record but also in overseas contact and the development of a Greek alphabet. In this lecture Dr Gillian Shepherd examines some of the extraordinary developments which have led to the 8th century being dubbed “The Greek Renaissance”.

Copyright 2013 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

The period between the fall of the Mycenaean civilisation and the 8th century BC is conventionally known as the “Dark Ages” of ancient Greece because of a relative dearth of evidence: Greece appears to be a more isolated and impoverished place, and some technological skills and also literacy appear to have been lost. In the 8th century, however, we see significant changes afoot not only in the archaeological record but also in overseas contact and the development of a Greek alphabet. In this lecture Dr Gillian Shepherd examines some of the extraordinary developments which have led to the 8th century being dubbed “The Greek Renaissance”. Copyright 2013 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

The Greek Renaissance

This subject deals with the cultural history of the ancient Greek world through both textual sources and the material evidence of art and archaeology. The period covered runs from the Iron Age world of Archaic Greece through to the late Classical period (roughly from the 8th century to the 4th century BCE). We will concentrate mainly on Athens and mainland Greece, but we will also focus on the Greek expansion into other parts of the Mediterranean world (Sicily and South Italy) in the process of colonisation. Historical texts will be combined with literary sources and archaeology to explore the physical nature of ancient Greek cities and social issues such as the position of women, ethnicity, sexuality and slavery in the ancient Greek world.

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The Greek Renaissance

The Greek Renaissance

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