Ancient Greek Coins: Archaic to Classical
Bronze Age Mycenaean culture, quickly began to dominate the eastern
Mediterranean Sea. For roughly three hundred years after that great Mediterranean power–centered on the city of
Mycenae but with trading cities throughout the
Peloponnese and
Asia Minor–violently collapsed, Greece descended into a so-called dark age. Marked by the recognizable geometric artistic style that can be seen on the terracotta krater to the right. We do not have any “first-handwritten documents of any kind” from this time. The geometric style can be seen mainly on pottery, kraters, grave markers, and other grave goods. Due to the discontinuation of the Mycenaean