The Dorians

They were best known for their invasion of mainland Greece along with the civil war at the end of the Mycenaean. This lead to the Greek Dark Ages. The Dorians originated from north/northwestern Greece, Macedonia, and Epirus. They began to invade toward the south, and then into the center of mainland Greece. Once they ended their invasions of central Greece, their descent to southern Greece produced waves of invasions through the Peloponnesus, into Crete, and western to Rhodes. The Dorians were compared to the Bronze Age Mycenaean. There are many hypotheses about their origins. The Dorians got their name from a small district in central Greece also known as Doris. The Dorians, unlike the myth of their origination, remain quite obscure due to a general lack of archeological evidence during the Greek Dark Ages. However, they are mainly known for having knowledge of the iron slashing sword. The Dorians primarily began settling in the south and eastern mainland of Greece. They created strong centers in Laconia, Messenia, Argolis, and the Isthmus of Corinth. Their settlements also continued into the southern Aegean of Melos, Thera, Rhodes, Cos, and Crete. By the 8th century BC, the Dorian influence had spread to many parts of the Aegean, including Italy. Their main way of rulership was to generally merge with the indigenous people of their land. This has also been seen with the invasion of Corinth, Rhodes, and Argos. The Dorians kept their power entirely to themselves, creating a ruling military class which they solely occupied. The Doric language was mainly ancient Greek. Other dialects spoken were Ionic-Attic, Aeolic, and Arcado Cypriot, the latter dominating Greek language from the 5th century BC. The Dorians included the use of choral lyrics in Greek Tragedy.


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