Middle Helladic
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| Period | Bronze Age Europe |
|---|---|
| Dates | c. 3200 BC – c. 1050 BC |
| Major sites | Thebes, Tiryns, Mycenae |
| Preceded by | Neolithic Greece |
| Followed by | Greek Dark Ages |
Helladic is a modern archaeological term meant to identify a sequence of periods characterizing the culture of mainland Greece during the Bronze Age (c. 3200–1050 BC). The term is commonly used in archaeology and art history. It was intended to complement two parallel terms, "Cycladic", identifying approximately the same sequence with reference to the Aegean Bronze Age, and "Minoan", with reference to the civilization of Crete.
The scheme applies primarily to pottery and is a relative dating system. The pottery at any given site typically can be ordered into "Early", "Middle" and "Late" on the basis of style and technique. The total time window allowed for the site is then divided into these periods proportionately. As it turns out, there is a correspondence between "Early" over all Greece, etc. Also, some "absolute dates", or dates obtained by non-comparative methods, can be used to date the periods and are preferable whenever they can be obtained. However, the relative structure was devised before the age of carbon-dating (most of the excavations were performed then as well). Typically, only relative dates are obtainable and form a structure for the characterization of Greek prehistory. Objects are generally dated by the pottery of the site found in associative contexts. Other objects can be arranged into early, middle and late as well, but pottery is used as a marker.
Helladic society and culture have antecedents in the Neolithic period in Greece with many innovations being developed and manifesting during the second and third phases of the Early Helladic period (2650–2050/2000 BC) such as bronze metallurgy, monumental architecture and fortifications, a hierarchical social organization, and vigorous contacts with other areas of the Aegean. These innovations would undergo further changes during the Middle Helladic period (2000/1900–1650 BC), marked by the spread of Minyan ware, and the Late Helladic period (1650–1050 BC), which was the time when Mycenaean Greece flourished.
The three terms "Helladic", "Cycladic", and "Minoan" refer to location of origin. Thus "Middle Minoan" objects might be found in the Cyclades, but they are not on that account Middle Cycladic. The scheme tends to be less applicable in areas on the periphery of the Aegean, such as the Levant. Pottery there might imitate Helladic or Minoan cultural models and yet be locally manufactured.
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