Understanding Pre-Homeric Greece: A Period of Cultural and Political Upheaval

Pre-Homeric refers to the period of time before the composition of the Homeric epics, which are the oldest surviving Greek texts and are attributed to the poet Homer. The pre-Homeric period is generally considered to be the time between the end of the Mycenaean civilization (around 1200 BCE) and the composition of the Homeric epics (around 750 BCE).

During this period, Greece was in a state of cultural and political upheaval, with the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization and the rise of the Greek Dark Ages. The pre-Homeric period saw the emergence of new city-states and the development of a new form of poetry, known as the "heroic" style, which would later become the basis for the Homeric epics.

The term "pre-Homeric" is used to describe this period because it was during this time that the stories and legends that would later be immortalized in the Homeric epics were first composed and transmitted orally. While we do not have any surviving texts from this period, scholars believe that the pre-Homeric period was a rich and vibrant time for Greek culture, with the development of new forms of poetry, music, and storytelling.