Dark Age of Greece
The period that followed the fall of Mycenae is known as the Dark Ages. It was a age of poverty. It was also a time when Greeks settled various areas around the Aegean Sea, especially on the western shores of Asia Minor. They became known as Ionians. As the Dark Ages ended, there was a revival of trade and economic activity. In addition, iron was introduced. The end of the Dark Ages coincided with the writing of one of literature's first epics, Homer's Iliad.