 Alternative scenarios propose that the fall of the Mycenaean Greece was a result of internal disturbances which led to internecine warfare among the Mycenaean states or civil unrest in a number of states , as a result of the strict hierarchical social system and the ideology of the wanax . In general , due to the obscure archaeological picture in 12th @-@ 11th century BC Greece , there is a continuing controversy among scholars over whether the impoverished societies that succeeded the Mycenaean palatial states were newcomers or populations that already resided in Mycenaean Greece . Recent archaeological findings tend to favor the latter scenario . Additional theories , concerning natural factors , such as climate change , droughts or earthquakes have been also proposed . The period following the end of Mycenaean Greece , c . 1100 @-@ 800 BC , is generally termed the " Greek Dark Ages " . 
