 Mycenaean Sparta, like much of Greece, was engulfed in the Dorian invasions, which ended the Mycenaean civilization and ushered in the so-called "Greek Dark Ages".During this time, Sparta (or Lacedaemon) was merely a Doric village on the banks of the river Eurotas in Laconia.However, in the early 8th century BC, Spartan society was transformed.