History of the Archaic Era of Ancient Greece

Experience the History of the Archaic Age of Ancient Greece with WisdomMaps: The Future of the Past!

Perspective

Our digital history of the Archaic Era in Ancient Greece concerns itself with the period in Greek history lasting from circa 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. This followed the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period. In the Archaic Age, Greeks settled across the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, as far as Marseille in the west and Trapezus in the east; and by the end of the Archaic Age, they were part of a trade network that spanned the entire Mediterranean.

The Archaic Age began with a massive increase in the Greek population and of significant changes that rendered the Greek world at the end of the 8th century entirely unrecognizable from its beginning. The Archaic Age was bounded by two revolutions in the Greek world. It began with a structural revolution that drew the political map of the Greek world and established the poleis, the distinctively Greek city-states, and it ended with the intellectual revolution of the Classical Era.

The Archaic Age saw developments in Greek politics, economics, international relations, warfare and culture. It laid the groundwork for the Classical Era, both politically and culturally. It was in the archaic period that the Greek alphabet developed, the earliest surviving Greek literature was composed, monumental sculpture and red-figure pottery began in Greece and the hoplite became the core of Greek armies.

In Athens, the earliest institutions of democracy were implemented under Solon, and the reforms of Cleisthenes at the end of the archaic period brought in Athenian democracy as it was during the Classical period. In Sparta, many of the institutions credited to the reforms of Lycurgus were introduced during the archaic period, the region of Messenia was brought under Spartan control, helot slavery was introduced and the Peloponnesian League was founded and made Sparta a dominant power in Greece.

That said, here’s our assortment… please enjoy! When you’re done perusing a map, click the ⇠ back arrow link in the upper left of your screen (not the < link), and you’ll be back here. Any problems, please get in touch at [email protected].

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