Archaic Period

In the Archaic period, the character of Greek city-states was crystalized. Cities acquired organized infantries, which offered them protection and military strength. Civic authorities produced laws which defined the role of political and juridical institutions. In the field of economy, metal coins were introduced giving a boost to commercial exchanges. As a result of these developments, new social forces emerged (due to the rising importance of hoplites, merchants, etc.), who eventually challenged the aristocratic structure of Archaic cities. Social unrest ensued, which often led to the establishment of tyrannies. However, conflicts were gradually resolved with the adoption of more representational systems of governance.

In art, the Archaic period saw the emergence and early flourish of sculpture (second half of 7th – 6th c. BC); the construction of the first marble temples (late 7th-6th^t c. BC); an impressive development of metallurgy; and the proliferation of figurative vase-painting with the black-figure and the early red-figure techniques. In literature, lyric poetry developed considerably (Sappho, Alcaeus, etc.), and in the early 6^th c. BC the Homeric poems were written down for the first time (probably in Athens). At the same time, Ionian philosophers (Heraclitus, Anaximander, Thales, Pythagoras etc.) made great advances in understanding nature and explaining physical phenomena.

The period closed with the military conflict between the Greeks and the Persians. The conflict started with the Ionian Revolt in Asia Minor and the islands of the East Aegean (499-494 BC), and continued with the invasions of Greece by Darius and Xerxes (490 and 480/479 BC). Despite the military supremacy of the Persians, the conflict ended unexpectedly with Greek victory.