Archaic Greece

[14] It seems that the evolution of the polis as a socio-political structure, rather than a simply geographical one, can be attributed to this urbanisation, as well as a significant population increase in the eighth century.

[14] Though in the early part of the Classical period the city of Athens was both culturally and politically dominant,[9] it was not until the late sixth century BC that it became a leading power in Greece.

[25] The poorest – called thetes – could hold no offices, although they could attend the Assembly and the law courts, while the richest class – the pentacosiomedimni – were the only people eligible to become treasurer, and possibly archon.

The second form was in what historians refer to as emporia; trading posts which were occupied by both Greeks and non-Greeks and which were primarily concerned with the manufacture and sale of goods.

The word τύραννος (tyrannos, whence the English 'tyrant') first appeared in Greek literature in a poem of Archilochus, to describe the Lydian ruler Gyges.

The most popular of these explanations dates back to Aristotle, who argued that tyrants were set up by the people in response to the nobility becoming less tolerable.

[53] As there is no evidence from the time that the nobility were becoming increasingly arrogant during the period, modern explanations of seventh century tyranny have tried to find other reasons for unrest among the people.

[54] For example, Robert Drews argues that tyrannies were set up by individuals who controlled private armies and that early tyrants did not need the support of the people at all,[55] whilst N.G.L.

In the archaic period, the Greek word tyrannos, according to Victor Parker, did not have the negative connotations it had gained by the time Aristotle wrote his Constitution of the Athenians.

[57] Parker dates the first use of the word tyrannos in a negative context to the first half of the sixth century, at least fifty years after Cypselus took power in Corinth.

[64] Evidence from human remains shows that the average age at death increased over the archaic period, but there is no clear trend for other measures of health.

Olives and grapes, which could be turned into oil and wine respectively, served as cash crops; farmers who cultivated land near population centres could also sell soft fruits and leafy vegetables at market.

Sheep and goats, in particular, were kept for meat, milk, wool, and fertiliser, but they were difficult to sustain and large herds were a sign of exceptional wealth.

[74] No technological innovations in agriculture appear to have occurred, except possibly the increased use of iron tools and more intensive use of manure.

[75] The main source for the practice of agriculture in the period is Hesiod's Works and Days, which gives the impression of very small subsistence holdings in which the owner performed most of the labour personally; close reading reveals that much of the produce is to be sold for profit, much of the work to be performed by slaves (douloi or dmoes), and much of the owner's time to be spent away from the farm.

[77][62] By the late eighth century BC, the archaic Greek world had become involved in an active trade network around the Aegean.

Sixth century Laconian pottery has been found as far afield as Marseilles and Carthage to the west, Crete to the south and Sardis to the East.

As in the Near East, precious metal bullion was used as a medium of exchange, principally gold at first, but mainly silver by the beginning of the sixth century.

[95] Another possibility is that coinage was adopted specifically to enable communities to make payments to their citizens, mercenaries and artisans in a transparent, fair and efficient way.

[102] Also in the seventh century BC, Greek sculpture began to directly represent gods,[103] a practice which had disappeared after the end of the Mycenaean period.

[104] The best-known types of archaic sculpture are the kouros and kore, near life-size frontal statues of a young man or woman,[107] which were developed around the middle of the seventh century BC in the Cyclades.

[120] As the archaic period drew to a close, red-figure pottery was invented in Athens, with the first examples being produced about 525 BC, probably by the Andokides painter.

[127] Possibly the earliest known Greek inscription is found on a jug from the first half of the eighth century BC, discovered in Osteria dell'Osa in Latium.

[127] Greek literature in the archaic period was predominantly poetry, though the earliest prose dates to the sixth century BC.

[123] Archaic poetry was primarily intended to be performed rather than read, and can be broadly divided into three categories: lyric, rhapsodic, and citharodic.

[132] In contrast with the Classical period, in which the literary culture of Athens dominated the Greek world, the archaic poetic tradition was geographically spread out.

The most significant change of the eighth century was the development of permanent temples as a regular feature of sanctuary sites, where in the Dark Ages there had probably been no building specifically used for cult purposes.

[154] In the archaic period, the boundaries between disciplines had not yet developed, and so the thinkers who were later identified as philosophers also engaged in practical pursuits: Andrea Nightingale describes them as "pragmatic and polymathic".

[159] Though the pieces which made up the panoply were all in use in Greece by the end of the eighth century, the earliest evidence for it being worn as a complete set of armour does not come until around 675 BC, where it is depicted on a Corinthian vase painting.

[160] The phalanx tactics which were used by hoplites in the Classical period seem to have been adopted in the mid-seventh century;[160] before this point, the older style of combat in which spears were thrown at the enemy before closing quarters was still used.