12 Facts About Archaic Greece

Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history lasting from circa 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, following the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period.

Archaic Greece period 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 unrecognisable from its beginning.

Archaic Greece period saw developments in Greek politics, economics, international relations, warfare and culture.

Much evidence about the Classical period of ancient Archaic Greece comes from written histories, such as Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War.

Many cities throughout Archaic Greece came under the rule of autocratic leaders, called "tyrants".

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Urbanisation process in archaic Greece known as "synoecism" – the amalgamation of several small settlements into a single urban centre – took place in much of Greece in the eighth century BC.

Archaic Greece set up the Council of the Four Hundred, responsible for discussing motions which were to come before the Assembly.

Archaic Greece was followed by a series of others in the mid-seventh century BC, such as Orthagoras in Sicyon and Theagenes in Megara.

The population of archaic Greece would have consequently been very young – somewhere between two-fifths and two-thirds of the population might have been under 18.

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

Evidence from Linear B tablets shows that the gods worshipped in archaic and classical Greece shared names with those worshipped by their Mycenaean predecessors.

Archaic Greece period saw a series of changes in Greek funerary practices, with a significant increase in the diversity of Greek burial practice.