 A striking change appears in Greek art of the seventh century B.C., the beginning of the Archaic period. The abstract geometric patterning that was dominant between about 1050 and 700 B.C. is supplanted in the seventh century by a more naturalistic style reflecting significant influence from the Near East and Egypt. Trading stations in the Levant and the Nile Delta, continuing Greek colonization east and west, as well as contact with eastern craftsmen, notably on Crete and Cyprus, inspired Greek artists to work in techniques as diverse as gem cutting, ivory carving, jewelry making, and metalworking. Eastern pictorial motifs were introduced–palmette and lotos compositions, animal hunts, and such composite beasts as griffins (part bird, part lion), sphinxes (part woman, part winged lion), and sirens (part woman, part bird). Greek artists rapidly assimilated foreign styles and motifs into new portrayals of their own myths and the human condition, thereby forging the foundations of Archaic and Classical Greek art.
The Greek world of the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. consisted of numerous autonomous city-states, or poleis, separated one from the other by mountains and the sea. The Greek settlements stretched all the way from the coast of Asia Minor and the Aegean islands to mainland Greece to Sicily, southern Italy, and even Spain. Regional schools exhibited a rich variety of artistic styles and preferences at this time. As they grew in wealth and power, the poleis on the coast of Asia Minor and the neighboring islands competed with one another in the construction of sanctuaries with huge stone temples. Lyric poetry, the primary literary medium of the day, attained new heights in the work of such notable poets as Archilochos of Paros and Sappho of Lesbos. Contact with prosperous centers like Sardis in Lydia, which was ruled in the sixth century B.C. by the legendary king Croesus, influenced eastern Greek art. By the sixth century B.C., the eastern Greeks controlled the Aegean Sea and had established independent cities to the north along the Black Sea. Sculptors in the Aegean islands, notably on Naxos and Samos, carved large-scale statues in marble. Goldsmiths on Rhodes specialized in fine jewelry. Bronze workers on Crete fashioned superb relief-decorated armor and plaques.
The prominent artistic centers of mainland Greece–notably Sparta, Corinth, and Athens–also exhibited significant regional variation. Sparta and its neighbors in Lakonia produced remarkable ivory carvings and distinctive bronzes. Corinthian artisans invented a style of silhouetted forms that was the beginning of the black-figure technique in vase-painting and concentrated on tapestrylike patterns of small animals and plant motifs. By contrast, the vase-painters of Athens were more interested in mythological scenes illustrated in large outline drawings. Despite variance in dialect–even the way the alphabet was written varied from region to region at this time–the Greek language was a major unifying factor. Furthermore, Greek-speaking people came together for festivals and games held at the Panhellenic sanctuaries of mainland Greece, such as Olympia and Delphi. The dedications at these sanctuaries included many works from the east together with the Greek works that they inspired and also dedications from the west.
Greek colonies in Sicily and southern Italy were politically independent entities, but they maintained religious ties and trade links with their mother city. Until the mid-sixth century B.C., Corinth dominated the western trade, exporting such products as Corinthian vases, often filled with precious oil, and importing grain. City-states, such as Syracuse and Selinus, erected major temples that rivaled those in the east. As opposed to the Aegean islands and mainland Greece where marble was plentiful, Sicily and southern Italy had few local sources of high-quality marble. Consequently, like the Etruscans, the Greeks in the west established a strong tradition of terracotta sculpture. They also developed distinctive regional styles. In future centuries these western Greeks would become the primary transmitters of Greek culture to Italy and the Romans.
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