 The roots of classical Greece lie in the Geometric period of about 1050 to 700 B.C. It was then that the primary Greek institutions were established: city-states, major sanctuaries, Panhellenic festivals. The Greek alphabet was also developed and spread. Greeks of this time continued to be active seafarers, seeking opportunities for trade and founding new, independent cities from the western coast of Asia Minor to southern Italy and Sicily. The eight century B.C. was the time of Homer, whose account of the Greek campaign against Troy is generally regarded as the first literary masterpiece in Western culture and an inexhaustible source of artistic inspiration. The Geometric period derives its name from the prevailing artistic idiom, which was based upon rectilinear and curvilinear forms. Although the style is simple, the works are highly refined. Powerful bronze figures and monumental clay vases manifest not only a masterful technical command of the media but also the clarity and order that are, perhaps, the most salient characteristics of Greek art.
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