Archaic (Greek)

Refers to the period, culture, and art of ancient Greece that begins around the mid-eighth century BCE and ends in the early fifth century BCE, with the Persian invasion. It is characterized by the introduction of the alphabet from Phoenicia, the establishment of important city states and colonies, the establishment of the open square, or agora, in city planning, and distinctive styles in painting, sculpture, and architecture. In vase painting, the stylized beasts of the Orientalizing period were replaced by more naturalistic figures in Black-figure and then Red-figure styles. In sculpture, more naturalistic forms developed from the stiff, canonical Egyptian figures of the Orientalizing period. In architecture, the Doric and Ionic orders were developed.