Figure 3.1. Greek colonization: 750–500 BC.

Figure 3.2. Limestone gorgon pediment from the temple of Artemis on Corcyra (c. 580 BC). Maximum height 9.25 feet. This early triangular pedimental relief focuses on the Gorgon Medusa, originally shown with her offspring, the winged horse Pegasus and her son Chrysaor, and flanked by a pair of fearsome panthers. This monument from the Corinthian colony of Corcyra (the modern island of Corfu) exemplifies the tendency of colonies to embrace recent cultural trends in the Greek homeland, such as the construction of large stone temples with ambitious sculptural decoration.

Figure 3.3. Detail of Corinthian polychrome olpē (wine jug), known as the Chigi Vase, with a rare depiction of a battle between phalanxes of hoplites (c. 640 BC). Rome, National Etruscan Museum of the Villa Giulia.

Figure 3.4. Bronze votive offering, first quarter of the seventh century, said to have been found near Thebes. Height: 8 inches. This hoplite has lost his right arm and spear, as well as his shield, which would have been attached to his left forearm. The inscription on his legs is two hexameter lines: “Mantiklos dedicated me to the far-shooter, silver-bowed Apollo from his share; and may you, too, Phoebus [=Apollo], give a generous return.” Boston, Museum of Fine Arts.

Figure 3.5. Gold libation bowl dedicated by the Cypselids (sons of the Corinthian tyrant Cypselus) made of spoils from the city of Heraclea, a polis on the west coast of mainland Greece. c. 630 BC. Height 6.7 inches. Inscribed in the Corinthian version of the Greek alphabet, this precious bowl is the only votive offering of the Cypselid dynasty that has been preserved. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts.

Figure 3.6a–b. Two views of an Attic bilingual amphora (storage jar) showing the heroes Achilles and Ajax playing a board game, attributed to the Andocides Painter and to the Lysippides Painter (c. 520 BC). This special vase is called “bilingual” because it is decorated in the new red-figure technique on one side and in traditional black-figure on the other. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. a b

Figure 3.7. Statue of an Egyptian nobleman. Early seventh century BC. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts.

Figure 3.8. Marble kouros, said to be from Attica (c. 600–480 BC). Height without plinth, 6 ft. 9/16 in. While the stiff and stylized pose as well as the carving methods employed in Egyptian stone statuary were sources of inspiration, the Archaic Greek sculptor has created a freestanding nude male figure. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Figure 3.9. Marble kouros with inscribed base that stood upon the grave of Aristodicus in Attica (c. 510–500 BC). Although naturalistically proportioned and fluidly modeled, this statue of a short-haired athletic youth still conforms to the traditional kouros pose. Athens, National Archaeological Museum.

Figure Late Archaic kore from the acropolis of Athens (c. 490 BC), dedicated by Euthydicus.

Figure Plan of the Athenian agora as it looked at the end of the Archaic period (c. 500 BC), showing the earliest public buildings. (After J. Travlos, 1971.)

Figure Aerial view of the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. See also Plate IX.

Figure The stadium in the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. The preserved stadium dates to the mid-fourth century BC, but it follows the Archaic form in which spectators sat on the ground surrounding the race course to observe the events instead of in seats, as in later stadia.

Figure Electrum coin from Ephesus or Halicarnassus in eastern Greece with a stag on the obverse and a punch mark on the reverse. Early sixth century BC. The earliest inscribed Greek coin, it was made from the natural alloy of gold, silver, and copper known as electrum before the precious metals themselves were used for coinage. Athens, Numismatic Collection.