

Regional schools of artists exhibited a rich variety of styles and preferences at this time.

By the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., Greek colonies and settlements stretched all the way from western Asia Minor to southern Italy, Sicily, North Africa, and even to the coasts of southern France and Spain. The ancient Greeks were active seafarers seeking opportunities for trade and founding new independent cities at coastal sites across the Mediterranean Sea.

Greece is a country surrounded by water, and the sea has always played an important role in its history. The Greek alphabet, inspired by the writing of the Phoenician sea traders, was developed and spread at this time. ( 74.51.965), when many seminal elements of ancient Greek society were also established, such as city-states, major sanctuaries, and the Panhellenic festivals. Ancient Greek colonization began at an early date, during the so-called Geometric period of about 900 to 700 B.C.
