In the history of ancient Greece, the Archaic period is usually dated to between ca. 800 and 500 BC. Often, the date is extended down to around 480 BC Some authors hold that the Archaic period proper starts with the first supposedly historic event, the Olympic Games of 776 BC. Others have the Archaic period start at around 700 BC.

The suicide of Ajax
The suicide of the hero Ajax, the result of a dispute over the ownership of Achilles’ armour, was a popular motif in Archaic Greek art.

The death penalty in Athens
In ancient Greece, serious crimes were punishable by death. What forms did the death penalty take in Classical Athens?

West pediment of the Temple of Aphaia
This picture, taken at the Munich Glyptothek, depicts the sculptures taken from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia on Aigina. It depicts a scene from the Trojan War familiar from Homer. The style of the sculpture here is “Archaic”, and on this basis it has been argued that the west pediment is older than the one on the eastern (front) side.

A tale of three cities
Zagora, Hypsele, and Andros
The eighth century BC was a time of great change in the Early Iron Age Aegean. One of these changes is exemplified by the reorganization of settlements on the Cycladic island of Andros.

Making ancient Greek vases
A look at red- and black-figure pottery
In this article, we examine the differences between red- and black-figure vases and go through the process of how they were made.

A Trojan Horse from Mykonos
A large relief pithos (storage jar) from Mykonos features a rare early Greek depiction of the Wooden Horse used to capture Troy.

The heroine Atalanta
In ancient Greek mythology, there is a dearth of stories centred on female heroines. An important exception is the fearless Atalanta.

Cimmerians and Scythians
Herodotus reconsidered
In the distant past, when Assyria still reigned supreme, two tribes of nomadic horsemen wreaked havoc across Asia. They were known as the Cimmerians and the Scythians.

Aristeia and philotimia
Two key concepts of the ancient Greek world
In this article, we explore two important concepts of the warrior ethos that was at the heart of ancient Greek culture.

Romantic love in Homer
Some material in a doctoral thesis never makes the final cut, but can instead be turned into articles. An example is a peer-reviewed article that I wrote about romantic love in the Homeric epics.