This chapter starts by providing an overview of the radical social and spatial shifts which seem to have occurred within Cretan societies between the period of state collapse ca. 1200 and the early Archaic period from ca. 700 BC onward, including changes in settlement, subsistence, and ritual practice. It then presents three case study regions, possessing contrasts and similarities in patterns of change apparent from substantial detailed research data – the north Lasithi mountains in north central Crete, the Kavousi–Azoria region of east Crete, and the Phaistos–west Mesara region in the south of the island – in order to illustrate the points argued.

Corinth is often associated with the emergence of Greek monumental architecture. The long absence of worked stone in post-Mycenaean architecture cannot be explained by the loss of the necessary tools and techniques. Worked stone slabs were used in pit and cist graves in the northeastern Peloponnese from the Mycenaean through the Geometric periods, and large monolithic sarcophagi appeared at Corinth ca. 900 BCE. Such burials, sometimes containing valuable grave goods, apparently belonged to high-status individuals. By contrast, until the early seventh century BCE at Corinth and elsewhere, buildings had fieldstone foundations, mudbrick walls, and thatched roofs; isolated worked stones occurred rarely, e.g., as beddings for wooden thresholds. In the second half of the eighth century, grave goods disappeared from Corinthian burials, and the elite displayed their status with rich dedications in sanctuaries. During these years, Corinth became increasingly wealthy, first under the oligarchic Bacchiads and later in the tyranny of Kypselos. The first Greek temples with single-skin walls of cuboid stone blocks and roofs of terracotta tiles, built ca. 680–650 at Corinth and Isthmia, represent elite dedications. As with the worked stone in elite Corinthian burials, the quarried stone blocks used in these temples enhanced their display of wealth.

The story of the Iron Age Greeks in the western Mediterranean is currently under revision. The still dominant story is that Greeks migrated there in search of better land and greater economic opportunities unavailable in their homeland and encountered peoples who were backward in terms of their cultural, social, political, economic, and technological development. Through this interaction, the region’s cultural development was brought into line with these more sophisticated Greek newcomers. In the last fifteen years, however, a new picture challenging this traditional story has emerged, thanks to growing and better-interpreted archaeological data particularly from Etruria and Sardinia in Italy. This new picture has included significant changes to absolute chronologies, which have established that Italian developments are earlier than previously thought and are hardly describable as backward. Scholarship remains polarized between these two competing narratives. This chapter seeks to bridge these polarized divides and to take a more nuanced approach to the current block thinking. It argues that Etruria and Sardinia were indeed important regions in the Early Iron Age, capable of attracting Greeks westwards, and that Greeks had the greatest impact on those areas of Italy where they founded city-states.

This chapter explores Egypt’s interactions with Greeks and Greek culture during the Iron Age, particularly from 1000 to the early sixth century BCE. These interactions stemmed from Egypt’s integration (or lack thereof) into broader Mediterranean and Near Eastern trade and political networks. While evidence of Greek presence in Egypt before the seventh century BCE is limited, Egyptian or Egyptianizing goods were widely circulated in the Aegean, suggesting indirect contact through intermediaries like Phoenician traders. The Third Intermediate Period (1069–664 BCE) was marked by political fragmentation and foreign dynasties, leading to an internal focus and limited engagement with Greek material culture. However, by the early Saite Period (664–332 BCE), foreign mercenaries and traders began settling in Egypt, culminating in the Greek emporion at Naukratis under Psamtik I. Archaeological evidence, including imported Greek pottery and Egyptian bronzes found in Greek sanctuaries, underscores the shifting dynamics of these interactions. The Saite rulers embraced foreign goods and influences as strategic tools for consolidating power, in stark contrast to their predecessors. This study emphasizes the role of archaeological data over Greek literary sources, offering insights into the evolving relationship between Egypt and Greece and the broader implications for Mediterranean trade and cultural exchange.

The fifth chapter details an especially elite investment in the Subura’s residential fabric and the emergence of Christian communities in the fourth century CE, after Constantine passed the Edict of Milan in 313. Several churches are evident in the upper Subura on the Cispian hill, most notably a basilica built by the bishop Liberius. The general orientation of the Subura valley thus began to shift away from the lower portion closer to the Forum and toward its upper extents.

Includes a discussion of solution chemistry, leading to the preparation of analytical standards for chemical analysis. It explains the calculation of errors in calibration procedures and the use of quality assurance procedures more generally.