Archaic Greece 25 An illustration depicts life in ancient Greece: A musician plays the lyre for his audience—the seventh century b.c.e saw the rise of lyric poetry, the performance of a song accompanied by a lyre Such lyric poetry is set in the present and tells the interests and passions of the author In this period the Greeks took the creation of a practical item, pottery, and turned it into such a beautiful piece of art that it spawned cheap imitations and demand for the pieces throughout the Mediterranean Greek pottery in the seventh century b.c.e was dominated by Corinthian pottery and its portrayal of animal life Athenian pottery and its portrayal of mythical themes rose to prominence in the sixth century b.c.e The same century also saw the shift from black figures engraved on a red background to drawing red figures on a black background, which allowed for more detail and movement in their figures Perhaps the greatest contribution made to Western civilization by the Archaic Greeks was in the realm of ideas further developed during the Classical Period that continue to influence us, such as the search for a rational view of the universe, a “scientific” explanation for the world, and the birth of philosophy by the cosmologists in sixth century b.c.e Miletus In addition, the Archaic Greeks bequeathed to humanity the concept of democratic government, wherein members of the polis (i.e., free men) enjoyed social liberty and freedom and willingly submitted to laws enacted directly by their fellow citizens See also Greek Colonization; Greek Drama; Greek mythology and pantheon; Greek oratory and rhe toric Further reading: Freeman, Charles Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999; Perry, Marvin, ed Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2007; Pomeroy, Sarah B Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999 Abbe Allen DeBolt