The Aegean and the Black Sea were connected in terms of trade and objects circulating since the 3rd millenium BC. Concerning the Archaic Greek pottery in the region, recent excavations have brought to light much more Archaic ceramic finds than the investigations of the previous decades. The western and northern coasts are represented by East Greek pottery of different styles, fewer Attic fine ware and more rarely Corinthian sherds of later decades. On the other hand, evidence from the southern...

more...

Mythological creatures which, according to ancient writers, lived in the north, at the edge of the Ecumene and fighted each other over gold. The myth of the fight of the Arimasps against the Griffins first appears in Greece in the 7th cent. BC and is found in literature and works of art.

more...

The colonisation of the Black Sea took place from the second half of the 7th century BC until the early Classical period. The metropolis of most of the colonies in the Black Sea was Miletus, which founded important cities like Sinope, Amisos, Histria and Olbia. Other cities participated in the colonisation of the region to a lesser extent, such as Megara, which founded Heraclea Pontica and Mesembria, Teos, Mytilene et. al. The colonies' economy was based on fishing, agriculture and the rich...

more...

The burial customs attested in the necropoleis of the Greek colonies in the Black Sea are a combination of customs found in metropolitan Greece with influences from Asia Minor and the cultures of the local populations. Generally, they are characterized by homogeneity with some local distinctive features. Their chronological and geographical grouping is a difficult task and therefore we cannot form a complete picture.

more...

The Cimmerians were the predecessors of the Scythians. Their art incorporated Greek Geometric as well as Caucasian elements. The Scythians replaced the Cimmerians in the Pontic area. However, the roots of the Cimmerian culture can be traced as far as Siberia and Northern China. A historical overview of the Cimmerians and their culture is provided by the written testimony which consists of both Near Eastern and Greek sources. Archaeological excavations brought to light vast cemeteries and...

more...

Attic pottery had prevailed in Mediterranean and Black Sea markets since the 6th century BC. The political conditions in the Pontic area, however, were decisive for the origin of the pottery imported there. So, as Attic wares were becoming less popular in the 3rd century BC , their Ionian counterparts flourished. The Greek pottery in the Black Sea region is represented by all the well known pottery styles and shapes of the period under investigation, distributed not only in the big centres but...

more...

The Greek coinage of the western and northern Black Sea started circulating from the 6th century BC. Both areas are characterized by the initial introduction of peculiar bronze objects, whose monetary value is archaeologically confirmed. Silver, bronze and even gold coins have been unearthed and categorized according to their depicted images. Overall, the coinage of the area under investigation was strongly influenced by cultural, economic and political factors.

more...

During the Greek colonization in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, settlements of various functions and financial orientation were created. The ancient authors, attempting to define or categorize them, used (and sometimes coined) different terms in the Greek language, like polis, emporion, asty, polichnion, kome, limen, epineion and so forth. Each of these terms can be multivalent. The term emporion denoting a colony or a type of settlement in the Black Sea rarely occurs in the ancient...

more...

The hero Achilles was worshipped since the 6th century BC in many areas of Greece and beyond, particularly on the shores of the Black Sea. The cult was more widespread in the region of Olbia Pontica and on the small island of Leuke. The religious practices are not known in detail. Inscriptions refer to games in honour of Achilles, as well as to the relationship between the cult and the sea travellers.

more...