Editing Classical antiquity (section)

===Archaic period (c. 8th to c. 6th centuries BC)===
{{Further|Iron Age Europe}}

The earliest period of classical antiquity occurs during a time of gradual resurgence of [[historical]] sources after the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]]. The 8th and 7th centuries&nbsp;BC are still largely [[protohistorical]], with the earliest [[history of the Greek alphabet|Greek alphabetic]] inscriptions appearing during the first half of the 8th century. The legendary poet [[Homer]] is usually assumed to have lived during the 8th or 7th century BC, and his lifetime is often considered as the beginning of classical antiquity. During the same period is the [[traditional]] date for the establishment of the [[Ancient Olympic Games]], in 776&nbsp;BC.

====Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Assyrians====
{{Main|Phoenicia|Ancient Carthage|Ancient history of Cyprus}}
[[File:Griechischen und phönizischen Kolonien.jpg|thumb|265px|Map of [[Phoenicia]]n (in yellow) and [[Second Greek colonisation|Greek colonies]] (in red) about 8th to 6th century BC.]]

The Phoenicians originally expanded from [[port]]s in [[Canaan]], by the 8th century dominating trade in the [[Mediterranean]]. [[Carthage]] was founded in 814 BC, and the Carthaginians by 700 BC had established strongholds in [[Sicily]], Italy and [[Sardinia]], which created conflicts of interest with [[Etruria]]. A [[stele]] found in [[Kition]], [[Cyprus]],  commemorates the victory of King [[Sargon II]] in 709 BC over the seven kings of the island, marking an important part of the transfer of Cyprus from [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyrian]] rule to the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]].<ref>{{Cite web |url = https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=291290&partId=1 |title=The Esarhaddon Prism / Library of Ashurbanipal |website=British Museum }}</ref><ref>Yon, M., Malbran-Labat, F. 1995: "La stèle de Sargon II à Chypre", in A. Caubet (ed.), Khorsabad, le Palais de Sargon II, Roi d'Assyrie, Paris, 159–179.</ref><ref>Radner, K. 2010: "The Stele of Sargon II of Assyria at Kition: A focus for an emerging Cypriot identity?", in R. Rollinger, B. Gufler, M. Lang, I. Madreiter (eds), Interkulturalität in der Alten Welt: Vorderasien, Hellas, Ägypten und die vielfältigen Ebenen des Kontakts, Wiesbaden, 429–449.</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sargon/essentials/countries/cyprus/
|title=The Cypriot rulers as client kings of the Assyrian empire
|date=5 November 2012
|work=The many kingdoms of Cyprus
|access-date=21 January 2016
}}</ref>

====Greece====
{{Main|Archaic Greece}}

The Archaic period followed the [[Greek Dark Ages]], and saw significant advancements in [[political theory]], and the beginnings of [[democracy]], [[philosophy]], [[theatre]], [[poetry]], as well as the revitalization of the written language (which had been lost during the Dark Ages).

In pottery, the Archaic period sees the development of the [[Orientalizing Period|Orientalizing style]], which signals a shift from the [[geometric style]] of the later Dark Ages and the accumulation of influences derived from Egypt, [[Phoenicia]] and [[Syria]].

Pottery styles associated with the later part of the Archaic age are the [[black-figure pottery]], which originated in [[Corinth]] during the 7th-century BC and its successor, the [[Red-figure pottery|red-figure style]], developed by the [[Andokides Painter]] in about 530&nbsp;BC.

====Greek colonies====
{{Excerpt|Greek colonisation}}

====Iron Age Italy====
[[File:Etruscan civilization map.png|thumb|300px|[[Etruscan civilization]] in north of Italy, 800 BC.]]

The [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscans]] had established political control in the region by the late 7th-century BC, forming the aristocratic and monarchial elite. The Etruscans apparently lost power in the area by the late 6th-century BC, and at this time, the [[Italic peoples|Italic]] tribes reinvented their government by creating [[republic]]s, with greater restraints on the ability of individual rulers to exercise power.<ref>''Ancient Rome and the Roman Empire'' by Michael Kerrigan. Dorling Kindersley, London: 2001. {{ISBN|0-7894-8153-7}}. p. 12.</ref>

====Roman kingdom====
{{Main|Roman Kingdom}}

According to legend, [[Founding of Rome|Rome was founded]] on 21 April 753 BC by twin descendants of the [[Troy|Trojan]] prince [[Aeneas]], [[Romulus and Remus]].<ref>{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9JJdqJ8YGH8C&pg=PA5|last1=Adkins|first1= Lesley |last2= Adkins|first2 = Roy|date = 1998| page= 3|title = Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome|publisher = Oxford University Press|location = New York|isbn = 978-0195123326}}</ref> As the city was bereft of women, legend says that the Latins invited the [[Sabines]] to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, resulting in the integration of Latins and Sabines.<ref>[http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/mythslegends_3.htm Myths and Legends – Rome, the Wolf, and Mars] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529053414/http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/mythslegends_3.htm |date=29 May 2007 }}. Accessed 8 March 2007.</ref>

Archaeological evidence indeed shows first traces of settlement at the [[Roman Forum]] in the mid-8th century BC, though settlements on the [[Palatine Hill]] may date back to the 10th century BC.<ref>{{cite book|last = Matyszak|first = Philip|date = 2003| page= 19|title = Chronicle of the Roman Republic: The Rulers of Ancient Rome from Romulus to Augustus|publisher = Thames & Hudson|isbn = 978-0500051214}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Duiker|first1=William|last2=Spielvogel|first2=Jackson|title=World History|date=2001|publisher=Wadsworth|isbn=978-0-534-57168-9|url=https://archive.org/details/worldhistoryto1500duik/page/129 |url-access=registration |page=129|edition=Third}}</ref>

According to legend, the seventh and final king of Rome was [[Tarquinius Superbus]]. As the son of [[Tarquinius Priscus]] and the son-in-law of [[Servius Tullius]], Superbus was of Etruscan birth. It was during his reign that the Etruscans reached their apex of power. Superbus removed and destroyed all the Sabine shrines and altars from the [[Tarpeian Rock]], enraging the people of Rome. The people came to object to his rule when he failed to recognize the rape of [[Lucretia]], a patrician Roman, by his own son. Lucretia's kinsman, [[Lucius Junius Brutus]] (ancestor to [[Marcus Brutus]]), summoned the Senate and had Superbus and the monarchy expelled from Rome in 510 BC. After Superbus' expulsion, the Senate in 509 BC voted to never again allow the rule of a king and reformed Rome into a [[Roman Republic|republican government]].