A fascinating interactive map reveals the journeys and destinations reached by the Ancient Greeks over thousands of years.
The ancient civilization that flourished in the Greek territory spans millennia, from the Paleolithic and Bronze Ages to the Hellenistic and Late Hellenistic/Roman periods.
From the Archaic and Classical Eras—and especially after Alexander the Great’s conquests and the dawn of the Hellenistic period—the Greek civilization expanded far beyond the geographic boundaries of what we now call Greece. Ancient Greek artifacts from various periods have been discovered not only in nearby colonies in Italy and Asia Minor but also in far-flung regions ranging from the Iberian Peninsula to India.
Thomas Sakoulas, an art professor at SUNY Oneonta in New York, has meticulously compiled an interactive map showcasing every location around the globe where Ancient Greek artifacts have been found. The map highlights over 1,200 sites, most of which are, unsurprisingly, within Greek territory. However, numerous discoveries are scattered across Central and Southern Europe, the Near East, and even as far as India.
Created using Google Maps, the map allows users to explore each marked site, represented by a characteristic Ancient Greek pediment icon. Clicking on a location provides detailed information and links about the specific site. Each pediment icon is color-coded according to the era of the artifact it represents, with most marked in orange for findings from the Classical Period (480–323 BC) and yellow for those from the Hellenistic Period (323–146 BC).
For more details about the map and its creator, visit Professor Sakoulas’s website at ancient-greece.org.
