The Archaic period is a period in Ancient Greece that lasted from the 8th century BC to the 6th century BC. During this period, the Greeks developed many of the cultural and political institutions that would define their civilization for centuries to come. It was a time of great change and innovation
From Wikipedia
Archaic Greece was the period in Greek history lasting from c. 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, following the Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period. In the archaic period, the Greeks settled across the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea: by the end of the period, they were part of a trade network that spanned the entire Mediterranean.