Index and Sources

The complete Ancient Greece map contains over 1700 places, each hand-crafted and cross-checked.

A general list of sources can be found in the bibliography, while the map index (περιεχόμενα) contains place-specific sources. In general, trusted sources include a list of their primary sources.

Legend & Design Notes

Base Map

1:10,000,000 (1:10m)
1″ = 158 miles
1 cm = 100 km

The base map was made with Natural Earth
https://www.naturalearthdata.com (NE2_LR_LC_SR_W_DR version 2.0.0, 1/30/2025)

Placemarks & Timemarks

The placemark is also a “timemark” that illustrates the story of ancient Greek settlements through time, at a glance.

It shows with a quick glance, during which periods a place was relevant (inhabited, administered, etc.) for Hellenic civilization, and what its influence was in that era. In a cluster of cities, the more ancient ones will have hexagons active on the left, while in the later settlements, the right hexagons will be tinted.

All placemarks are the same size. Relative importance in each era is indicated by the corresponding timemark fill, and the overall influence is indicated by the text size and weight (bold text).

Timemarks are relatively subjective. They indicate the general level of importance of the site, for each era, as construed from the various sources. The sources which are included in the index for each place provide the main guidance in determining each era’s importance.

Color Key

Wide-area color shading highlights areas of Greek settlements for better visibility.

For highlighting purposes, ancient eras are assigned a color:

Place Names

Ancient Greece spans three thousand years and, naturally, many settlements changed their name over time. Often, the ancients in their own time referred to places by different names or derivatives. To make things more confusing, in subsequent studies over the centuries, transliteration from Greeek to Latin characters never followed consistent rules. As a result, many settlements are known by several name variants.

To fit as many places as possible, only one of the known names for each place is given on the map where space is tight. In that case an asterisk indicates that alternative names for each place can be found in the map index, in their English and Ancient Greek versions.

The following naming conventions are used on the maps to reflect a places’ name variations over the centuries:

Name*: Additional name variations in the index
Name (Name): Other spellings or derivatives
Name, Name: Different names in same era
Name / Name: Name different through eras

Typography

Type size and weight denote the relative importance of each place, but in areas of tight space, a smaller font has been used.

Fonts: Helvetica Neue and Baskerville.

The following typography guidelines give a good approximation of a place’s importance:

12 pt. Name: Place of Renown

10 pt. Name: Place of Influence

8 pt. Name: Place of Importance

7, 6, 5 pt. Name: Place of importance, or influence in tight space

8 pt. Name: Place of note

7, 6, 5, 4.5 pt. Name: Place of note, in tight space

In general, when space is tight, fonts get a click smaller; when space is ample, the largest possible fonts for each significance is used.

Τα Ονόματα στα Ελληνικά είναι γραμμένα με κλίση (names in Greek are italicized) για να διαφοροποιούνται από τα Αγγλικά όταν παρουσιάζονται μαζί στον χάρτη.

Visualizations

Routes

Routes on sea and land are approximate. They indicate a general idea of the direction and reach of travel. Many on this map are based on later (Roman or Late Antiquity) roads.

Scale Bar

The scale is very approximate and not to be trusted with precise measurements.

Stadia calculated by measuring the reported ancient distance from Athens to Dekeleia of 120 stadia (Thucidydes).

Human Scale: Visibility Horizon

Several map features have “human scale” indicators to help visualizing distances between places, including a “local city radius”, and a “visibility horizon”.

A “shaded” blue area extending out from each island and shoreline indicates an approximate distance of how far a human can see.

Approximate visibility distance on the map is set at 16 km, or 10 mi. (at sea level: 3 miles; with slight elevation 12 miles). Hopefully it is useful to gauge distances and proportions, especially between the islands.

Human Scale: Local Radius

This feature is not yet published

In an effort to introduce the human scale on the map, a “circle of influence” surrounds each placemark. It represents a reasonable minimum radius of a settlement’s local interactions and influence.

It is a very general mark to enhance the visibility of the area, and to highlight settlement clusters and trends, especially when zoomed-out.

The radius represents approximate walking distance in a day (accepted here as 32 kilometers, or 20 miles, which can be traversed in about 6-8 hours at walking pace), assessed to be the maximum distance where locals would interact with the land, each other, and their neighbors within overlapping areas during a day. Most activity around a city would probably be taking place around a radius of 6-8 miles, which is a distance a person could cover in a couple of hours on foot. A horse/mule or a cart, and other conditions would affect distance and time, but this map does not account for that.

In ancient Greece, a city’s center itself, as well as the surrounding countryside, farms, and villages that provided resources and supported the city’s population, or its polis, extended to a radius of approximately 15-20 kilometers (9-12 miles). The specific radius would vary depending on factors like terrain, population density, and the presence of other nearby settlements. An average person can walk about 25 miles in a day.

The radius does not factor a settlement’s renown or environs, so all radii are equal.

Map Prints

The maps are designed for digital viewing, but they do print well in poster-size dimensions and quality appropriate for wall-hanging.

Ancient-Greece.org provides the digital map only and does not sell/provide physical maps. Use your own, or a commercial printer to print the maps in the size you need.

Usage policy: These exclusive maps are free for personal use and research purposes, but reproduction, remixing, embedding, or publication in any form or media, sale, or relicensing is not allowed.

All rights reserved.

Appropriate use of map prints is restricted to research and personal use, or to hang in a private room, or in a physical classroom only. In such case, the map’s legend, copyright notices, and hyperlinks, must remain unaltered, clearly visible, and legible.

Κατάλληλη χρήση εκτύπωσης των χαρτών μας είναι μόνο για έρευνα και προσωπική χρήση, ή για αίθουσα φυσικού σχολείου, ή ιδιωτικού δωματίου. Σε κάθε περίπτωση, το υπόμνημα, οι διαδυκτιακοί σύνδεσμοι, και οι αναγγελίες της πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας πρέπει να παραμένουν αναλλοίωτα και ευανάγνωστα.

Για εκτύπωση χρησιμοποιήστε τα εργαλεία του προγράμματος περιήγησής σας. Τα PDF μπορούν να εκτυπωθούν σε υψηλή ποιότητα και μεγέθος αφίσας.

Ancient-Greece.org διαθέτει μόνο το ψηφιακό αρχείο. Χρησιμοποιήστε τον δικό σας, ή εναν επαγγελματικό εκτυπωτή.

Design tools used to make these maps

Natural Earth, QGIS, Affinity Designer, PDF. The PDF format was chosen as final output for its simplicity, usability, versatility, and printability. Ancient-Greece.org is not affiliated with any of these tools.