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

1:20,900,000

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 look, 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.

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. A san-serif font is easier to read on a digital screen, so Helvetica Neue became the font of choice for all places. Baskerville’s visual gravity and classical looks seemed more appropriate for the map title.

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.

Color Key

Period area highlights are assigned these colors:

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

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.

Wind Patterns

The wind patterns of the Mediterranean profoundly shaped ancient history and culture, influencing everything from seasonal trade to military campaigns. In the era of sailing ships, prevailing winds were as critical to commerce and communication as mountains and valleys were to land travel.

Our map includes an approximate graphic representation of these wind patterns to illustrate their effect on the direction, speed, duration, and reach of ancient maritime travel.

Map Prints

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

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

All rights reserved.

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.