In the
Archaic phase of
ancient Greece, the
Orientalizing period is the cultural and
art historical period informed by the art of
Syria and
Assyria, to a lesser extent also
Phoenicia and
Egypt, which started during the later part of the 8th century BCE. It encompasses a new, Orientalizing style, spurred by a period of increased cultural interchange in the Aegean world. The period is characterized by a shift from the prevailing
Geometric style to a style with different sensibilities, which were inspired by the East. The intensity of the cultural interchange during this period is sometimes compared to that of the
Late Bronze Age.