A map of the Mediterranean. Major Greek cities of the period 700-350 BCE are labelled. A key indicates blue shaded areas show the core areas of Greek literary culture, and orange shaded areas indicate the general spread of literary culture. Shaded in blue are large parts of mainland Greece, as well as the Greek islands, the coast of modern Turkey, a very small area of the north coast of Libya, and some areas of the south-eastern coasts of Italy and Sicily. Shaded in orange are other parts of Greece, the Italian and Sicilian coasts, the coasts of modern Turkey and Bulgaria, Crete, and Cyprus, as well as a small area of the north coast of Libya.