Greece was divided into many small self-governing communities, a pattern largely dictated by Greek geography: every island, valley and plain is cut off from its neighbors by the sea or mountain ranges. It was fought between the important poleis (city-states) of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea.Both cities seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, though Chalcis was the nominal victor.Athens suffered a land and agrarian crisis in the late 7th century BC, again resulting in civil strife.The Archon (chief magistrate) Draco made severe reforms to the law code in 621 BC (hence "draconian"), but these failed to quell the conflict.
Objects with Phoenician writing on them may have been available in Greece from the 9th century BC, but the earliest evidence of Greek writing comes from graffiti on Greek pottery from the mid-8th century. 650 BC) is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period.
This practice allowed a social revolution to occur.