Though Homer wrote both the Iliad and Odyssey most likely during the seventh century B.C.E., the period represented in the epics runs closer to the period between the twelfth and tenth century B.C.E., giving it the name of the Heroic Age.  This period predates the Archaic period in Greek art and sculpture, but the art and sculpture of the Heroic Age shares some of the same characteristics.  Even in the centuries leading up to the Archaic period (early seventh century B.C.E. to mid fifth century B.C.E.), some of the ideas that would become the Classical ideal - clarity, simplicity, regularity, balance, and proportion - already began appearing.  The Mycenaean Agamemnon mask is emblematic of these concerns.  During this period, most art took the form of pottery and frescoes, rather than free-standing sculpture, which flourished in later centuries.