Introduction to Ancient Greek Colonies

History with Cy (2021)

Film Review

This film traces the history of Greek colonies founded between 750 and 550 BC. What they refer to as “colonies” ranged from pirate stations and trading outposts to genuine colonies founded by settllers from various Greek city-states. Most were in the western Mediterranean (the eastern Mediterranean was already colonized by more powerful empires, such as Persia), the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea.

The founding of Greek colonies followed an overpopulation crisis that developed throughout Greece in the 8th century BC. With aristocrats owning most of the arable land, there was no room for families to expand on a mountainous peninsula. Eventually all the city-states relied on overseas colonies for grain and other foodstuffs. Many younger Greeks preferred to emigrate to the colonies, where there was no aristocracy, and it was easy to acquire more land. In most cases, the colonies were far more prosperous than the city-states that founded them.

In 775 BC colonists from the city-states of Calcus and Iritea founded the first Greek colony was settled on Pithekoussai, an island off the west coast of Italy. These early settlers became extremely prosperous trading wine, metal products, pottery and ceramics to the Etruscans in northern Italy for tin, silver and iron (which they shipped back to Greece. However by 700 BC they abandoned Pithekoussai for Zancle (in Sicily), Neapolis (Naples) and Cumae (in southern Italy).

Between 730 and 700 BC a new Greek colony was founded every other year in Southern Italy, mainly to supply grain and other agricultural products for the Corinth, Calcus, Rhodes, Crete and other city-states that founded them. Sometimes the settlement process was peaceful and in some cases Greek settlers forcibly expelled the indigenous tribes they encountered. On the island of Sicily, there was also ongoing conflict with the Phoenicians (Carthaginians) who had settled western Sicily. There was also conflict between the Ionian and Dorian colonies in southern Italy and Sicily.

Cumae (in Italy) was one of the first Greek colonies, settled by colonists from Euboea to create an outpost to trade with the Etruscans in northern Italy. The settlers’ defeat of the Etruscans at Cumae in 474 BC prevent the Etruscans from expanding their own colonies into southern Italy (see The Extensive Trade Networks of the Ancient Etruscans).

The Greek colonies on the southern Spanish and French coast were mainly trading posts. Founded in 600 BC by citizens from the city-state of Volcae, Massalia (modern day Marseilles) was an exception. Although the indigenous tribes welcomed them, the Greeks did battle with the Phoenicians to claim the region. Nearby colonies of Nikai and Emporium supplied silver, iron, tin and lead to Massalia, which exported these raw materials to Greece. Massalia also traded wine to Celtic tribes in Gaul’s interior and eventually taught the Celts how to grow grapes.

The island of Thrace had 30 Greek colonies, founded between 720 and 700 BC, by settlers from Calcus and Corinth. The new residents forcibly displaced the indigenous population.

Cyrene (in modern day Libya) was founded in 630 BC by residents from Thera, which literally ran out of food. Each family was expected to send one son, on pain of death, to the new colony. It became one of the most prosperous Greek colonies, providing the mainland with grain, wool, oxides and silphium (a laxative)

The numerous Greek colonies along the Black Sea were an important source of precious metals, copper and tin.