The Greek Colonization

The first colonization • The first Greek colonization happened between XII and IX century b.C. . •It was caused by Dorians’ invasion, an Indoeuropean population coming from, according to some researches, the region around Danube; made up by warriors, not interested in craftsmanship and trading, Dorians occupied the whole Peloponnese region, Cyclades, Creta and Rhodes, except for Arcadia and Attica. •After this movement, in Greece began a hard economic crisis caused by the disappearing of the commercial and productive activities. •This crises forced different Greek populations to build new towns around Asia Minor or Tanais, Theodosia, Odessos, Trapezunta, Tomis, Apollonia on Black Sea coasts.

The second colonization

Between VIII and V century b.C. there was another important wave of Ellenic migration, that interested wide Mediterranean areas.

• The need of coltivable fields because of the hardship of Greek soil.• A massive demographic growth after the rising up of new cities.• The establishment of latifundum against small propreties. • The need of new harbours for the import and export of trading goods like raw materials.• The growth of Poleis (Greek city-states), scene of political fights. Exponents of the defeat party decided or were obliged to decide to go to exile and they often built their communities across the ocean.

This wave of immigration mainly pointed to West: Greeks founded colonies in France, Spain, Northern Africa and Southern Italy. Those latter were the fasteston growing up and formed the so called Magna Grecia (Great Greece).

NAXOS (today Giardini Naxos) was the first Greek colony in Sicily, built up in 735 b.C. by Chalcidians. The folowing years were characterized by several new colonies and will lay the foundation of Sicilian language, culture, art and history.

Syracousai (Syracuse) was built in 734 b.C. by Corinths;

Zancles (Messina) in 730 b.C. and Katane (Catania) in 729 b.C. by Chalcidians;

Megara Hyblaea in 728 b.C. and Selinunte in 650 b.C. were built up by Megarans;

Ghelas (Gela) in 689 b.C. and Akragas (Agrigento) in 581 b.C. by Locris.

The whole eastern coast was colonized

by Greek and the colonies themselves built, growing up, new colonies. The most rapresentative example is Syracuse, the most important Greek city of the island, which also founded Akrai (664 b.C.), Casmene (643 b.C.) and Kamarina (598 b.C.)

Sicily became one of the most important centre of Greek culture. Among the most famous exponents there are: Archimedes, a mathematic, physic and inventor from Syracuse; the poet Stesicoro; philosophers like Gorgia from Lentini, Epicarmo and Empedocle.

First temples were built up between VI and VII century: in Selinunte today there is the biggest archaeological area of Europe with its eight temples; in Agrigento in the famous “Temples valley” there are ten of them; in Segesta there are two more temples. We can also mention theatres like those in Ortigia, Taormina and Tindari.

Together with architectonic constructions, also the sculpture developed a lot as we can see from the metope of selinunte.

As the colonies became important commercial centres, the coin, a great change in the economic field, was introduced, taking the place of the obsolete barter system. Selinunte was the first city that minted coins during the VI century b.C., followed by Agrigento and Gela. These coins are today an important antefact with a big artistic value.