Pithecusae (modern-day Ischia, in the Bay of Naples). His-
torical sources say that it was settled by traders from Chalcis
and Eretria, from the island of Euboea just off the coast of
mainland Greece. Its population was probably several thou-
sand. Substantial archaeological remains reveal not only a
settled city core but also outlying industrial districts devoted
to metalworking and pottery production (both of which
were Euboean specialties). Its location gave excellent access
to Italy, Sicily, and the western Mediterranean, and given its
size and degree of organization, it has been suggested that
Pithecusae served as a sort of “protocolony,” a model for the
settlements founded under more formal auspices a quarter
century later. It is presumably no coincidence that Chalcis
and Eretria were among the leading cities in the establish-
ment of such apoikiai.
Other emporia were more clearly limited to trade. Th e
most important of these was Naucratis, on the banks of the
Nile some 50 miles inland from the coast. Founded in about
630 b.c.e. by Miletus (an Ionian city on the coast of Asia Mi-
nor), it welcomed traders from all Greek cities, as evidenced
by the foundation of a Hellenion (pan-Greek temple) in the
mid-sixth century b.c.e. Any ambitions it may have had of at-
taining polis status were kept in check by the pharaoh, and in
fact it seems to have become a polis aft er Alexander’s conquest
of Egypt. Similarly, the emporion at El Minya (the ancient
name is unknown) existed for many years without becoming
a polis, despite being an apparently important rival to nearby
Phoenician trading centers along the Levantine coast. More
remote settlements, such as the Black Sea emporion described
by Herodotus as a center for trade with the Scythians, also
failed to attain polis status.
Colonies in the more formal sense, apoikiai, start to
show up in the late eighth century. Th e earliest known colo-
nies are Corcyra (modern-day Corfu, off the western coast of
mainland Greece), founded sometime before 734 b.c.e., and
Cumae, on the Bay of Naples, founded by the Chalcidians ap-
parently before 725 b.c.e. Corcyra, an Eritrean foundation,
lay on the sea route between Greece and southern Italy; Cu-
mae’s location was due to the success of nearby Pithecusae.
Th us the earliest known colonies were founded by cities that
had already participated heavily in emporia and in locations
particularly advantageous for trade. Still, trade itself is not
enough to explain the foundation of apoikiai. Th e traditional
explanation for the wave of colonization is that a surge in
population put too great a strain on the resources of main-
land Greece and that colonists fl ed in search of land that was
not only more abundant but also more fertile. In fact, both
trade and population pressure played a part in motivating
colonization, as did other factors, such as the political inter-
ests of the cities involved, the desire of some individuals to
earn the glory accorded to oikistai (founders of colonies), and
the commercial and military value of controlling strategic lo-
cations such as the Bosporus and the Straits of Messina.
Th e course of Greek geographical expansion is easy to
trace. Chalcis took the lead in colonizing Sicily, with foun-
dations at Naxos (not to be confused with the island of the
same name), Leontini, and Catana, all on the southeastern
part of the island; colonies at Zancle and Rhegium gave them
control of the Straits of Messina. Th ese were just the fi rst of
many foundations on the Italian peninsula: Sybaris, Croton,
Paestum, and Tarentum are particularly worthy of mention.
Th e Greek presence in southern Italy was so signifi cant that
the region later came to be known as Magna Graecia (“Large
Greece”; the name sometimes included Sicily as well).
Other colonies of Chalcis and Eretria were closer to
home. Th e large peninsula on the north shore of the Ae-
gean became known as Chalcidice because of its numerous
Chalcidian foundations, including Methone, formed for the
refugees from Corcyra, who had been expelled in 733 b.c.e.
when Corinth founded a colony there. Th us, even in the earli-
est days of colonization, rivalries and competition for land
could be fi erce. Corinth and its neighbor Megara continued
their rivalry overseas. In 733 b.c.e. Corinth founded Syra-
cuse, which became the most powerful of the Greek colonies
thanks in part to its excellent natural harbor. Five years later
Megara founded Megara Hyblaea some 15 miles to the north,
a distance very nearly equal to that separating the two mother
cities. (Th e rivalry ended 250 years later when Syracuse de-
stroyed Megara Hyblaea.) Expansion westward into Sicily led
to the foundation of Acragas and Selinus, whose prosperity
is shown by the magnifi cent Doric temples that still remain.
Both of these were “daughter-foundations”; that is, they were
founded by cities that were themselves colonies. (Th e prac-
tice went back to the earliest days of colonization: Zancle was
founded in part by Cumae.)
Th e Megarians also had success in the east, establishing
colonies at Chalcedon and Byzantium, which gave them con-
trol of access to the Black Sea. Miletus, on the coast of Asia
Minor, is said to have founded cities along the coast and along
the shores of the Black Sea as far north as the Danube. Farther
west, the Phocaeans founded colonies in France and Spain,
including Massilia, Nicaea, and Antipolis (present-day Mar-
seille, Nice, and Antibes), while Th era established Cyrene on
the North African coast (in modern-day Libya).
Th e great age of colonization ended by 580 b.c.e., by
which time most of the easily colonizable areas had been
taken. (Some areas were too remote, while others were incon-
veniently dominated by Etruscans, Carthaginians, Egyptians,
or Persians. Th e fact that Rome was in its infancy allowed the
formation of Magna Graecia.) Th e major players in the colo-
nization process were not then the great powers of the fi ft h
century b.c.e.: Athens and Th ebes had no overseas colonies,
Sparta only one (Tarentum, in the arch of the Italian boot).
Th e procedures for setting up an apoikia were well de-
fi ned, probably dating back to the earliest years of coloniza-
tion. Th e fi rst step was the appointment of an oikistes (cit y
founder), who would lead the expedition and was responsible
for establishing temples to the gods, for naming the city, and
for distributing the land. (Equal shares of land seem to have
been the norm, even in colonies founded by oligarchic states.)712 migration and population movements: Greece