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Magna Graecia

Magna Graecia (/ˌmæɡnə ˈɡrsjə, ˈɡrʃə/, US: /ˌmæɡnə ˈɡrʃə/; Latin: [ˈmaŋna ˈgrae̯ki.a], lit.'Greater Greece', Ancient Greek: Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, Megálē Hellás, Italian: Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these regions were extensively populated by Greek settlers.[1] These settlers, who began arriving in the 8th century BC, brought with them their Hellenic civilization, which left a lasting imprint on Italy (such as in the culture of ancient Rome). They also influenced the native peoples, such as the Sicels and the Oenotrians, who became hellenized after they adopted the Greek culture as their own.

Magna Graecia
Μεγάλη Ελλάς
Clockwise from top left: Second Temple of Hera in Poseidonia, Campania; Doric-styled Temple, Segesta; Taras' sculpture of a young man wearing cucullus and leading his donkey; depiction of Eos riding a two-horsed chariot, on a krater from Southern Italy.
Ancient Greek colonies and their dialect groupings in Magna Graecia.
  Ionic
Present status Italy

The Greek expression Megálē Hellás, later translated into Latin as Magna Graecia, first appears in Polybius' Histories,[2] where he ascribed the term to Pythagoras and his philosophical school.[3][4] Strabo also used the term to refer to the size of the territory that had been conquered by the Greeks,[5] and the Roman poet Ovid used the term in his poem Fasti.

Antiquity

According to Strabo's Geographica, the colonization of Magna Graecia had already begun by the time of the Trojan War and lasted for several centuries.[6]

In the 8th and 7th century BC, due to demographic crises (famine, overcrowding, etc.), stasis, a developing need for new commercial outlets and ports, and expulsion from their homeland after wars, Greeks began to settle in southern Italy.[5] Colonies began to be established all over the Mediterranean and Black Seas (with the exception of Northwestern Africa, in the sphere of influence of Carthage), including in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian Peninsula. The Romans called this area Magna Graecia (Latin for "Greater Greece") since it was so densely inhabited by the Greeks. Ancient geographers differed on whether the term included Sicily or merely Apulia, Campania and Calabria, Strabo and Livy being the most prominent advocates of the wider definitions.[7]

With colonization, Greek culture was exported to Italy in its dialects of the Ancient Greek language, its religious rites and its traditions of the independent polis. An original Hellenic civilization soon developed and later interacted with the native Italic civilisations. The most important cultural transplant was the Chalcidean/Cumaean variety of the Greek alphabet, which was adopted by the Etruscans; the Old Italic alphabet subsequently evolved into the Latin alphabet, which became the most widely used alphabet in the world.

Some of these Hellenic colonies still stand today such as Neapolis ("New City", now Naples), Syracuse, Akragas (Agrigento), Taras (Taranto), Rhegion (Reggio Calabria), or Kroton (Crotone).

The first Greek city to be absorbed into the Roman Republic was Neapolis in 327 BC.[8] The other Greek cities in Italy followed during the Samnite Wars and the Pyrrhic War; Taras was the last to fall in 272. Sicily was conquered by Rome during the First Punic War. Only Syracuse remained independent until 212 because its king Hiero II was a devoted ally of the Romans. His grandson Hieronymus however made an alliance with Hannibal, which prompted the Romans to besiege the city, which fell in 212 despite the machines of Archimedes, described by Proclus in his commentary on Euclid's Elements. Archimedes constructed weapons powered by compressed air, weights and counterweights, according to Ctesibius and Hero.[9]

List of Hellenic Poleis in Italy

This is a list of the 22 poleis (city states) in Italy, according to Mogens Herman Hansen.[10] It does not list all the Hellenic settlements, only those organised around a polis structure.

Ancient name(s) Location Modern name(s) Foundation date Mother city Founder(s)
Herakleia (Lucania) Basilicata (abandoned) 433–432 BC Taras (and Thourioi) Un­known
Hipponion Calabria Vibo Valentia late 7th century BC Lokroi Epizephiroi Un­known
Hyele, or Elea, Velia (Roman name) Campania (abandoned) c.540–535 BC Phokaia, Massalia Refugees from Alalie
Kaulonia Calabria (abandoned) 7th century BC Kroton Typhon of Aigion
Kroton Calabria Crotone 709–708 BC Rhypes, Achaia Myscellus
Kyme, Cumae (Roman name) Campania (abandoned) c.750–725 BC Chalkis and Eretria Hippokles of Euboian Kyme and Megasthenes of Chalkis
Laos Calabria (abandoned) before 510 BC Sybaris Refugees from Sybaris
Lokroi (Epizephiroi) Calabria Locri early 7th century BC Lokris Un­known
Medma Calabria (abandoned) 7th century BC Lokroi Epizephiroi Un­known
Metapontion Basilicata Metaponto c. 630 BC Achaia Leukippos of Achaia
Metauros Calabria Gioia Tauro 7th century BC Zankle (or possibly Lokroi Epizephiroi) Un­known
Neapolis Campania Naples 6–5h century BC (previously a 8th century harbour of Kyme known as Parthenope) Kyme Un­known
Pithekoussai Campania Ischia 8th century BC Chalkis and Eretria Un­known
Poseidonia, Paestum (Roman name) Campania (abandoned) c. 600 BC Sybaris (and perhaps Troizen) Un­known
Pyxous Campania Policastro Bussentino 471–470 BC Rhegion and Messena Mikythos, tyrant of Rhegion and Messena
Rhegion Calabria Reggio Calabria 8th century BC Chalkis (with Zankle and Messenian refugees) Antimnestos of Zankle (or perhaps Artimedes of Chalkis)
Siris Basilicata (abandoned) c. 660 BC (or c. 700 BC) Kolophon Refugees from Kolophon
Sybaris Calabria Sibari 721–720 (or 709–708) BC Achaia and Troizen Is of Helike
Taras Apulia Taranto c. 706 BC Sparta Phalanthos and the Partheniai
Temesa unknown, but in Calabria (abandoned) no Greek founder (Ausones who became Hellenised)
Terina Calabria (abandoned) before 460 BC, perhaps c. 510 BC Kroton Un­known
Thourioi Calabria (abandoned) 446 and 444–443 BC Athens and many other cities Lampon and Xenokrates of Athens

List of Hellenic Poleis in Sicily

This is a list of the 46 poleis (city states) in Sicily, according to Mogens Herman Hansen.[11] It does not list all the Hellenic settlements, only those organised around a polis structure.

Ancient name(s) Location Modern name(s) Foundation date Mother city Founder(s)
Abakainon Metropolitan City of Messina (abandoned) no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Adranon Metropolitan City of Catania Adrano c.400 BC Syrakousai Dionysios I
Agyrion Province of Enna Agira no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Aitna Metropolitan City of Catania on the site of Katane 476 BC Syrakousai Hieron
Akragas Province of Agrigento Agrigento c.580 BC Gela Aristonoos and Pystilos
Akrai Province of Syracuse near Palazzolo Acreide 664 BC Syrakousai Un­known
Alaisa Metropolitan City of Messina Tusa 403–402 BC Herbita Archonides of Herbita
Alontion, Haluntium (Roman name) Metropolitan City of Messina San Marco d’Alunzio no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Apollonia Metropolitan City of Messina Monte Vecchio near San Fratello 405–367 BC Syrakousai Possibly Dionysios I
Engyon Province of Enna Troina? no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Euboia Metropolitan City of Catania Licodia Eubea 7th century BC, perhaps late 8th century BC Leontinoi Un­known
Galeria Un­known (abandoned) no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Gela Province of Caltanissetta Gela 689–688 BC Rhodes (Lindos), Cretans Antiphemos of Rhodes and Entimos the Cretan
Heloron Province of Syracuse (abandoned) Un­known Syrakousai Un­known
Henna Province of Enna Enna no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Herakleia Minoa Province of Agrigento Cattolica Eraclea after 628 BC Selinous, Sparta refounded by Euryleon after c.510 BC
Herakleia unlocated in Western Sicily (abandoned) c.510 BC Sparta Dorieus
Herbessos Province of Enna Montagna di Marzo no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Herbita Un­known (abandoned) no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Himera Province of Palermo Termini Imerese 648 BC Zankle, exiles from Syrakousai Eukleides, Simos and Sakon
Hippana Province of Palermo Monte dei Cavalli no Greek founder (indigenous settlement that became Hellenised)
Imachara Metropolitan City of Catania Mendolito no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Kallipolis Un­known (abandoned) late 8th century BC Naxos (Sicily) Un­known
Kamarina Province of Ragusa Santa Croce Camerina c.598 BC Syrakousai, Korinth Daskon of Syracuse and Menekolos of Corinth
Kasmenai Province of Syracuse (abandoned) 644–643 BC Syrakousai Un­known
Katane Metropolitan City of Catania Catania 729 BC Naxos (Sicily) Euarchos
Kentoripa Province of Enna Centuripe no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Kephaloidion Province of Palermo Cefalù no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Leontinoi Province of Syracuse Lentini 729 BC Naxos (Sicily) Theokles?
Lipara Metropolitan City of Messina Lipari 580–576 BC Knidos, Rhodes Pentathlos, Gorgos, Thestor and Epithersides
Longane Metropolitan City of Messina near Rodì Milici no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Megara Hyblaea Province of Syracuse Augusta 728 BC Megara Nisaia Theokles?
Morgantina Province of Enna near Aidone no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Mylai Metropolitan City of Messina Milazzo 700 BC? Zankle Un­known
Nakone Un­known (abandoned) no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Naxos Metropolitan City of Messina Giardini Naxos 735–734 BC Chalkis, Naxos (Cyclades) Theokles
Petra Un­known (abandoned) no Greek founder (indigenous settlement that became Hellenised)
Piakos Metropolitan City of Catania Mendolito? no Greek founder (Sicels who became Hellenised)
Selinous Province of Trapani Marinella di Selinunte 628–627 BC Megara Hyblaea Pammilos
Sileraioi Un­known (abandoned) no Greek founder (indigenous settlement that became Hellenised)
Stielanaioi Metropolitan City of Catania? (abandoned) no Greek founder (indigenous settlement that became Hellenised)
Syrakousai Province of Syracuse Syracuse 733 BC Korinth Archias of Korinth
Tauromenion Metropolitan City of Catania Taormina 392 BC Syrakousai perhaps Dionysios I
Tyndaris Metropolitan City of Messina Tindari 396 BC Syrakousai Dionysios I
Tyrrhenoi Province of Palermo? Alimena? no Greek founder (indigenous settlement that became Hellenised)
Zankle/Messana Metropolitan City of Messina Messina c.730 Chalkis, Kyme Perieres of Kyme and Krataimenes of Chalkis

Middle Ages

During the Early Middle Ages, following the disastrous Gothic War, new waves of Byzantine Christian Greeks fleeing the Slavic invasion of Peloponnese settled in Calabria, further strengthened the Hellenic element in the region.[12] The iconoclast emperor Leo III appropriated lands that had been granted to the Papacy in southern Italy and the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire continued to govern the area in the form of the Catapanate of Italy (965 -1071) through the Middle Ages, well after northern Italy fell to the Lombards.[13]

At the time of the Normans' late medieval conquest of southern Italy and Sicily (in the late 12th century), the Salento peninsula (the "heel" of Italy), up to one-third of Sicily (concentrated in the Val Demone), and much of Calabria and Lucania were still largely Greek-speaking. Some regions of southern Italy experienced demographic shifts as Greeks began to migrate northwards in significant numbers from regions further south; one such region was Cilento, which came to have a Greek-speaking majority.[14][15][16] At this time the language had evolved into medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, and its speakers were known as Byzantine Greeks. The resultant fusion of local Byzantine Greek culture with Norman and Arab culture (from the Arab occupation of Sicily) gave rise to Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture on Sicily.

A remnant of this influence can be found in the survival of the Greek language in some villages of the above mentioned Salento peninsula (the "heel" of Italy). This living dialect of Greek, known locally as Griko, is found in the Italian regions of Calabria and Apulia. Griko is considered by linguists to be a descendant of Byzantine Greek, which had been the majority language of Salento through the Middle Ages, combining also some ancient Doric and local romance elements. There is a rich oral tradition and Griko folklore, limited now but once numerous, to around 30,000 people, most of them having abandoned their language in favour of Italian. Some scholars, such as Gerhard Rohlfs, argue that the origins of Griko may ultimately be traced to the colonies of Magna Graecia.[17]

Modern Italy

Although many of the Greek inhabitants of Southern Italy were entirely Latinized during the Middle Ages, pockets of Greek culture and language remained and survived into modernity partly because of continuous immigration to southern Italy from the Greek mainland. One example is the Griko people in Calabria and Salento, some of whom still maintain their Greek language and customs. Their working practices have been passed down through generations through storytelling and allowing the observation of work.[18] The Italian parliament recognizes the Griko people as an ethnolinguistic minority under the official name of Minoranze linguistiche Grike dell'Etnia Griko-Calabrese e Salentina.[19]

Greek nobles started taking refuge in Italy following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.[20] Greeks immigrated once again to the region in the 16th and 17th centuries in reaction to the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Ottoman Empire. Especially after the end of the Siege of Coron (1534), large numbers of Greeks took refuge in the areas of Calabria, Salento and Sicily. Greeks from Coroni, the so-called Coronians, were nobles, who brought with them substantial movable property.[21]

Other Greeks who moved to Italy came from the Mani Peninsula of the Peloponnese. The Maniots (their name originating from the Greek word mania)[22] were known for their proud military traditions and for their bloody vendettas, many of which still continue today.[23] Another group of Maniot Greeks moved to Corsica in the 17th century under the protection of the Republic of Genoa.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ Henry Fanshawe Tozer (30 October 2014). A History of Ancient Geography. Cambridge University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-108-07875-7.
  2. ^ Polyb. Hist. 2.39.1
  3. ^ Polybius, ii. 39.
  4. ^ A. J. Graham, "The colonial expansion of Greece", in John Boardman et al., Cambridge Ancient History, vol. III, part 3, p. 94.
  5. ^ a b Luca Cerchiai; Lorena Jannelli; Fausto Longo (2004). The Greek Cities of Magna Graecia and Sicily. Getty Publications. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-89236-751-1.
  6. ^ Strabo. "I, Section I". Geographica (in Greek). Vol. VI.
  7. ^ "MAGNA GRECIA" (in Italian). Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  8. ^ Heitland, William Emerton (1911). A Short History of the Roman Republic. The University Press. pp. 72. Roman Republic Neapolis in 327 BC.
  9. ^ Proclus Phil., In primum Euclidis elementorum librum commentarii Page 41, line 7, Πρὸς δὴ ταύταις ἡ μηχανικὴ καλουμένη τῆς περὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ καὶ τὰ ἔνυλα πραγματείας μέρος ὑπάρχουσα, ὑπὸ δὲ ταύτην ἥ τε ὀργανοποιϊκὴ τῶν κατὰ πόλεμον ἐπιτηδείων ὀργάνων, οἷα δὴ καὶ Ἀρχιμήδης λέγεται κατασκευάσαι τῶν πολεμούντων τὴν Συράκουσαν ἀμυντικὰ ὄργανα, καὶ ἡ θαυματοποιϊκὴ τὰ μὲν διὰ πνῶν φιλοτεχνοῦσα, ὥσπερ καὶ Κτησίβιος καὶ Ἥρων πραγματεύονται, τὰ δὲ διὰ ῥοπῶν, ὧν τῆς μὲν κινήσεως τὴν ἀνισορροπίαν αἰτιατέον, τῆς δὲ στάσεως τὴν ἰσορροπίαν, ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ Τίμαιος διώρισεν, τὰ δὲ διὰ νεύρων καὶ σπάρτων ἐμψύχους ὁλκὰς καὶ κινήσεις ἀπομιμουμένων
  10. ^ Hansen & Nielsen (eds.), Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis, pp. 249–320.
  11. ^ Hansen & Nielsen (eds.), Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis, pp. 189–248.
  12. ^ . www2.rgzm.de. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
  13. ^ Brown, T. S. (1979). "The Church of Ravenna and the Imperial Administration in the Seventh Century". The English Historical Review. 94 (370): 5. JSTOR 567155.
  14. ^ Loud, G. A. (2007). The Latin Church in Norman Italy. Cambridge University Press. p. 494. ISBN 978-0-521-25551-6. At the end of the twelfth century ... While in Apulia Greeks were in a majority – and indeed present in any numbers at all – only in the Salento peninsula in the extreme south, at the time of the conquest they had an overwhelming preponderance in Lucania and central and southern Calabria, as well as comprising anything up to a third of the population of Sicily, concentrated especially in the north-east of the island, the Val Demone.
  15. ^ Oldfield, Paul (2014). Sanctity and Pilgrimage in Medieval Southern Italy, 1000-1200. Cambridge University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-107-00028-5. “However, the Byzantine revival of the tenth century generated a concomitant process Hellenization, while Muslim raids in southern Calabria, and instability in Sicily, may also have displaced Greek Christians further north on the mainland. Consequently, zones in northern Calabria, Lucania and central Apulia which were reintegrated into Byzantine control also experienced demographic shifts and the increasing establishment of immigrant Greek communities. These zones also acted as springboards for Greek migration further north, into regions such as the Cilento and areas around Salerno, which had never been under Byzantine control.
  16. ^ Kleinhenz, Christopher (2004). Medieval Italy: an encyclopedia, Volume 1. Routledge. pp. 444–445. ISBN 978-0-415-93930-0. ISBN 0-415-93930-5" "In Lucania (northern Calabria, Basilicata, and southernmost portion of today's Campania) ... From the late ninth century into the eleventh, Greek-speaking populations and Byzantine temporal power advanced, in stages but by no means always in tandem, out of southern Calabria and the lower Salentine peninsula across Lucania and through much of Apulia as well. By the early eleventh century, Greek settlement had radiated northward and had reached the interior of the Cilento, deep in Salernitan territory. Parts of the central and north-western Salento recovered early, came to have a Greek majority through immigration, as did parts of Lucania.
  17. ^ Rohlfs, Gerhard (1967). "Greek Remnants in Southern Italy". The Classical Journal. 62 (4): 164–9. JSTOR 3295569.
  18. ^ Rocco Agrifoglio (29 August 2015). Knowledge Preservation Through Community of Practice: Theoretical Issues and Empirical Evidence. Springer. p. 49. ISBN 978-3-319-22234-9.
  19. ^ Lapo Mola; Ferdinando Pennarola; Stefano Za (16 October 2014). From Information to Smart Society: Environment, Politics and Economics. Springer. p. 108. ISBN 978-3-319-09450-2.
  20. ^ Nanō Chatzēdakē; Museo Correr (1993). From Candia to Venice: Greek icons in Italy, 15th-16th centuries : Museo Correr, Venice, 17 September-30 October, 1993. Foundation for Hellenic Culture. p. 18.
  21. ^ Viscardi, Giuseppe Maria (2005). Tra Europa e "Indie di quaggiù". Chiesa, religiosità e cultura popolare nel Mezzogiorno (secoli XV-XIX) (in Italian). Rome: Ed. di Storia e Letteratura. p. 361. ISBN 978-88-6372-349-6.
  22. ^ Greece. Lonely Planet. 2008. p. 204.
  23. ^ Time. Time Incorporated. 1960. p. 4.
  24. ^ Greece. Michelin Tyre. 1991. p. 142. ISBN 978-2-06-701520-3.

Sources

  • Polyxeni Adam-Veleni and Dimitra Tsangari (editors), Greek colonisation: New data, current approaches; Proceedings of the scientific meeting held in Thessaloniki (6 February 2015), Athens, Alpha Bank, 2015.
  • Michael J. Bennett, Aaron J. Paul, Mario Iozzo, & Bruce M. White, Magna Graecia: Greek Art From South Italy and Sicily, Cleveland, OH, Cleveland Museum of Art, 2002.
  • John Boardman, N. G. L. Hammond (editors), The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. III, part 3, The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries B.C., Cambridge University Press, 1982.
  • Giovanni Casadio & Patricia A. Johnston, Mystic Cults In Magna Graecia, Austin, University of Texas Press, 2009.
  • Lucia Cerchiai, Lorenna Jannelli, & Fausto Longo (editors), The Greek cities of Magna Graecia and Sicily, Photography by Mark E. Smith, Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, 2004.ISBN 0-89236-751-2
  • Giovanna Ceserani, Italy's Lost Greece: Magna Graecia and the Making of Modern Archaeology, New York, Oxford University Press, 2012.
  • T. J. Dunbabin, The Western Greeks, 1948.
  • M. Gualtieri, Fourth Century B.C. Magna Graecia: A Case Study, Jonsered, Sweden, P. Åströms, 1993.
  • Mogens Herman Hansen & Thomas Heine Nielsen, An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis, Oxford University Press, 2004.
  • R. Ross Holloway, Art and Coinage In Magna Graecia, Bellinzona, Edizioni arte e moneta, 1978.
  • Margaret Ellen Mayo, The Art of South Italy: Vases From Magna Graecia, Richmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1982.
  • Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli, The Greek World: Art and Civilization In Magna Graecia and Sicily, New York: Rizzoli, 1996.
  • ———— (editor), The Western Greeks: Catalog of an exhibition held in the Palazzo Grassi, Venice, March–Dec., 1996, Milan, Bompiani, 1976.
  • William Smith, "Magna Graecia." In Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, 1854.
  • A. G. Woodhead, The Greeks in the West, 1962.
  • Günther Zuntz, Persephone: Three Essays On Religion and Thought In Magna Graecia, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1971.

External links

  • Map. Ancient Coins.
  • David Willey. Italy rediscovers Greek heritage. BBC News. 21 June 2005, 17:19 GMT 18:19 UK.
  • Gaze On The Sea. Salentine Peninsula, Greece and Greater Greece. (in Italian, Greek and English)
  • Oriamu pisulina. Traditional Griko song performed by Ghetonia.
  • Kalinifta. Traditional Griko song performed by amateur local group.
  • Second Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Hellenic Heritage of Southern Italy. Archaeological Institute of America (AIA). June 11, 2015. (Dates: Monday, May 30, 2016 to Thursday, June 2, 2016.)
  • Sergio Tofanelli et al. The Greeks in the West: genetic signatures of the Hellenic colonisation in southern Italy and Sicily. European Journal of Human Genetics, (15 July 2015).

magna, graecia, magna, grecia, redirects, here, racehorse, magna, grecia, horse, latin, ˈmaŋna, ˈgrae, greater, greece, ancient, greek, Μεγάλη, Ἑλλάς, megálē, hellás, italian, magna, grecia, name, given, romans, coastal, areas, southern, italy, present, italia. Magna Grecia redirects here For the racehorse see Magna Grecia horse Magna Graecia ˌ m ae ɡ n e ˈ ɡ r iː s j e ˈ ɡ r iː ʃ e US ˌ m ae ɡ n e ˈ ɡ r eɪ ʃ e Latin ˈmaŋna ˈgrae ki a lit Greater Greece Ancient Greek Megalh Ἑllas Megale Hellas Italian Magna Grecia was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present day Italian regions of Calabria Apulia Basilicata Campania and Sicily these regions were extensively populated by Greek settlers 1 These settlers who began arriving in the 8th century BC brought with them their Hellenic civilization which left a lasting imprint on Italy such as in the culture of ancient Rome They also influenced the native peoples such as the Sicels and the Oenotrians who became hellenized after they adopted the Greek culture as their own Magna Graecia Megalh EllasHistorical regionClockwise from top left Second Temple of Hera in Poseidonia Campania Doric styled Temple Segesta Taras sculpture of a young man wearing cucullus and leading his donkey depiction of Eos riding a two horsed chariot on a krater from Southern Italy Ancient Greek colonies and their dialect groupings in Magna Graecia Northwest Doric Achaean Doric Doric proper IonicPresent status ItalyThe Greek expression Megale Hellas later translated into Latin as Magna Graecia first appears in Polybius Histories 2 where he ascribed the term to Pythagoras and his philosophical school 3 4 Strabo also used the term to refer to the size of the territory that had been conquered by the Greeks 5 and the Roman poet Ovid used the term in his poem Fasti Contents 1 Antiquity 1 1 List of Hellenic Poleis in Italy 1 2 List of Hellenic Poleis in Sicily 2 Middle Ages 3 Modern Italy 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksAntiquity EditMain article Colonies in antiquity Greek colonies Further information Greeks in pre Roman Gaul According to Strabo s Geographica the colonization of Magna Graecia had already begun by the time of the Trojan War and lasted for several centuries 6 In the 8th and 7th century BC due to demographic crises famine overcrowding etc stasis a developing need for new commercial outlets and ports and expulsion from their homeland after wars Greeks began to settle in southern Italy 5 Colonies began to be established all over the Mediterranean and Black Seas with the exception of Northwestern Africa in the sphere of influence of Carthage including in Sicily and the southern part of the Italian Peninsula The Romans called this area Magna Graecia Latin for Greater Greece since it was so densely inhabited by the Greeks Ancient geographers differed on whether the term included Sicily or merely Apulia Campania and Calabria Strabo and Livy being the most prominent advocates of the wider definitions 7 With colonization Greek culture was exported to Italy in its dialects of the Ancient Greek language its religious rites and its traditions of the independent polis An original Hellenic civilization soon developed and later interacted with the native Italic civilisations The most important cultural transplant was the Chalcidean Cumaean variety of the Greek alphabet which was adopted by the Etruscans the Old Italic alphabet subsequently evolved into the Latin alphabet which became the most widely used alphabet in the world Some of these Hellenic colonies still stand today such as Neapolis New City now Naples Syracuse Akragas Agrigento Taras Taranto Rhegion Reggio Calabria or Kroton Crotone The first Greek city to be absorbed into the Roman Republic was Neapolis in 327 BC 8 The other Greek cities in Italy followed during the Samnite Wars and the Pyrrhic War Taras was the last to fall in 272 Sicily was conquered by Rome during the First Punic War Only Syracuse remained independent until 212 because its king Hiero II was a devoted ally of the Romans His grandson Hieronymus however made an alliance with Hannibal which prompted the Romans to besiege the city which fell in 212 despite the machines of Archimedes described by Proclus in his commentary on Euclid s Elements Archimedes constructed weapons powered by compressed air weights and counterweights according to Ctesibius and Hero 9 Greek temples of Paestum Campania Mosaic from Caulonia Calabria Temple of Hera in Metaponto Basilicata The Temple of Concordia Akragas Sicily Milo of Croton Archimedes of Syracuse Archytas of Tarentum 5th century BC Greek coins of Tarentum The goddess Nike riding on a two horse chariot Apulian patera tray 4th century BC Head Kantharos of a Female Faun or Io red figure pottery South Italy 375 350 BCList of Hellenic Poleis in Italy Edit This is a list of the 22 poleis city states in Italy according to Mogens Herman Hansen 10 It does not list all the Hellenic settlements only those organised around a polis structure Ancient name s Location Modern name s Foundation date Mother city Founder s Herakleia Lucania Basilicata abandoned 433 432 BC Taras and Thourioi Un knownHipponion Calabria Vibo Valentia late 7th century BC Lokroi Epizephiroi Un knownHyele or Elea Velia Roman name Campania abandoned c 540 535 BC Phokaia Massalia Refugees from AlalieKaulonia Calabria abandoned 7th century BC Kroton Typhon of AigionKroton Calabria Crotone 709 708 BC Rhypes Achaia MyscellusKyme Cumae Roman name Campania abandoned c 750 725 BC Chalkis and Eretria Hippokles of Euboian Kyme and Megasthenes of ChalkisLaos Calabria abandoned before 510 BC Sybaris Refugees from SybarisLokroi Epizephiroi Calabria Locri early 7th century BC Lokris Un knownMedma Calabria abandoned 7th century BC Lokroi Epizephiroi Un knownMetapontion Basilicata Metaponto c 630 BC Achaia Leukippos of AchaiaMetauros Calabria Gioia Tauro 7th century BC Zankle or possibly Lokroi Epizephiroi Un knownNeapolis Campania Naples 6 5h century BC previously a 8th century harbour of Kyme known as Parthenope Kyme Un knownPithekoussai Campania Ischia 8th century BC Chalkis and Eretria Un knownPoseidonia Paestum Roman name Campania abandoned c 600 BC Sybaris and perhaps Troizen Un knownPyxous Campania Policastro Bussentino 471 470 BC Rhegion and Messena Mikythos tyrant of Rhegion and MessenaRhegion Calabria Reggio Calabria 8th century BC Chalkis with Zankle and Messenian refugees Antimnestos of Zankle or perhaps Artimedes of Chalkis Siris Basilicata abandoned c 660 BC or c 700 BC Kolophon Refugees from KolophonSybaris Calabria Sibari 721 720 or 709 708 BC Achaia and Troizen Is of HelikeTaras Apulia Taranto c 706 BC Sparta Phalanthos and the PartheniaiTemesa unknown but in Calabria abandoned no Greek founder Ausones who became Hellenised Terina Calabria abandoned before 460 BC perhaps c 510 BC Kroton Un knownThourioi Calabria abandoned 446 and 444 443 BC Athens and many other cities Lampon and Xenokrates of AthensList of Hellenic Poleis in Sicily Edit This is a list of the 46 poleis city states in Sicily according to Mogens Herman Hansen 11 It does not list all the Hellenic settlements only those organised around a polis structure Ancient name s Location Modern name s Foundation date Mother city Founder s Abakainon Metropolitan City of Messina abandoned no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Adranon Metropolitan City of Catania Adrano c 400 BC Syrakousai Dionysios IAgyrion Province of Enna Agira no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Aitna Metropolitan City of Catania on the site of Katane 476 BC Syrakousai HieronAkragas Province of Agrigento Agrigento c 580 BC Gela Aristonoos and PystilosAkrai Province of Syracuse near Palazzolo Acreide 664 BC Syrakousai Un knownAlaisa Metropolitan City of Messina Tusa 403 402 BC Herbita Archonides of HerbitaAlontion Haluntium Roman name Metropolitan City of Messina San Marco d Alunzio no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Apollonia Metropolitan City of Messina Monte Vecchio near San Fratello 405 367 BC Syrakousai Possibly Dionysios IEngyon Province of Enna Troina no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Euboia Metropolitan City of Catania Licodia Eubea 7th century BC perhaps late 8th century BC Leontinoi Un knownGaleria Un known abandoned no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Gela Province of Caltanissetta Gela 689 688 BC Rhodes Lindos Cretans Antiphemos of Rhodes and Entimos the CretanHeloron Province of Syracuse abandoned Un known Syrakousai Un knownHenna Province of Enna Enna no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Herakleia Minoa Province of Agrigento Cattolica Eraclea after 628 BC Selinous Sparta refounded by Euryleon after c 510 BCHerakleia unlocated in Western Sicily abandoned c 510 BC Sparta DorieusHerbessos Province of Enna Montagna di Marzo no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Herbita Un known abandoned no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Himera Province of Palermo Termini Imerese 648 BC Zankle exiles from Syrakousai Eukleides Simos and SakonHippana Province of Palermo Monte dei Cavalli no Greek founder indigenous settlement that became Hellenised Imachara Metropolitan City of Catania Mendolito no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Kallipolis Un known abandoned late 8th century BC Naxos Sicily Un knownKamarina Province of Ragusa Santa Croce Camerina c 598 BC Syrakousai Korinth Daskon of Syracuse and Menekolos of CorinthKasmenai Province of Syracuse abandoned 644 643 BC Syrakousai Un knownKatane Metropolitan City of Catania Catania 729 BC Naxos Sicily EuarchosKentoripa Province of Enna Centuripe no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Kephaloidion Province of Palermo Cefalu no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Leontinoi Province of Syracuse Lentini 729 BC Naxos Sicily Theokles Lipara Metropolitan City of Messina Lipari 580 576 BC Knidos Rhodes Pentathlos Gorgos Thestor and EpithersidesLongane Metropolitan City of Messina near Rodi Milici no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Megara Hyblaea Province of Syracuse Augusta 728 BC Megara Nisaia Theokles Morgantina Province of Enna near Aidone no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Mylai Metropolitan City of Messina Milazzo 700 BC Zankle Un knownNakone Un known abandoned no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Naxos Metropolitan City of Messina Giardini Naxos 735 734 BC Chalkis Naxos Cyclades TheoklesPetra Un known abandoned no Greek founder indigenous settlement that became Hellenised Piakos Metropolitan City of Catania Mendolito no Greek founder Sicels who became Hellenised Selinous Province of Trapani Marinella di Selinunte 628 627 BC Megara Hyblaea PammilosSileraioi Un known abandoned no Greek founder indigenous settlement that became Hellenised Stielanaioi Metropolitan City of Catania abandoned no Greek founder indigenous settlement that became Hellenised Syrakousai Province of Syracuse Syracuse 733 BC Korinth Archias of KorinthTauromenion Metropolitan City of Catania Taormina 392 BC Syrakousai perhaps Dionysios ITyndaris Metropolitan City of Messina Tindari 396 BC Syrakousai Dionysios ITyrrhenoi Province of Palermo Alimena no Greek founder indigenous settlement that became Hellenised Zankle Messana Metropolitan City of Messina Messina c 730 Chalkis Kyme Perieres of Kyme and Krataimenes of ChalkisMiddle Ages EditDuring the Early Middle Ages following the disastrous Gothic War new waves of Byzantine Christian Greeks fleeing the Slavic invasion of Peloponnese settled in Calabria further strengthened the Hellenic element in the region 12 The iconoclast emperor Leo III appropriated lands that had been granted to the Papacy in southern Italy and the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire continued to govern the area in the form of the Catapanate of Italy 965 1071 through the Middle Ages well after northern Italy fell to the Lombards 13 At the time of the Normans late medieval conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the late 12th century the Salento peninsula the heel of Italy up to one third of Sicily concentrated in the Val Demone and much of Calabria and Lucania were still largely Greek speaking Some regions of southern Italy experienced demographic shifts as Greeks began to migrate northwards in significant numbers from regions further south one such region was Cilento which came to have a Greek speaking majority 14 15 16 At this time the language had evolved into medieval Greek also known as Byzantine Greek and its speakers were known as Byzantine Greeks The resultant fusion of local Byzantine Greek culture with Norman and Arab culture from the Arab occupation of Sicily gave rise to Norman Arab Byzantine culture on Sicily A remnant of this influence can be found in the survival of the Greek language in some villages of the above mentioned Salento peninsula the heel of Italy This living dialect of Greek known locally as Griko is found in the Italian regions of Calabria and Apulia Griko is considered by linguists to be a descendant of Byzantine Greek which had been the majority language of Salento through the Middle Ages combining also some ancient Doric and local romance elements There is a rich oral tradition and Griko folklore limited now but once numerous to around 30 000 people most of them having abandoned their language in favour of Italian Some scholars such as Gerhard Rohlfs argue that the origins of Griko may ultimately be traced to the colonies of Magna Graecia 17 Modern Italy EditAlthough many of the Greek inhabitants of Southern Italy were entirely Latinized during the Middle Ages pockets of Greek culture and language remained and survived into modernity partly because of continuous immigration to southern Italy from the Greek mainland One example is the Griko people in Calabria and Salento some of whom still maintain their Greek language and customs Their working practices have been passed down through generations through storytelling and allowing the observation of work 18 The Italian parliament recognizes the Griko people as an ethnolinguistic minority under the official name of Minoranze linguistiche Grike dell Etnia Griko Calabrese e Salentina 19 Greek nobles started taking refuge in Italy following the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 20 Greeks immigrated once again to the region in the 16th and 17th centuries in reaction to the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Ottoman Empire Especially after the end of the Siege of Coron 1534 large numbers of Greeks took refuge in the areas of Calabria Salento and Sicily Greeks from Coroni the so called Coronians were nobles who brought with them substantial movable property 21 Other Greeks who moved to Italy came from the Mani Peninsula of the Peloponnese The Maniots their name originating from the Greek word mania 22 were known for their proud military traditions and for their bloody vendettas many of which still continue today 23 Another group of Maniot Greeks moved to Corsica in the 17th century under the protection of the Republic of Genoa 24 See also EditAncient Greek dialects Greek coinage of Italy and Sicily Greeks in Italy Italiotes Graia Graike Graecus Griko people Griko language Hellenic civilization Names of the GreeksReferences Edit Henry Fanshawe Tozer 30 October 2014 A History of Ancient Geography Cambridge University Press p 43 ISBN 978 1 108 07875 7 Polyb Hist 2 39 1 Polybius ii 39 A J Graham The colonial expansion of Greece in John Boardman et al Cambridge Ancient History vol III part 3 p 94 a b Luca Cerchiai Lorena Jannelli Fausto Longo 2004 The Greek Cities of Magna Graecia and Sicily Getty Publications p 7 ISBN 978 0 89236 751 1 Strabo I Section I Geographica in Greek Vol VI MAGNA GRECIA in Italian Retrieved 24 November 2021 Heitland William Emerton 1911 A Short History of the Roman Republic The University Press pp 72 Roman Republic Neapolis in 327 BC Proclus Phil In primum Euclidis elementorum librum commentarii Page 41 line 7 Prὸs dὴ taytais ἡ mhxanikὴ kaloymenh tῆs perὶ tὰ aἰs8htὰ kaὶ tὰ ἔnyla pragmateias meros ὑparxoysa ὑpὸ dὲ taythn ἥ te ὀrganopoiikὴ tῶn katὰ polemon ἐpithdeiwn ὀrganwn oἷa dὴ kaὶ Ἀrximhdhs legetai kataskeyasai tῶn polemoyntwn tὴn Syrakoysan ἀmyntikὰ ὄrgana kaὶ ἡ 8aymatopoiikὴ tὰ mὲn diὰ pnῶn filotexnoῦsa ὥsper kaὶ Kthsibios kaὶ Ἥrwn pragmateyontai tὰ dὲ diὰ ῥopῶn ὧn tῆs mὲn kinhsews tὴn ἀnisorropian aἰtiateon tῆs dὲ stasews tὴn ἰsorropian ὥsper kaὶ ὁ Timaios diwrisen tὰ dὲ diὰ neyrwn kaὶ spartwn ἐmpsyxoys ὁlkὰs kaὶ kinhseis ἀpomimoymenwn Hansen amp Nielsen eds Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis pp 249 320 Hansen amp Nielsen eds Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis pp 189 248 Slavs and nomadic populations in Greece www2 rgzm de Archived from the original on 2021 06 24 Retrieved 2021 06 19 Brown T S 1979 The Church of Ravenna and the Imperial Administration in the Seventh Century The English Historical Review 94 370 5 JSTOR 567155 Loud G A 2007 The Latin Church in Norman Italy Cambridge University Press p 494 ISBN 978 0 521 25551 6 At the end of the twelfth century While in Apulia Greeks were in a majority and indeed present in any numbers at all only in the Salento peninsula in the extreme south at the time of the conquest they had an overwhelming preponderance in Lucania and central and southern Calabria as well as comprising anything up to a third of the population of Sicily concentrated especially in the north east of the island the Val Demone Oldfield Paul 2014 Sanctity and Pilgrimage in Medieval Southern Italy 1000 1200 Cambridge University Press p 13 ISBN 978 1 107 00028 5 However the Byzantine revival of the tenth century generated a concomitant process Hellenization while Muslim raids in southern Calabria and instability in Sicily may also have displaced Greek Christians further north on the mainland Consequently zones in northern Calabria Lucania and central Apulia which were reintegrated into Byzantine control also experienced demographic shifts and the increasing establishment of immigrant Greek communities These zones also acted as springboards for Greek migration further north into regions such as the Cilento and areas around Salerno which had never been under Byzantine control Kleinhenz Christopher 2004 Medieval Italy an encyclopedia Volume 1 Routledge pp 444 445 ISBN 978 0 415 93930 0 ISBN 0 415 93930 5 In Lucania northern Calabria Basilicata and southernmost portion of today s Campania From the late ninth century into the eleventh Greek speaking populations and Byzantine temporal power advanced in stages but by no means always in tandem out of southern Calabria and the lower Salentine peninsula across Lucania and through much of Apulia as well By the early eleventh century Greek settlement had radiated northward and had reached the interior of the Cilento deep in Salernitan territory Parts of the central and north western Salento recovered early came to have a Greek majority through immigration as did parts of Lucania Rohlfs Gerhard 1967 Greek Remnants in Southern Italy The Classical Journal 62 4 164 9 JSTOR 3295569 Rocco Agrifoglio 29 August 2015 Knowledge Preservation Through Community of Practice Theoretical Issues and Empirical Evidence Springer p 49 ISBN 978 3 319 22234 9 Lapo Mola Ferdinando Pennarola Stefano Za 16 October 2014 From Information to Smart Society Environment Politics and Economics Springer p 108 ISBN 978 3 319 09450 2 Nanō Chatzedake Museo Correr 1993 From Candia to Venice Greek icons in Italy 15th 16th centuries Museo Correr Venice 17 September 30 October 1993 Foundation for Hellenic Culture p 18 Viscardi Giuseppe Maria 2005 Tra Europa e Indie di quaggiu Chiesa religiosita e cultura popolare nel Mezzogiorno secoli XV XIX in Italian Rome Ed di Storia e Letteratura p 361 ISBN 978 88 6372 349 6 Greece Lonely Planet 2008 p 204 Time Time Incorporated 1960 p 4 Greece Michelin Tyre 1991 p 142 ISBN 978 2 06 701520 3 Sources EditPolyxeni Adam Veleni and Dimitra Tsangari editors Greek colonisation New data current approaches Proceedings of the scientific meeting held in Thessaloniki 6 February 2015 Athens Alpha Bank 2015 Michael J Bennett Aaron J Paul Mario Iozzo amp Bruce M White Magna Graecia Greek Art From South Italy and Sicily Cleveland OH Cleveland Museum of Art 2002 John Boardman N G L Hammond editors The Cambridge Ancient History vol III part 3 The Expansion of the Greek World Eighth to Sixth Centuries B C Cambridge University Press 1982 Giovanni Casadio amp Patricia A Johnston Mystic Cults In Magna Graecia Austin University of Texas Press 2009 Lucia Cerchiai Lorenna Jannelli amp Fausto Longo editors The Greek cities of Magna Graecia and Sicily Photography by Mark E Smith Los Angeles J Paul Getty Museum 2004 ISBN 0 89236 751 2 Giovanna Ceserani Italy s Lost Greece Magna Graecia and the Making of Modern Archaeology New York Oxford University Press 2012 T J Dunbabin The Western Greeks 1948 M Gualtieri Fourth Century B C Magna Graecia A Case Study Jonsered Sweden P Astroms 1993 Mogens Herman Hansen amp Thomas Heine Nielsen An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis Oxford University Press 2004 R Ross Holloway Art and Coinage In Magna Graecia Bellinzona Edizioni arte e moneta 1978 Margaret Ellen Mayo The Art of South Italy Vases From Magna Graecia Richmond Virginia Museum of Fine Arts 1982 Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli The Greek World Art and Civilization In Magna Graecia and Sicily New York Rizzoli 1996 editor The Western Greeks Catalog of an exhibition held in the Palazzo Grassi Venice March Dec 1996 Milan Bompiani 1976 William Smith Magna Graecia In Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography 1854 A G Woodhead The Greeks in the West 1962 Gunther Zuntz Persephone Three Essays On Religion and Thought In Magna Graecia Oxford Clarendon Press 1971 External links Edit Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article Magna Graecia Map Ancient Coins David Willey Italy rediscovers Greek heritage BBC News 21 June 2005 17 19 GMT 18 19 UK Gaze On The Sea Salentine Peninsula Greece and Greater Greece in Italian Greek and English Oriamu pisulina Traditional Griko song performed by Ghetonia Kalinifta Traditional Griko song performed by amateur local group Second Interdisciplinary Symposium on the Hellenic Heritage of Southern Italy Archaeological Institute of America AIA June 11 2015 Dates Monday May 30 2016 to Thursday June 2 2016 Sergio Tofanelli et al The Greeks in the West genetic signatures of the Hellenic colonisation in southern Italy and Sicily European Journal of Human Genetics 15 July 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Magna Graecia amp oldid 1131414059, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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