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52-659: Ceramics of typically Attic taste began to be produced in the colonies of Magna Graecia toward the end of the 5th century BC. It is thought that the founders of those workshops were vase painters trained and educated in Attica . The political instability of the time in Athens very likely determined the migrations of those painters to the Magna Graecia colonies. Since the work of the Pisticci Painter can be related on

104-642: A Doric style influenced by the Ionic one was also used, especially in Sicily in the Achaean colonies. In Magna Graecia, limestone was used as a building material due to the difficulty in finding other materials. The Doric style in Magna Graecia reached its apogee, surpassing that of the motherland and the other Greek colonies. Regarding urban planning, the cities of Magna Graecia, as well as many cities of Greek colonies in other regions, were more orderly and rational in

156-520: A long stay in the Sicilian colonies, died in Sicily in the colony of Gela in 456 BC. Epicarmus and Phormis , both of 6th century BC, are the basis, for Aristotle , of the invention of the Greek comedy, as he says in his book on Poetics : Italiotes Timeline The Italiotes ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἰταλιῶται , Italiōtai ) were the pre- Roman Greek -speaking inhabitants of

208-467: A notable level of quality. In Magna Graecia there were examples of excellence in sculpture, coroplastics and bronzes. As for vase painting, many famous Athenian potters moved to Magna Graecia creating works influenced by the culture of the place, making their paintings peculiar and different from those of the motherland, giving rise to the South Italian ancient Greek pottery . Also noteworthy are

260-579: A suburb of Split ). Rhegium (now Reggio Calabria ) founded Pyxus ( Policastro Bussentino ) in Lucania ; Locri founded Medma ( Rosarno ), Polyxena and Hipponium ( Vibo Valentia ) in present-day Calabria; Sybaris (now Sibari ) revitalised the indigenous centres of Laüs and Scydrus in Calabria and founded Poseidonia ( Paestum ), in Campania; Kroton (now Crotone ) founded Terina and participated in

312-415: Is attested for the first time in a passage from the 2nd century BC by the Greek historian Polybius (written around 150 BC), where he ascribed the term to Pythagoras and his philosophical school . Ancient authors use "Magna Graecia" to mean different parts of southern Italy, including or excluding Sicily, Strabo and Livy being the most prominent advocates of the wider definitions. Strabo used

364-619: 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

416-767: The lex Atinia of 197   BC. In 194   BC, garrisons of 300 Roman veterans were implanted in Volturnum , Liternum , Puteoli , Salernum and Buxentum , and to Sipontum on the Adriatic. This model was replicated in the territory of the Brettii; 194   BC saw the foundation of the Roman colonies of Kroton and Tempsa , followed by the Latin colonies of Copia (193   BC) and Valentia (192   BC). The social, linguistic and administrative changes arising from

468-690: 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

520-855: The Cyclops Painter , the Amycus Painter , and the "PKP group" (the Palermo Painter , the Carnea Painter and the Policoro Painter ). The discovery alongside the northern walls of the city of Metapontum of kiln waste containing fragments of vases decorated by other painters who belonged to the Lucanian workshop suggests that the Pisticci Painter operated in this important Achaean colony. The Pisticci Painter's depictions show an exquisitely Attic taste in both

572-501: The Greek Theatre of Hippana  [ it ] , the Greek Theatre of Akrai  [ it ] , the Greek Theatre of Monte Jato  [ it ] , the Greek Theatre of Morgantina  [ it ] and the most famous Greek Theater of Taormina , amply demonstrate this. Only fragments of original dramaturgical works are left, but the tragedies of the three great giants Aeschylus , Sophocles and Euripides and

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624-580: The Heraion at Foce del Sele , the Temple of Poseidon (Taranto) , the Tavole Palatine and the Temple of Victory (Himera) . The Sicilian Greek colonists in Magna Graecia, but also from Campania and Apulia , also brought theatrical art from their motherland. The Greek Theatre of Syracuse , the Greek Theatre of Segesta  [ it ] , the Greek Theatre of Tindari  [ it ] ,

676-537: The Italian Peninsula , between Naples and Calabria. Greek colonisation of the coastal areas of southern Italy and Sicily started in the 8th century BC and, by the time of the Roman ascendance, the area was so extensively hellenized that Romans called it Magna Graecia , that is "Greater Greece". The Latin alphabet is a derivative of the Western Greek alphabet used by these settlers, and

728-1084: The Laocoön ). The works of this artist are included in the most prestigious collections of the world (the British Museum , the Louvre , the Hermitage , the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston , the Metropolitan Museum , the National Archeological Museum in Naples , and the Vatican Museums ). Magna Graecia Magna Graecia is a term that was used for the Greek-speaking areas of Southern Italy , in

780-685: The Latin alphabet , which became the most widely used alphabet in the world. Over time, due to overpopulation and other political and commercial reasons, the new cities expanded their presence in Italy by founding other Greek cities; effectively expanding the Greek civilisation to the whole territory known today as Magna Graecia. Remains of some of these Greek colonies can be seen today such as those of Neapolis ('new city', now Naples ), Syracusae ( Syracuse ), Akragas ( Agrigento ), Taras ( Taranto ) and Rhegion ( Reggio Calabria ). An intense colonisation program

832-593: The Pyrrhic War in 272   BC, most of the cities of southern Italy were linked to Rome with pacts and treaties ( foedera ) which sanctioned a sort of indirect control. 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 allied with Hannibal , which prompted

884-523: The Temple of Hera Lacinia , the Temple of Heracles, Agrigento , The Temple of Juno in Agrigento , the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Agrigento , the Temple of Apollo (Syracuse) , the Temple of Athena (Syracuse) , the Temple of Athena (Paestum) , the Temple C (Selinus) , the Temple E (Selinus) , the Temple F (Selinus) , the Temple of Juno Lacinia (Crotone) , the Second Temple of Hera (Paestum) ,

936-607: 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. 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

988-474: The large-scale establishment of colonies elsewhere: according to one estimate, the population of the widening area of Greek settlement increased roughly tenfold from 800 BC to 400 BC, from 800,000 to as many as 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 -10 million. This was not simply for trade, but also to found settlements. These Greek colonies were not, as Roman colonies were, dependent on their mother-city, but were independent city-states in their own right. Another reason

1040-517: The Arab occupation of Sicily) gave rise to Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture in Sicily. This is a list of the 22 poleis (" city-states ") in Italy, according to Mogens Herman Hansen . It does not list all the Hellenic settlements, only those organised around a polis structure. This is a list of the 46 poleis (" city-states ") in Sicily, according to Mogens Herman Hansen. It does not list all

1092-556: The Greeks, which formed as independent poleis. The second form was in what historians refer to as emporia ; trading posts which were occupied by both Greeks and non-Greeks and which were primarily concerned with the manufacture and sale of goods. Examples of this latter type of settlement are found at Al Mina in the east and Pithekoussai in the west. From about 750 BC the Greeks began 250 years of expansion, settling colonies in all directions. According to Strabo 's Geographica ,

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1144-491: The Hellenic settlements, only those organised around a polis structure. The administrative organisation of Magna Graecia was inherited from the Hellenic poleis, taking up the concept of " city-states " administered by the aristocracy . The cities of Magna Graecia were independent like the Greek poleis of the motherland, and had an army and a military fleet. There were also cases of tyranny as in Syracuse, governed by

1196-765: 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. 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

1248-606: The Roman conquest only took root in this region by the 1st century AD, while Greek culture remained strong and was actively cultivated as shown by epigraphic evidence. 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. The iconoclast emperor Leo III appropriated lands that had been granted to

1300-479: The Romans to besiege the city , which fell in 212   BC. After the second Punic War, Rome pursued an unprecedented program of reorganisation in the rest of Magna Graecia, where many of the cities were annexed to the Roman Republic in 205   BC, as a consequence of their defection to Hannibal. Roman colonies ( civium romanorum ) were the main element of the new territorial control plan starting from

1352-516: The Samnites. However, the needs of the Roman populace determined their need for territorial expansion towards the south. As the Greek cities of southern Italy came under threat from the Bruttii and Lucanians from the end of the 4th century BC, they asked for help from Rome, which exploited this opportunity by sending military garrisons in the 280s BC. Following Rome's victory over Taras after

1404-590: The basis of stylistic characteristics to the school of Polygnotus , it may be supposed that he trained in Athens with that artist. The Pisticci Painter is considered the father of the Lucanian workshop, which is the oldest of the Italiot workshops (the beginning of its activity is placed between 440 and 430 BC). The Pisticci Painter would therefore be the first master of red-figure pottery to have worked in Italy. His workshop also included other vase painters including

1456-427: The choice of themes and the techniques employed. The scenes he most commonly painted are pursuit scenes ( Eros pursuing female or male figures, Eos pursuing Kephalos or Tithonos , Boreas pursuing Orithyia ), Dyonisiac scenes with maenads and satyrs , scenes of the departure of warriors, athletes, oblations near herms , and mythological scenes ( Pandora , Io , Zeus and Aegina , Polynices and Eriphyle ,

1508-680: The colonisation of Magna Graecia had already begun by the time of the Trojan War and lasted for several centuries. Greeks began to settle in southern Italy in the 8th century BC. Their first great migratory wave was by the Euboeans aimed at the Gulf of Naples ( Pithecusae , Cumae ) and the Strait of Messina ( Zancle , Rhegium ). Pithecusae on the island of Ischia is considered the oldest Greek settlement in Italy, and Cumae their first colony on

1560-447: The comedies of Aristophanes are known. Some famous playwrights in the Greek language came directly from Magna Graecia. Others, such as Aeschylus and Epicharmus , worked for a long time in Sicily. Epicharmus can be considered Syracusan in all respects, having worked all his life with the tyrants of Syracuse . His comedy preceded that of the more famous Aristophanes by staging the gods for the first time in comedy. While Aeschylus, after

1612-527: The distance from the motherland and the influence of the indigenous peoples of southern Italy 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 hellenised after they adopted the Greek culture as their own. In some fields such as architecture and urban planning, they sometimes surpassed

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1664-481: The distance from the motherland and the influence of the indigenous peoples of southern Italy. From the motherland Greece, art, literature and philosophy decisively influenced the life of the colonies. In Magna Graecia much impetus was given to culture, especially in some cities, such as Taras (now Taranto ). Pythagoras moved to Crotone where he founded his school in 530 BC . Among others, Aeschylus , Herodotus , Xenophanes and Plato visited Magna Graecia. Among

1716-451: The distribution of spaces than those of the mother country, making the urban fabric more practical. The first examples of urbanistically more rational Greek cities belonged to Magna Graecia, in this case Taranto , Metapontum and Megara Hyblaea . Characteristic of this new urban concept, which later spread also in the motherland to Rhodes and Miletus , was a checkerboard road network. In Magna Graecia painting and sculpture also reached

1768-421: The doctors Alcmeon of Crotone and Democedes of Crotone; the sculptor from Reggio Clearchus ; the painter Zeuxis , the musicologist Aristoxenus of Taranto and the legislator Zaleucus of Locri. A remnant of Greek 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 ,

1820-591: The events of this period precise dates are unknown, but the destruction of Sybaris may have occurred around 510 BC, while the two other clashes are placed around 580-560 BC, with the destruction of Siris before the Battle of the Sagra . The first Greek city to be absorbed into the Roman Republic was Neàpolis in 327   BC. At the beginning of the 3rd century, Rome was a great power but had not yet entered into conflict with most of Magna Graecia, which had been allies of

1872-671: The foundation of Caulonia (near Monasterace marina) in Calabria; Messana (now Messina ), in collaboration with Rhegium, founded Metaurus ( Gioia Tauro ); Taras together with Thurii founded Heracleia ( Policoro ) in Lucania in 434 BC, and also Callipolis ('beautiful city'). At the beginning of the 6th century BC, all the main cities of Magna Graecia on the Ionian Sea had achieved a high economic and cultural development, which shifted their interests towards expansion of their territory by waging war on neighbouring cities. The 6th century

1924-545: The illustrious characters born in Magna Graecia are the philosophers Parmenides of Elea , Zeno of Elea, Gorgias of Lentini and Empedocles of Agrigento; the Pythagoreans Philolaus of Crotone, Archytas of Taranto, Lysis of Taranto, Echecrates and Timaeus of Locri; the mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse; the poets Theocritus of Syracuse, Stesichorus , Ibycus of Reggio Calabria, Nossis of Locri, Alexis of Thuri and Leonidas of Taranto;

1976-579: The mainland of Italy. The second wave was of the Achaeans who concentrated initially on the Ionian coast ( Metapontion , Poseidonia , Sybaris , Kroton ), shortly before 720   BC. At an unknown date between the 8th and 6th centuries BC the Athenians, of Ionian lineage, founded Scylletium (near today's Catanzaro ). With colonisation, Greek culture was exported to Italy with its dialects of

2028-732: The mosaics, the goldsmith's art and wall painting. Noteworthy sculptures from Magna Graecia are the Apollo of Gaza , the Apollo of Piombino , the Dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo , the Head of a Philosopher and the Riace bronzes , while notable vases from Magna Graecia are the Darius Vase and the Nestor's Cup . Noteworthy temples of Magna Graecia are the Temple of Concordia, Agrigento ,

2080-511: The mother country. The ancient inhabitants of Magna Graecia are called Italiotes and Siceliotes . Remains of some of these Greek cities can be seen today, such as Neapolis ("New City", now Naples ), Syrakousai ( Syracuse ), Akragas ( Agrigento ), Taras ( Taranto ), Rhegion ( Reggio Calabria ), and Kroton ( Crotone ). The most populous city of Magna Graecia was Sybaris (now Sibari ) with an estimated population, from 600 BC to 510 BC, between 300,000 and 500,000. The government of city-states

2132-464: The origins of Griko may ultimately be traced to the colonies of Magna Graecia. Magna Graecia, in some fields such as architecture and urban planning, sometimes surpassed the mother country and the other Greek colonies. In Magna Graecia, as well as in the other Greek colonies, the Doric style enriched with showy decorations was adopted as the dominant architectural style. In Magna Graecia, in particular,

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2184-543: The present day. One example is the Griko people in Calabria ( Bovesia ) and Salento ( Grecìa Salentina ), some of whom still maintain their Greek language ( Griko language ) and customs. The Griko language is the last living trace of the Greek elements that once formed Magna Graecia. The original Greek expression Megálē Hellás ( lit.   ' Great[er] Greece ' ), later translated into Latin as Magna Graecia ,

2236-487: The present-day Italian regions of Calabria , Apulia , Basilicata , Campania and Sicily ; these regions were extensively populated by Greek settlers starting from the 8th century BC. The settlements in this region, founded initially by their metropoleis (mother cities), eventually evolved into strong Greek city-states ( poleis ), functioning independently. The settlers brought with them their Hellenic civilization , and developed their own civilisation, due to

2288-487: The term to refer to the territory that had been conquered by the Greeks. There are various hypotheses on the origin of the name Megálē Hellás . The term could be explained by the prosperity and cultural and economic splendour of the region (6th–5th century BC); notably by the Achaeans of the city of Kroton , to refer to the network of colonies they founded or controlled between the end of the 6th and mid-5th centuries at

2340-524: The time of the Pythagoreans . There were several reasons for the Greeks to establish overseas colonies; demographic crises (famine, overcrowding, etc.), stasis , a developing need for new commercial outlets and ports, and expulsion from their homeland after wars. During the Archaic period , the Greek population grew beyond the capacity of the limited arable land of Greece proper, resulting in

2392-677: The tyrant Dionysius , who fought the Carthaginians until his death. In the cities of Magna Graecia, trade, agriculture and crafts developed. Initially oriented to the indigenous Italic populations, the trade was immediately an excellent channel of exchange with the Greeks of the motherland, even if today it is difficult to establish precisely the type of goods traded and the volume of these exchanges. Greek coinage of Italy and Sicily originated from local Italiotes and Siceliotes who formed numerous city-states . These Hellenistic communities descended from Greek migrants. Southern Italy

2444-440: Was so thoroughly Hellenized that it was known as the Magna Graecia. Each of the polities struck their own coinage. Taras (or Tarentum) was among the most prominent city-states. By the second century BC, some of these Greek coinages evolved under Roman rule, and can be classified as the first Roman provincial currencies . The Greek colonists of Magna Graecia elaborated a civilization, which had peculiar characteristics, due to

2496-438: Was the South Italian ancient Greek pottery , fabricated in Magna Graecia largely during the 4th century BC. The settlers of Magna Graecia had great successes in the Ancient Olympic Games in their homeland. Crotone 's athletes won 18 titles in 25 Olympics. Although many of the Greek inhabitants of Magna Graecia were entirely Latinized during the Middle Ages , pockets of Greek culture and language remained and have survived to

2548-404: Was the strong economic growth with the consequent overpopulation of the motherland. The terrain that some of these Greek city-states were in could not support a large city. Politics was also the reason as refugees from Greek city-states tended to settle away from these cities in the colonies. Greeks settled outside of Greece in two distinct ways. The first was in permanent settlements founded by

2600-401: Was therefore characterised by great clashes between the colonies. Some of the clashes that established the new balance and the new relationships of force were the Battle of the Sagra river (the clash between Locri Epizefiri and Kroton), the destruction of Siris (by Sybaris and Metapontum), and the clash between Kroton and Sybaris (which ended with the destruction of the latter). As with all

2652-527: Was undertaken by Syracuse , at the time of the tyranny of Dionysius I of Syracuse , around 387–385 BC. This phenomenon affected the entire Adriatic coast, and in particular led to the foundation in Italy of Ancon (now Ancona ) and Adria ; in the Dalmatian coast he saw the foundation of Issa (current Vis ), Pharus ( Stari Grad ), Dimus ( Hvar ); Lissus (now Lezhë ) was founded on the Albanian coast. Issa in turn then founded Tragurium (now Trogir ), Corcyra Melaina (now Korčula ) and Epetium (now Stobreč ,

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2704-461: Was usually an aristocracy and the cities were often at war with each other. The Second Punic War put an end to the independence of the cities of Magna Graecia, which were annexed to the Roman Republic in 205   BC. From the motherland Greece, art, literature and philosophy decisively influenced the life of the colonies. In Magna Graecia much impetus was given to culture, especially in some cities such as Taras (now Taranto ). Noteworthy

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