Summary

This is a presentation of early Greek “colonization” across the Mediterranean and Black Seas between c. 750 and 580 bce. The article opens with historiography, discussing the problems implicit in the use of terms such as “colonies” and “colonization” and the tendency of modern scholarship to view early Greek settlement abroad through the lens of modern colonization. Next comes an account, based on the textual and archaeological record, of the foundation of apoikiai (the Greek term for “colonies”) in South Italy and Sicily, the Black Sea region, North Africa, southern France, and northern Spain. After this presentation of the main apoikiai established in the period under consideration, the article mentions other forms of early Greek settlement abroad, including trading stations (emporia) and forms of cohabitation between Greeks and non-Greeks in settlements that were neither apoikiai nor emporia. Finally, the article addresses three critical problems traditionally associated with discussions of early Greek settlement abroad: the various explanations provided by ancient and modern literature for this large migration, which is now generally attributed to social crises within the context of growing populations at home; the relations between the new, politically independent foundations and their metropoleis, which are often emphasized by ancient authors and modern scholars but may have varied considerably over time; and the encounters and entanglements between the Greeks and numerous other ethnic groups inhabiting the Mediterranean and Black Seas, which ultimately gave rise to new historical realities that shaped Mediterranean history at large.