What is Greek colonization? Ruins of the Temple of Hera in Metaponte, Southern Italy

Almost simultaneously with the appearance of the Scythians in the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region, in the 7th century. BC e. The colonization by the Greeks of the eastern and southern coasts of Crimea, the western and northwestern coasts of the Sea of Azov and some regions of the Northern Black Sea region, mainly along the Dnieper-Bug estuaries, begins.

Meotida, as the ancient Greeks called the Sea of Azov and the Pontus Euxine (Black Sea), attracted them with the wealth of fish, mild climate and convenient bays for ships.

Apparently, not all Greeks lived well in their homeland. Some were oppressed by rich and noble landowners; others were prevented from engaging in crafts and trading their products; still others were involved in rebellions and protests against their masters; the peasants suffered from a lack of land, so they had to seek refuge outside their homeland, in remote areas, and they moved to the Crimea, the Northern Black Sea region.

The metropolis of the first Greek colonists of Crimea was Miletus, which itself was a Greek colony on the Black Sea coast in Asia Minor. Then immigrants began to arrive from other cities of Asia Minor - Heracles, Meot and Teos. And even later, the metropolitan authorities began to send their guilty citizens here from Atena and other Greek cities.

Initially, the Greeks founded small coastal settlements, such as trading posts, and engaged in trade and exchange with the local population, attracting them with bright fabrics, unknown objects, and women's jewelry.

It is unlikely that the local population greeted them enthusiastically. The first colonists in Crimea had to meet the Taurians, who inhabited the coastal strip at that time. Many Taurians felt the danger that threatened them and did not want to voluntarily part with their land, so the meetings of the first colonialists sometimes ended tragically. Therefore, when settling on the sea coast of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region, the Greeks at first, for the sake of safety and to prevent unnecessary clashes with the local population, did not move far from the sea coast. In addition, in order to interest the aborigines, they resorted to cunning; at the first stage, trade was carried out with some benefit for them, which lulled their vigilance and gained trust.

The trade exchange gradually grew, the local population got used to the traders arriving from overseas, and, not seeing the danger, they began to calmly treat their settlements.

Over the centuries, these small settlements with berths for small merchant ships began to grow into larger ones, and over time they formed powerful fortified cities. They settled primarily at the mouths of large rivers or in convenient sea bays. At different times over the centuries, such large colony cities arose: at the mouth of the Bug - Olbia, at the mouth of the Dniester - Tire, at the mouth of the Don - Tanape, and on the site of modern Kerch - Panticopeia, opposite Panticapaeum across the strait on the Taman Peninsula - Phanagoria. Almost simultaneously with Panticapaeum on the eastern coast of Crimea - Feodosia, somewhat later Myrmekia, Mimphaeum, Nymphaeum, Taritaka, Chimeric and a number of smaller cities.

Chersonesus appears in the west of Crimea, not far from modern Evpatoria - Kirkinitad, which became a transshipment trade base with the metropolis in the west of Crimea.

All these cities became the main Greek colonies and centers of trade, the development of crafts and the spread of ancient culture.

Each of them arose at different times and each entered history in its own way.

Panticapaeum, Feodosia, Olbia arose in the 6th century. BC, Kerkinitida (Evpatoria) - at the junction of the 6th and 5th centuries. The founding of these cities dates back to the period when Greek merchants from Miletus began to actively develop the coast of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region. Growing up, these cities turned into city-policies, and their relations with the metropolis began to develop as partnerships, and they became less dependent on it.

PANTICAPEA - founded by Greeks who came from Miletus, the largest city in Asia Minor at that time. It is believed that Panticapaeum also had a prehistory. Even the name of the city indicates this; it is not of Greek origin at all. It is believed that in one of the ancient local dialects it means “fish path”. The city was known under the name Panticapaeum twenty-six centuries ago, but it existed as a small settlement much earlier. Now in its place stands the city of Kerch. Before that, depending on whose power it was under, it was called Bosporus, Cherchio, Korchev, Cherzeti.

During its existence, this city was an intermediary transshipment base between Scythia and Greece, a center of international trade in the waters of the eastern coast of Crimea, a fortress that restrained and repelled the onslaught of nomads, was the capital of the Bosporan kingdom, or simply a seedy provincial town.

But it always remained the center of the Kerch Peninsula and everything that happened on this peninsula was connected with this city.

THEODOSIA. There are several different assumptions about the beginning of the city, most of them are similar to legends. One of them says: in the 6th century. BC Milesian merchants sailed on ships to the shores of the Crimea. At sea they were caught in a strong storm and heavy ships loaded with goods were tossed by the wind like splinters. Desperate merchants lost all hope of salvation and prepared for death, and suddenly the ships were thrown into a cozy sunny bay, where there was no storm, and on the high shore there were white houses of a small village. Not believing their salvation, the joyful merchants raised their hands to the sky and shouted: “Oh, Theodosius!”, which translated from Greek meant: “Oh, given by God!” This enthusiastic cry remained the new name of the small village on the high bank, which was previously called Ardavda.

The landed merchants founded their colony here, calling it Feodosia. The convenient location of the city on the shore of a saving bay, on a busy trade route, quickly promoted Feodosia to one of the major ports of the world. The city, with its grandeur and luxury, began to compete with the best ancient cities of the world.

According to Strabo, the port could accommodate up to 100 ships. Wheat alone was exported through this port annually up to 22,500 tons.

KERKINITIDA is a city of ancient Greek colonialists, it was founded by them on the territory of a convenient bay in the west of the Crimean Peninsula, so soon after its foundation it became a transshipment trading base for Greek merchants with the metropolis.

On the western outskirts of the city of Evpatoria, near the children's sanatorium "Chaika", the remains of an ancient settlement founded by the Greeks have been preserved. It is believed that at the end of the 6th - beginning of the 5th centuries. BC During the Greek colonization of the western coast of Crimea, the ancient city of Kerkinitida arose on this site. It became a major port trading with Athens, Sinop, Rhodes and the Crimean cities of Chersonese Panticapaeum. The first written reports about him belong to Hecataeus of Miletus, then they are mentioned by Herodotus, Ptolemy, Arrian.

On the territory of the settlement, archaeologists discovered unique works of ancient masters - a bronze sculpture of an Amazon and a bas-relief of Hercules, which speak of the high culture of the ancient inhabitants of Kerkinitis. In the 4th century. BC The city became part of the agricultural chora (district) of ancient Chersonesos.

OLVIA was founded on the shore of the Dnieper-Bug estuary. Archaeologists found its remains near the village of Parutino, south of the city of Nikolaev.

During excavations of all the above cities, the remains of residential areas, defensive walls, towers, gates, burials, many household items and women's jewelry were found. In addition, during excavations in Olbia, the remains of temples, artisans' workshops, remains of baths and an agora were discovered.

CIMMERICK - also founded in the 5th century. BC on the southern shore of the Kerch Strait, named after the Cimmerian Bosporus. It was a connecting port with the Taman Peninsula of the Caucasus. Remains of defensive walls, houses, and utility structures were found.

TANAIS - founded in the first quarter of the 3rd century. BC e. at the mouth of the Don River. This is confirmed by excavations of the Nedvigov settlement by the Nizhne-Don archaeological expedition of the Ukrainian SSR. Many amphorae, clay vessels for wine and grain, and roofing tiles with the marks of masters were found. These finds allow us to draw a conclusion about the economic and trade connections of Tanais with the cities of the Bosporan kingdom and the metropolis.

The descendants of the founders of these cities, modern Greeks, can be proud of the courage and dedication of their ancestors, who founded new lands - the coast of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region, bringing them closer to the culture of ancient Hellas, which at that time stood at a high level of world civilization. During colonization, they were more humane and tolerant of the local population, compared to other conquerors.

Hellenic civilization spread not only among the subject peoples, but also among their neighboring peoples and, above all, among the Scythians.

From the first years after the settlement of Greek merchants, the pioneer Greeks in the Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region, they immediately began to enter into trade contacts with the early Scythians who appeared from the East. Initially, they treated the Scythians arrogantly, considering them “barbarians,” putting into this word a concept meaning “a person with incomprehensible speech.” Moreover, the Greeks classified as “barbarians” everyone who did not speak their language and led a lifestyle that, in their opinion, was less cultural than they were.

But centuries passed and the attitude towards the Scythians changed, also because many of them accepted what was useful from the Greeks and what they considered “cultural” for themselves, thus enriching their lives with examples of Greek culture, thereby raising their rating in the face of the Greeks . In addition, it was profitable to trade with them, mediating with war-ravaged Athens.

They bought grain, animal skins, wool, honey, fish, and timber at a cheap price, but sold it to the metropolis at a higher price. The Scythians were sold beautiful weapons, various household items, items for decorating Scythian dwellings, painted vases, grape wine, olive oil - and much more, without which the Scythians, having entered the stage of a higher culture, could no longer do without, bought in Greece much more cheaper.

Having come into closer contact with the Scythians, Greek merchants began to penetrate far to the north with their goods, covering the lands of the modern Kiev region, Poltava region and Kharkov region. For example, in the Lubyanka region the remains of Greek temples were found: Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, which indicates that there were already many Greek colonists in these areas.

During archaeological excavations in Scythia, the remains of ancient settlements and burial grounds found coins of Greek Black Sea cities, Greek painted dishes for grain, wine and oil, and jewelry items made by Greek craftsmen. This indicates that the peoples who lived here, purchasing goods from the Greeks, gained culture from them, learned the art of Greek craftsmen, and various crafts. Some tribes completely switched to their customs and accepted their religious beliefs.

All Greek colonial cities were built according to the model and, as it were, according to the tradition of the metropolis. They were small in area, compact city-policies (city-states). These were a kind of small independent republics with a center in the city and cultivated fields around, which provided the city with food. This reflects the Greek peculiarity, expressed in dislike for large kingdoms and empires.

Each city-polis lived on its own, but in cases where they were threatened with serious danger from the outside, they united to jointly repel the enemy.

Bosporan Kingdom

Temporary unions of colonial cities more than once ensured their victories over a strong and treacherous enemy, but life predicted the need for closer unity and unification of individual cities into a single kingdom.

In 480 BC. On the initiative of the ruling elite of Panticapaeum, a large slave-owning state arose, named after the Cimmerian Bosporus Strait - the Bosporan Kingdom. It was named so because the lands on both banks of this strait came under the authority of the formed state.

Of the Meotian tribes, the largest were the Sinds, who settled on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea and the Taman Peninsula. In the V -IV centuries. BC it created the independent state of Sindiku, which also included the Dandaria and Doskh tribes.

However, the state of Sindika did not last long; with the formation of the Bosporan kingdom, it became part of it.

The Greek cities, having united into a single state, could already resist external, stronger enemies - tribes of wild nomads and Scythians, pressing from the east and north, and, to some extent, dictate their terms to them.

The first rulers of the Bosporan kingdom were from the Archeanactid dynasty, who were in power from 480 to 438. BC Initially, the rulers, in imitation of Athens, bore the republican title - archon, and later began to call themselves kings. Little is known about the reign of this dynasty and its kings, except that they were the creators of the Bosporan kingdom with a slave-owning form of government.

In 438 BC, as a result of a coup d'etat, the Spartokid dynasty came to power, the first king of which was Spartok I, the organizer of the coup.

The Spartokid dynasty was of Thracian origin, from the local ellised nobility, but came from Thrace. Spartok I, having become king, created a royal guard, staffed mainly by Thracians.

The most prominent statesmen of this dynasty, who called themselves kings, whose names have been preserved by history, except for Spartok I (438-433 BC), were Satyr, Leukon I (399-369 BC) , Perisad I, Persid I and his son Eumelus, who came to the throne as a result of the strife.

Life on the very edge of the ancient world was still tense and restless for the Bosporan kingdom and took place in constant struggle with the warlike Scythian nomads who settled in the Crimea and the Tauri. This tension especially intensified after the Sarmatians appeared in the Northern Black Sea region, who ousted the Scythians and began to directly threaten the Bosporan kingdom. Therefore, having united into a single state, it was easier for them to organize defense: build defensive structures, erect walls, ramparts, ditches, and maintain military garrisons.

The unification of various ethnic groups into a single state contributed to their cultural and economic rapprochement, served as an impetus for the development at a higher level of handicraft production in cities, agriculture and livestock farming in rural areas, and increased the volume of trade with neighbors and distant countries, including the metropolis.

An active period of ethnic and cultural rapprochement of the Bosporan kingdom began. This rapprochement was especially noted between the Greeks and Scythians. Mixed, so-called Hellenic-Scythian settlements began to form.

This period in the history of the Bosporan kingdom is well confirmed by archaeological finds. Archaeological exploration of Crimea began shortly after its conquest by Russia. The first excavations were carried out in Kerch in 1816-1817, which provided a lot of new information about the history of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region. This was followed by excavations of other ancient cities and burial mounds of Crimea. Based on these finds, found during excavations at the site of ancient Panticapaeum, Chersonesus, Olbia and other cities of the Bosporan Kingdom, one can judge the high culture of this period, as well as the interconnection of the peoples of the Bosporan Kingdom, their trade, economic and cultural relationships with the outside world.

An equally important discovery was made during excavations of the ancient Bosporan city of Mimphaeum, south of Kerch; in 1982, multi-colored plaster was discovered that had fallen from the wall of one of the sanctuaries, built in the first half of the 3rd century. BC On the plaster, decorated with transverse bright yellow and red stripes in the center, various inscriptions have been preserved, among which there are lengthy texts relating to the gods Aphrodite and Apollo, the patrons of the seas. The fresco also has many different designs, dominated by sailing ships. The inscriptions reflect aspects of the private and public life of the ancient Nymphaeus during the reign of Perisada II. The main place in the fresco is occupied by a warship - a trireme, a vessel with three tiers of oars, called "Isis", named so, as can be seen, in honor of the goddess Isis.

There is reason to believe that the ship was a diplomatic vessel that brought Egyptian ambassadors to the Bosporus to discuss some important issues of trade between Egypt and the Bosporus and strengthen friendly relations with the Bosporan kingdom.

Under the reign of kings from the Spartokid dynasty, the borders of the state expanded significantly to the east and west, its political and international position was strengthened, and crafts, art, and trade were further developed. Under them, the Bosporan kingdom maintained a well-armed and trained army. Many neighboring cities and peoples were captured and conquered.

Under Leukon I, Feodosia was annexed, which had a convenient location on a busy trade route and was at that time one of the major ports of the world. Ships not only of Greek merchants, but also of many other, even very distant countries, entered it with their goods. Feodosia competed with the best cities of the ancient world in its luxury and splendor of architecture. All this attracted the attention of the rulers of the Bosporan kingdom. Leucon I, seeing a serious rival and dangerous competitor in Theodosia, decided to put an end to this. In 393 BC. he took possession of the prosperous polis by force and annexed it to his state.

Under the Spartokids, a large and strong navy was created, with the help of which the Pont Euxine (Black Sea) was cleared of pirates who attacked ships sailing between the ports of the Bosporan kingdom and Hellas.

After this, the Bosporan kingdom not only continued the trade tradition of the city-states, but also intensified trade exchanges with the metropolis. Leucon I encouraged this trade in every possible way, but especially with bread. His decree is known, ordering first of all to load Greek ships and not impose duties on them. Strabo testifies: King Leukon sent 2,100,000 medimni of grain to Athens (a medimni is equal to 51.5 liters). In addition to bread, furs, animal skins, honey, wax, fish, domestic animals and cheap labor - slaves captured in battles with local and neighboring tribes - were sent to the metropolis.

In difficult circumstances for the metropolis, the Spartokids helped her, but they themselves, if necessary, resorted to her help. A profitable mutual assistance partnership has developed.

Under the Spartokids, the Bosporan kingdom reached great prosperity and power, especially its capital Panticapaeum. Having close ties with the metropolis and other cities and states of the ancient world, it was not inferior to them in beauty and architectural design. The center of the city was a 90 m high mountain, later named Mount Mithridates in honor of the late king Mithridates VI. The city was built around this mountain. As now, the mountain was surrounded by streets - terraces with retaining walls-crepids. At the top, surrounded by powerful walls, stood the Acropolis - the upper city. On the northern slope, a building for the city authorities was built - Prytanei. Panticapaeum had good water supply and sewerage. In fact, at that time Panticapaeum became the political and economic center of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region.

The cultural flourishing of Panticapaeum is evidenced by finds during archaeological research. The frescoes of the Stasovsky crypt (as archaeologists called it) on the northern slope of the mountain depict battle scenes showing the battles of the Bosporans with the Tauri and Sarmatians.

Of particular interest is the fresco of the famous crypt of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility of the Hellenic world. This is an outstanding monument of painting of that era. It suffered greatly during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).

Having reached the apogee in the development of military power, the Bosporan rulers began to have ambitious plans: to unite all the Black Sea peoples under their rule.

But this was not destined to come true. First of all, because the cities that became part of the Bosporan kingdom still remained poleis (city-states). They recognized the central authority of Panticapaeum, but retained their self-government and even administrative and economic isolation. The rulers of these cities were not inclined to participate in the military adventures of the kings. In this sense, the Bosporan kingdom was more a union of isolated cities than a monarchical state.

The Bosporan kings achieved military power, but were unable to achieve the political unity of the city-states, and a city like Chersonesos completely separated from them into an independent republic.

This was the first and main obstacle to the implementation of the aggressive plans of the Spartokids.

The second obstacle was that the Bosporan kingdom was under the constant threat of invasion from the Sarmatians, who had captured the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region and came close to the Crimea.

The third obstacle was the emergence on the southern coast of the Black Sea and Asia Minor of a stronger Hellenic state - the Pontic Kingdom, whose rulers had the same aggressive plans.

To all this it must be added that the fulfillment of the aggressive desires of the Spartokids was hampered by constant military skirmishes with the Tauri, the Scythians, who formed their own state in the steppe part of the Crimea, and Chersonesus, which did not want to be subordinate to the Bosporan kingdom.

Agora - among the ancient Greeks - a national assembly, as well as the square where it took place. Temples, government buildings, and porticos with trading shops were built on the sides of the agora. (author's note)

Archon - in ancient Greece - the highest official in Athens. (author's note)

Isis - in ancient Greek mythology - the goddess of heaven, earth and hell - the wife of Ovaris. (author's note)

In Ancient Greece by the 6th century. BC Many independent states (polises) emerged. The Greeks were a highly developed people. They were good warriors, skilled traders, and skilled craftsmen. In addition, the Greeks were excellent sailors. Their life was largely connected with the sea. Because Greece was surrounded on all sides by seas (see map). The land of Greece is covered with mountains; it was often faster to travel by sea than by land. The Greeks studied the seas around them well.

Events

VIII-VI centuries BC e.- The Great Greek Colonization.

The Greeks called colonization the founding of new settlements - independent policies in distant lands.

The metropolis (literally translated as “mother city”) was the name given to the state that founded the colony. The colony did not become dependent on the metropolis; it was an independent state.

Why did the Greeks found colonies?

Greece is a small country. When the population increased, it was difficult to feed it. There was not enough bread, and it was very difficult to grow it in mountainous areas.
In Greece there were frequent clashes between the nobility and the demos. The losing group was often expelled from the policy and was forced to look for a new place of residence.

Where did the Greeks establish colonies?

All colonies of Ancient Greece were coastal.
The Greeks founded new policies on the shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, along the shores of Europe, Asia and Africa.

Notable Greek colonies (see map):

West- Syracuse, Naples, Massilia.

East- Olbia, Chersonesus, Panticapaeum. The neighbors of the Greeks in these parts were the Scythians.

South- Cyrene.

From the colonies the Greeks brought:

corn,
metals,
slaves

The following items were imported from Greece to the colonies:

olive oil,
wine.

How did colonization affect the lives of the ancient Greeks?

Crafts developed
standard of living has increased,
new influx of slaves,
The horizons of the Greeks expanded.

Participants

Rice. 1. Colonies of Greece ()

The Greeks learned to build strong wooden ships. Merchants used them to transport handicrafts and other Greek goods to overseas countries. Miletus, a Greek city in Asia Minor, was famous for its woolen fabrics. The best weapons were produced in the city of Corinth, and the best pottery in Athens.

At first, merchants only landed on foreign shores for a short time to exchange goods with local residents. Then Greek trading cities began to establish their permanent colonies on the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black Seas (Fig. 1).

In Greece, there were many who wanted to move to the colonies: artisans who hoped to find a good market for their products there, peasants who had lost their land, people forced to flee their homeland. The struggle between the demos and the nobility in the Greek city-states forced many Greeks to leave their homeland. Hesiod wrote that the poor left “to free themselves from debts and avoid evil hunger.” When the nobility won, its opponents were forced to flee, fleeing the revenge of the victors. Demos, having achieved power, expelled the aristocrats hostile to him. “I traded my magnificent house for a fugitive ship,” wrote the exiled aristocrat.

A city founding a new colony sent there a whole flotilla of military and merchant ships (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Greek merchant ship ()

In a foreign country, the Greeks captured lands near a convenient bay or at the mouth of a river. Here they built a city and surrounded it with a fortress wall. The settlers set up craft workshops, cultivated the land near the city, raised livestock, and traded with tribes living in the interior of the country. The Greeks acquired slaves from local tribes. Some slaves were left to work in the colonies, and some were sent for sale to Greece.

Many colonies were not inferior in size to the large cities of Greece. The Greeks did not move far from the sea. One ancient writer said that they sat on the seashore as frogs sit around a pond.

In Greece, thanks to trade with the colonies, the demand for handicraft products increased, and this contributed to the further development of crafts and trade in it. Greek cities located near convenient harbors began to grow rapidly. The importation of slaves from the colonies led to the development of slavery in Greece.

Although the Greeks settled over a vast territory, they continued to speak their native language. They called themselves Hellenes, and their homeland Hellas. In the countries where colonies arose, Greek culture - Hellenism - spread.

On the shores of the Black and Azov Seas, the ruins of ancient Greek cities have been preserved - the remains of fortress walls, houses, and temples. Archaeologists find coins, handicrafts, and inscriptions in Greek among the ruins and in tombs. Some of the products are made here, and some are brought from Greece. On the shore of the Kerch Strait stood one of the most ancient and largest Greek cities in the south of our country - Panticapaeum (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Panticapaeum (Reconstruction) ()

References

A.A. Vigasin, G.I. Goder, I.S. Sventsitskaya. History of the Ancient World. 5th grade - M.: Education, 2006.
Nemirovsky A.I. A book to read on the history of the ancient world. - M.: Education, 1991.

W-st.ru ()
Xtour.org()
Historic.ru ()

Homework

Find on the map and describe the location of the largest Greek colonies: Massilia, Tarentum, Syracuse, Cyrene, Miletus.
Name the main reasons for the founding of the Greek colonies.
What kind of life did the Greeks lead abroad?
How did the spread of Greek culture affect the local population?

From the middle of the 8th century BC. Greeks begin to settle along all shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. People loaded pets and supplies onto ships and set off. According to scientists, the Greeks then founded several hundred cities overseas. These migrations are now called the great Greek colonization, and the new cities are called colonies. It is called great because of the enormous scope of colonization. It lasted for approximately 300 years.
Greek colonization had three main directions. The most significant was the western direction - towards the island of Sicily, Southern Italy, Southern France and even Spain. The Greeks sailed south to the northern shores of Africa. But here they met resistance from the Egyptian pharaohs. Therefore, only the city of Naucratis was founded on Egyptian territory. To the northeast, the path went towards the straits that connected the Mediterranean Sea with the Black Sea, and further to its shores.
1. Reasons for colonization. The founding of new cities was caused by various reasons. For example, in one state living conditions were very good and therefore after some time the population increased so much that it could no longer feed itself on the existing land. In another polis, a fierce struggle began between citizens. Then the people's assembly decided to evict part of the population so that others could live in peace. Or those defeated in the struggle left their native city. There were other reasons for colonization.
Greek colonies were founded in places convenient for life, with fertile lands. As a rule, they were located on the seashore, where there were good harbors. Cities were built where the Greeks had already visited before on trade matters.
Having arrived at the place, the settlers divided the land into equal plots both inside the city and around it, in the fields and meadows. They surrounded the city with walls, erected temples to the gods, and built dwellings.
The new cities were completely independent of the city from which the colonists sailed (this city was called the metropolis - the mother city). The most famous of the metropolises was Miletus in Asia Minor. People from Miletus founded several dozen colonies.
2. Results of colonization. The great Greek colonization had a huge impact on the development of the entire ancient Greek world. She expanded the knowledge of the Greeks. They met many peoples that were new to them, learned about their customs, religion, and culture.
Colonization contributed to the development of economy and trade, as well as navigation. The colonists needed many things that they initially could not produce themselves and had to buy from Greece. Products of blacksmiths and other artisans, olive oil, and wine were brought from Hellas to the colonies. Grain, slaves, and metals were brought from the colony in exchange. New cities grew and became richer.
3. Colonies on the northern shores of the Black Sea. The Greeks founded many colonies on the northern shores of the Black Sea, on the territory of modern Russia and Ukraine. The most powerful state that arose here was the Bosporan kingdom. The Bosporan kingdom owned vast fertile lands and was rich in grain.
On the outskirts of Sevastopol there are the ruins of the Greek city of Chersonesos. Now here is a nature reserve, and you can walk along ancient streets excavated by archaeologists and see the remains of various buildings. Another Greek city was Olbia (which means “Happy”). This city was visited by the “father of history” Herodotus during his travels. Here he collected information about the Scythians.
4. Scythians. The Scythians were the closest neighbors of the Greeks in the Northern Black Sea region.
According to Herodotus, “the Scythians do not sow or plow anything at all,” “the Scythians have neither cities nor fortifications, and they carry their dwellings with them. All of them are horse archers and make their living not in agriculture, but in cattle breeding; their homes are in tents.” Despite the primitiveness of life of the Scythians, they managed to create a powerful state. Many peoples living in their neighborhood were subordinate to the Scythians. In 512 BC. e. The Scythians even repelled the campaign of the powerful army of the Persian king Darius I.
5. Mounds of the Scythians. If you find yourself in the steppes that stretch along the northern shores of the Black Sea, you will definitely see one or more mounds. A mound was a mound built over a grave. Archaeologists have excavated some of the burial mounds of the Scythian kings.
In the graves of the kings they found the remains of people and horses that were killed and buried with the king. Here lay various things that accompanied the king to the afterlife. Among them are many magnificent items made of gold and silver. These are jewelry, jugs, bowls, combs and other items. They were made by Greek craftsmen, but they tried to make the Scythians like their products, so they decorated these objects with images that were close and understandable to the Scythians. For example, one vase depicts scenes from Scythian legends.
6. Greeks and barbarians. As a result of colonization, the Greeks became acquainted with many peoples they had not known before. The Greeks saw that these peoples differed from them in language, customs, and culture. Thanks to this, the Greeks began to recognize themselves as a single people - Hellenes. They called all other peoples barbarians. The word "barbarian" arose as an onomatopoeia. When the Greeks wanted to imitate non-Hellenic speech, they muttered “var-var.” The Greeks also considered the inhabitants of Babylonia, Persia and Egypt - countries with centuries-old history and culture - to be barbarians. For them, backward tribes were also barbarians: Thracians, Illyrians, Scythians.
At first, the word “barbarian” meant “stranger,” “not Hellenic.” But gradually the attitude of the Greeks towards foreigners is changing. The Hellenes began to think that they were superior to the barbarians in everything. Therefore, they considered all people living according to their customs to be backward people, born for slavery.

The process of socio-economic, political and cultural development of Greek society in the 8th-6th centuries. BC e. gave rise to such an interesting phenomenon in ancient Greek history as the Great Colonization, i.e., the eviction of Greeks from the cities of the Aegean basin to numerous colonies (in Greek “apoikia”) located along the coast of the Mediterranean and Black Seas. In total, several hundred colonies were established with a total population of 1.5-2 million people.
What were the reasons for this powerful colonization movement? We can name several main ones. The intensification of the Greek economy, the development of crafts and trade in the emerging policies required an expansion of the field of activity: new lands were needed for citizens losing their allotments, sources of raw materials were needed, markets for the products of craft workshops - and all this could be found in colonies founded in convenient and rich areas of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, in the surrounding territories occupied by local tribes.

Another important reason for the withdrawal of colonies was the process of class formation and social differentiation of Greek society, which took place in the 8th-6th centuries. BC e. The poor who had lost their land, who fell into the tenacious clutches of moneylenders, their relatives enslaved by the nobility, and representatives of various fighting factions who had been defeated in the social struggle, sought luck and prosperity in foreign lands, in newly founded colonies. The aristocracy did not interfere with such a resettlement, because dissatisfied elements and political opponents, dangerous for the rule of the nobility, left for the colony. At the same time, it was beneficial for the ruling circles of metropolitan cities to have their own colonies, with which they established mutually beneficial ties, from where they received valuable raw materials, where they could sell the products of estates and craft workshops, with the help of which the metropolises expanded their political influence.

The introduction of a large population into the colonies would have been impossible without a general increase in the size of the Greek population. Greece VIII-VI centuries. BC e. was experiencing a kind of demographic explosion caused by a number of reasons that had not yet been fully explored, but, undoubtedly, one of the main ones was the rapid development of the Greek economy, creating a surplus of products that required sales, a sufficient amount of raw materials, and a labor force that ensured a certain material wealth.
In the Great Greek Colonization, three different directions can be distinguished. The most powerful was the western direction. The first colony founded by the Greeks in the West was the settlement on the island of Pitecussa and the city of Cumae (in Campania), founded around the middle of the 8th century. BC e. Soon cities were founded, which then turned into the largest and most prosperous Western Greek cities: Syracuse (733 BC), Zancla (730 BC), later renamed Messana, Regium (720 BC . BC), Tarentum (706 BC), Sybaris, Croton, Gela, Selinunte, Akragant, etc. Sicily and Southern Italy were so densely dotted with a network of Greek colonies and settlements, the Greek colonists so thoroughly developed these territories. , that Southern Italy and Sicily began to be called the characteristic term “Magna Graecia.”

Massalia was founded on the southern coast of France (c. 600 BC), which later became a populous polis, through which Greek goods were sent along the Rodan River to the interior regions of Gaul, right up to modern Paris. A large colony of Emporion was founded on the Spanish coast.
The city of Corinth, one of the largest trade and craft centers in Balkan Greece, which was characterized by the early formation of a polis system and a new economy, was particularly active in Western colonization.

The colonization movement in the northeast direction was also very powerful. Here Miletus, also one of the largest and richest Greek cities, played a leading role. According to legend, Miletus founded up to 100 different settlements and colonies. The cities of Cyzicus (756 BC), Chalcedon (685 BC), and Byzantium (667 BC) became the major Greek colonies of the Propontides. The cities of Sinope (756 BC) and Heraclea Pontic (560 BC) were the most powerful on the southern coast of the Black Sea. The most significant Greek colonies in the Western Black Sea region were Istria (657 BC), Apollonia Pontic, Odessos, Tomy, Callatia. In the VI century. BC e. The colonization wave reached the Northern Black Sea region.

The oldest Greek settlement was founded on the island of Berezan at the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. BC e., but soon the Berezan settlement became part of a larger colony of Olbia, founded in the first half of the 6th century. BC e. at the mouth of the Dnieper-Bug estuary. A number of Greek colonies arose in ancient Taurica (modern Crimea). In the VI century. BC e. about a dozen different settlements and towns appeared on both sides of the Kerch Strait, the largest of which were Panticapaeum (the turn of the 7th-6th centuries BC) on the site of modern Kerch and Phanagoria (547 BC) on the Asian side of the Kerch Strait. At the beginning of the 5th century. BC e. The Greek colonies of the Kerch Strait united under the rule of the strong city of Panticapaeum, and this union became known as the Bosporus State (or Bosporus). Of the other Greek colonies of the Northern Black Sea region, a notable role was played by Thira (modern Belgorod-Dnestrovsky) at the mouth of the Dniester River, Feodosia in the Eastern Crimea (modern Feodosiya), Chersonesus (modern Sevastopol), Gorgippia (modern Anapa).

The largest Greek colonies on the Caucasian coast were the cities of Pitiunt (modern Pitsunda), Dioskouriada (modern Sukhumi), Fasis (modern Poti).

Greek colonization is much less represented in the southeastern and southern directions, i.e. on the Phoenician coast, coastal regions of Egypt and Libya. In these areas, the Greek colonists met strong resistance from the Phoenician traders and the powerful Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian kings and Egyptian pharaohs behind them. That is why only a few settlements were founded here, which also played the role of trading posts subordinate to local rulers. These are the settlements of Al-Mina in Syria, Sukas in Phenicia, Naucratis and Daphne in Egypt. Only Cyrene, founded in 630 BC. e. in a fertile area a few kilometers from the sea, little accessible either to the Egyptian pharaohs or to the Phoenician or Carthaginian sailors, it became a prosperous Greek city, establishing close contacts with the cities of Balkan Greece.

Greek colonies were established in territories that were quite convenient for living, supplied with drinking water, with fertile lands, located, as a rule, on the sea coast and with good harbors in places fortified by nature. Before withdrawing the settlement, a preliminary reconnaissance of the area was carried out. Quite often, a settlement or city was founded on the sites of ancient ship moorings or temporary trading posts.

As soon as the location of the future colony was established, the metropolitan city announced a registration of those wishing to move to the new settlement, and the city authorities appointed a special official, the so-called oikist. Oikist officially headed the party of colonists, he had to finally determine the location of the future settlement and the surrounding rural area, conduct religious ceremonies in honor of the founding of the city, the line of the city walls, if they were planned, determine the location of the main temple, the central agora square, the port area, and residential areas . Citizens of a given city, as a rule, impoverished people, younger sons of families who did not have the right to inherit their father’s plot, those defeated in political struggle, adventurers, were enrolled in the colonists, but residents of other cities, one way or another connected with by this polis - the metropolis. So, for example, the active colonization activity of Miletus can only be explained by the fact that the colonists included many not only Milesian citizens, but also residents of other Greek cities who considered it beneficial for themselves to participate in the founding of the Milesian colonies.

The first colonies were sparsely populated. Colonization parties usually numbered several hundred people. The colonists had to enter into certain relations with the local tribes. Usually (but not always) such relations were peaceful: there were too few colonists to pursue an aggressive policy, and the leaders of the local tribes were interested in contacts with the more civilized Greeks, who brought them wines, olive oil, luxury goods. There were also cases of hostile relations between colonists and local tribes, for example in Southern Italy and the Northern Black Sea region. The first settlers who found themselves in a foreign land maintained close ties with the metropolis and relied on its comprehensive support and assistance. However, despite these close ties and close kinship (close relatives and close relatives also remained in the metropolis), the colony was founded as an independent polis.

Depending on the composition of the colonists, local conditions, and relations with the metropolis, the new colony either became a rich agricultural center or acted primarily as an intermediary in the trade of the metropolis with local tribes.
In the colonies, the burden of old tribal traditions was felt much less strongly, and therefore the economy, social processes, new government bodies, and culture developed more freely and faster than in the metropolis. ^Many Greek colonies, initially small and poor settlements, are turning into prosperous, populous, wealthy cities with a developed economy, active socio-political and cultural life. The rapid growth of the colonies had a stimulating effect on the development of Greek society as a whole, on the establishment of mature forms of the polis system.

Great Greek colonization VIII-VI centuries. BC, caused by the deep processes of social development of Balkan Greece, itself became a powerful factor in the socio-economic and cultural development of the entire Greek world.

The colonists' acquaintance with new countries and new tribes expanded the cultural horizons of the Greeks. The need to build new cities and develop new territories gave a powerful impetus to the development of urban planning, architecture, and the fine arts. Mutual contacts both with the countries of ancient eastern culture and with the tribal world of the Mediterranean enriched Greek culture with new ideas, new knowledge, and served as a stimulus in the development of Greek philosophy and literature.

In Ancient Greece by the 6th century. BC Many independent states (polises) emerged. The Greeks were a highly developed people. They were good warriors, skilled traders, and skilled craftsmen. In addition, the Greeks were excellent sailors. Their life was largely connected with the sea. Because Greece was surrounded on all sides by seas. The land of Greece is covered with mountains; it was often faster to travel by sea than by land. The Greeks studied the seas around them well.

Events

VIII-VI centuries BC e. - The Great Greek Colonization.

The Greeks called colonization the founding of new settlements - independent policies in distant lands.

The metropolis (literally translated as “mother city”) was the name given to the state that founded the colony. The colony did not become dependent on the metropolis; it was an independent state.

Why did the Greeks found colonies?

Greece is a small country. When the population increased, it was difficult to feed it. There was not enough bread, and it was very difficult to grow it in mountainous areas.

In Greece there were frequent clashes between the nobility and the demos. The losing group was often expelled from the polis and was forced to look for a new place of residence. Where did the Greeks establish colonies?

All colonies of Ancient Greece were coastal.

The Greeks founded new policies on the shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, along the shores of Europe, Asia and Africa.

Notable Greek colonies:

West - Syracuse, Naples, Massilia.

East - Olbia, Chersonesus, Panticapaeum. The neighbors of the Greeks in these parts were the Scythians.

South - Cyrene.

From the colonies the Greeks brought:

corn,
metals,
slaves

The following items were imported from Greece to the colonies:

olive oil,
wine.

How did colonization affect the lives of the ancient Greeks?

Crafts developed
standard of living has increased,
new influx of slaves,
The horizons of the Greeks expanded.

Participants

Herodotus is an ancient Greek historian who traveled around the Black Sea region and described life in the Greek colonies.

Scythians are a people who lived in the Northern Black Sea region.

Skil - Scythian king. According to legend, Skil, secretly from his people, spent a lot of time in the Greek colony of Olbia, as he loved the way of life of the Greeks. The Scythians, having learned about this, executed him for betraying Scythian customs.

Conclusion

The Greeks settled across the sea in all directions: west, south, east. Despite the fact that the Greeks lived in different independent states-polises on the territory of Greece itself, in colonies scattered throughout the Mediterranean, they felt themselves to be a single people, spoke the same language, believed in the same gods and called their homeland Hellas, and themselves - Hellenes.

Parallels

Much earlier than the Greeks, the Phoenicians, who lived on its eastern coast, mastered the Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians are known as excellent shipbuilders, navigators, travelers and traders. The Phoenicians, like the Greeks, founded many colonies on the coast (the most famous of them is the city of Carthage).

Founding of the Greek colonies

A city establishing a new colony sent there a whole flotilla of military and merchant ships.

Many colonies were not inferior in size to the large cities of Greece. The Greeks did not move far from the sea. One ancient writer said that they sat on the seashore as frogs sit around a pond.

References

A.A. Vigasin, G.I. Goder, I.S. Sventsitskaya. History of the Ancient World. 5th grade - M.: Education, 2006.
Nemirovsky A.I. A book to read on the history of the ancient world. - M.: Education, 1991.

Common Causes of Colonization

In the VIII-VI centuries. BC e. Greek colonization is developing widely. The emergence of settlements of Greek colonists in the Mediterranean countries played a significant role in the historical life of the Greeks themselves and in the life of the tribes and peoples with whom, as a result of colonization, the Greeks came into direct and long-term contact.

The main reasons for colonization are rooted in the general course of historical development of Greek society. The dominance of the tribal aristocracy, the concentration of land holdings in its hands, the process of landlessness and enslavement of the free poor forced the latter to emigrate.

For those who were defeated in the internal struggle that proceeded with varying success, there was often no choice but to leave their homeland forever and found a new settlement. In a number of cases, democratic elements found themselves in this situation: the poor, small and medium-sized landowners, artisans, whose labor began to be supplanted by the labor of slaves, and even the rich - opponents of the established government. Defeated aristocrats also left their homeland, often with their followers and relatives. Subsequently, with the development of colonization and the expansion of maritime trade, the initiative in creating new settlements was often taken by the most enterprising representatives of the trade and craft circles of the urban population, and often by the slaveholding state itself.)

Characterizing the reasons for this emigration, Marx wrote: “In the ancient states, in Greece and Rome, forced emigration, which took the form of the periodic establishment of colonies, constituted a permanent link in the social chain... The insufficient development of the productive forces made citizens dependent on a certain quantitative ratio, which could not be violated. Therefore, the only way out of the situation was forced emigration.”

The main difference between the early Greek colonies and the Phoenician colonies was that the Greek colonies initially had all the features of agricultural settlements that had trade relations only with their metropolis, while the Phoenician colonies were most often trading posts. Agricultural settlements were, for example, colonies founded in the 8th century. BC e. the Euboean city of Chalkida on a peninsula in the northern part of the Aegean Sea, which later received the name Chalkidiki, or the city of Byzantium, founded by immigrants from the Dorian Megara on the Thracian coast of the Bosporus - the strait that connected the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) with the Black Sea. Greek settlements, which arose around the same time on the coasts of Southern Italy and Sicily, famous for their fertility, were also agricultural in nature.

Weapons and other metal products, fabrics, artistic dishes, olive oil, wine - the Greek colonists, at least at first, received all this from their metropolises. In turn, the colonies exported their surplus agricultural products to the metropolis. Colonies from agricultural ones gradually became agricultural and trading colonies. Subsequently, the inhabitants of the colonies began to consume only part of the imported goods, while they resold the other part to neighboring tribes or exchanged them for food and raw materials, simultaneously increasing exports to the metropolis. Over time, the colonies also developed their own handicraft production. Expanding the borders of the Hellenic world and strengthening the ties of the Greeks with other tribes and peoples, colonization thus accelerated the growth of commodity production in both the metropolises and the colonies and significantly influenced the development of maritime trade. The size of the territories belonging to the colonies, with some exceptions, was usually small. As a rule, they were adjacent to the sea coast or were in close proximity to it. According to the figurative expression of the philosopher Plato (5th century BC), Greek cities scattered along the shores of the seas from the Caucasus to Gibraltar resembled frogs settled around a pond.

In cities that founded a large number of colonies, such as Miletus, which, according to legend, formed more than 60 colonies, the colonization problem acquired such great weight that it became the focus of state attention. In such cities, special officials began to be elected - the so-called oikists, whose duties were the establishment of new settlements. Often, not only citizens of a given policy were evicted to the colony, but also residents of other cities. In such cases, the city creating the colony acquired the significance of a kind of gathering point for everyone who wanted to move to a new place. In the context of a general rise in economic life that characterized the period under review, many newly founded settlements quickly turned into cities as large as their metropolises. For example, Syracuse in Sicily, founded by the Corinthians, was soon in no way inferior to its metropolis, Corinth, in terms of the number of inhabitants and wealth.

The Greek colonies were as independent city states as their metropolises. The connection between the colony and the metropolis, as a rule, took the form of friendly or allied relations, but these were relations between two independent states, between which conflicts arose, sometimes leading to armed clashes.

Main directions of Greek colonization

Greek colonization VIII-VI centuries. BC e. developed simultaneously in several directions, largely determined by the connections that existed between the Greeks and other peoples and tribes of that time. As colonization progressed, new connections emerged and strengthened. Relations between Greek colonists and local tribes, who had not yet outlived primitive communal relations, acquired great importance at this time. Such are the relationships of the Greeks with the Thracian tribes on the Balkan Peninsula, with the local tribes of Southern Italy and Sicily, with the Celts and Iberians, who in ancient times inhabited the modern territories of France and Spain, with the Scythians, places and other Lemens on the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas. The Greeks established peaceful relations with many of the local tribes on the basis of trade exchanges, which brought enormous benefits to the colonies, but there were also frequent cases of military clashes.

The advancement of Greek colonists in a western direction began with the creation of a number of colonies on the coasts of the Ionian and southern Adriatic Sea - Epirus, Illyria, on the nearby islands - Kerkyra, Lefkada and others, as well as southern Italy. In the VIII-VII centuries. BC e. Part of the colonization of Southern Italy included people from a number of cities and regions of Greece. For example, many residents of the western region of the Peloponnese-Messenia moved here after the conquest of their homeland by Sparta, settling in the city of Regia, shortly before founded by the Chalcidians on the shores of the Strait of Messina. Residents of Sparta itself also moved to Southern Italy, founding the colony of Tarentum on the shores of the bay of the same name. The inhabitants of Achaia founded Sybaris and Croton on the same coast, which soon became flourishing cities famous for their wealth. The Chalcidians, already mentioned above, together with people from the Asia Minor city of Kima, founded the city of Kimu (Kuma) on the western coast of Italy. In turn, the Cumae founded a number of other colonies nearby, including Naples (“New City”). According to legend, the Chalcidians founded Naxos in 735, the first Greek colony in Icilia, which in turn founded Catana and Leontina. Almost simultaneously with the Chalcidians, Corinth created the colony of Syracuse on the eastern coast of Sicily, which later became the largest of all Greek cities located to the west of Greece. During the second half of the 8th and 7th centuries. Many other colonies arose on the coasts of Sicily and southern Italy, founded by residents of various Greek cities. The colonization of these coasts took on such a wide scale that already in the 6th century. behind them, and especially in the area around Tarentum, the name “Magna Graecia” was established.

Many of the colonies in Magna Graecia took possession of significant areas of fertile land, making the local indigenous population dependent on them. This often caused military clashes between the Greeks and local tribes (for example, with the Messapian and Bruttian tribes in Southern Italy, with the Siculi and Sicani tribes in Sicily). Due to territorial expansion, trade rivalry and the struggle for political dominance, military clashes often occurred between the colonies themselves. Thus, in Sipilia, Syracuse fought several times with its own colony of Camarina, etc. Clashes between the policies were often intertwined with the acute social struggle taking place within them between various political groups, since the same social processes that took place in the indigenous Greek cities , developed in the colonies; and here, among the population, the aristocracy that emigrated from the metropolis and emerged again stood out, striving to stay in power, and here a process of property stratification took place.

The Greeks penetrate further west. Immigrants from Phocaea founded the colony of Massalia (now Marseille, Southern France) at the mouth of the Rhone River. Subsequently, Massalia brought a number of colonies even further to the west, right up to the coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

On the basis of territorial expansion, clashes between the Greeks and the Etruscans and Carthaginians occurred. Thus, the Carthaginians, with the help of the Etruscans, ousted the Phocian Greeks from the island of Corsica, who were trying to establish their own colony here. The Carthaginians retained a significant part of Sicily, did not allow the organization of Greek colonies in southern Spain and in the western part of the North African coast, and firmly held the island of Sardinia.

Two significant Greek colonies arose on the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea - Naucratis in Egypt, on one of the branches of the Nile delta, and Cyrene on the coast of Libya, west of Egypt. The peculiarity of the structure of Naucratis was that the land for the creation of this colony was allocated by the Egyptian king and it limited the territory in Egypt where the Greeks could settle and trade, paying a tax to Egypt. Therefore, the population of Naucratis consisted of immigrants from various Greek cities. These settlers, within the framework of a common policy for all of them, continued to maintain their special autonomous administration. Naucratis developed a fairly significant craft industry, the products of which, in many ways imitating those of ancient Egypt, were widely exported, including to Western Asia. The second colony on the African coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Cyrene, was founded in the middle of the 7th century. mainly Dorian poleis. Subsequently, several other settlements grew around Cyrene. The political unification of these settlements led by Cyrene (the so-called “pentapolis”) covered the entire region - Cyrenaica. Cyrenaica was famous for its exceptional fertility. According to one inscription in the 4th century. BC e., Cyrene exported over 800 thousand medimn of grain (medimn = 52, 53l) to various cities of Greece over the course of three years. The main export items were: wheat, olive oil, dates, etc.

The coasts of the Hellespont (Dardanelles), Propontis (Sea of Marmara) and the southern coast of Pontus (Black Sea) have also been around since the 8th century. began to be settled mainly by immigrants from the Greek cities of Asia Minor. The Greek colonies of Cyzicus on the shores of the Sea of Marmara, Sinope and Trebizond on the southern shore of the Black Sea arose already in the middle of the 8th century. Invisibly, in the second half of the 7th century. Istria was founded on the western coast of Pontus; at the end of the same century, Apollonia appeared south of Istria and after it several other colonies of the Western Black Sea region. They served as strongholds for the further advance of the Greeks to the north.

In the colonization of the Northern Black Sea region, the main role belonged to the Ionian cities of the Asia Minor coast and, above all, Miletus. In the VII-VI centuries. he founded Olbia on the right bank of the Bug-Dnieper estuary and a number of colonies on both banks of the Kerch Strait - the ancient “Cimmerian Bosporus”. The largest of them were Panticapaeum (modern Kerch) and Feodosia on the eastern coast of Crimea, Phanagoria and Hermonassa on the coast of the Taman Peninsula. The only Dorian colony on the North Black Sea coast was Chersonesos, founded in the 5th century. 3 km from present-day Sevastopol by settlers from Heraclea Pontic (now the city of Eregli in Asia Minor).

From their very foundation, the Northern Black Sea colonies came into close contact with local Scythian and Meotian tribes (the latter lived on the Taman Peninsula and the Kuban region). The colonists had military clashes with some of the tribes, while peaceful relations were established with others based on barter trade. For the further development of the Northern Black Sea colonies, along with agriculture and handicraft production, trade began to acquire importance. Many Greek cities began to feel the need for the import of bread and other agricultural products relatively early. In this regard, the Northern Black Sea colonies, as permanent suppliers of these products, and later of labor (slaves), began to play a very prominent role in the economic life of Greece. The development of trading activities of the Northern Black Sea colonies significantly affected their relationships with local tribes. Handicrafts, wine and olive oil imported from Greece, as well as products made by Greek craftsmen in the colonies themselves, were exchanged for agricultural products; The local tribal nobility, who owned large herds and fertile lands, were especially interested in such an exchange. However, wider sections of the population were also drawn into trade relations with the Greeks, some of whom, according to Herodotus, sowed grain with the expectation of selling it. Numerous Greek artifacts discovered during excavations of settlements and burial mounds clearly show the intensity of these connections.

Trade with the Greeks both in the Northern Black Sea region and in other areas of Greek colonization contributed to the further decomposition of the primitive communal system among local tribes. The strong influence of Greek culture on the upper strata of the surrounding tribes is also becoming increasingly noticeable. On the other hand, the rapprochement of Greek settlers with the local population left its mark on the entire course of the socio-economic and political history of the colonies and the nature of their culture. The interpenetration of the cultures of the Greeks and local residents and the entry of some local elements into the population of the colonies are to a greater or lesser extent characteristic of all areas covered by Greek colonization, although the relationship between the colonists and the local population took different forms.

Colonization also played a significant role in the historical development of the indigenous territory of Greece. The growth of handicraft production and trade, accelerated by colonization, strengthened the handicraft and trading strata of the demos in the metropolis, which fought against the clan aristocracy. Thus, the colonization of the VIII-VI centuries. was one of the important factors in the process of the final elimination of the remnants of the tribal system and the complete victory of the slave-owning mode of production in Greece.

Class struggle in the colonies

Little is known about the internal events of the socio-political life of the Greek colonies in the first period of their existence. Some data is available about the situation in the policies of Magna Graecia (Sipilia and Southern Italy). Already in the VII-VI centuries. There was a fierce class struggle here. Information about social movements of the 7th century. in the city-states of Magna Graecia it is said that here, even earlier than in the metropolis, large sections of the Greek population came out with a demand for a record of the laws in force. We have received news of the legislation of Zaleucus (about 650) from Locrians of Italia and Charondus (about the 6th century) from Catana in Sicily. As far as can be judged from fragmentary data, these laws reflected the relations that developed in agricultural communities. For example, the laws of Zalewok prohibited any intermediary trade, and the farmer could sell his products only directly to the consumer. Written contracts were also prohibited; transactions had to be concluded orally in front of witnesses.

The development of commodity-money relations led to an aggravation of contradictions between large landowners and the trade and craft layers of the population. Just as in the Greek city-states of the Aegean basin, in the western colonies of the Greeks these processes found expression in political upheavals associated with the establishment of tyranny.

Tyranny in the Greek cities of Sicily appeared at the end of the 7th century, but became especially widespread in the second half of the 6th century. According to legend, the first Sicilian tyrant was Panthetius (in Leontini). In the first half of the 6th century. carried out a political coup in Akraganta (Agrigenta) Phalaris. The support of this tyrant was, as tradition says, the artisans and builders he gathered to build the temple of Zeus. At the end of the 6th century. the dominance of the oligarchs in Gela was overthrown by the leader of the democratic strata of the population Cleander, who held power for seven years; His brother Hippocrates ruled for the same amount of time after Cleander, who pursued an active foreign policy: he captured Naxos, Leontini and other cities, successfully fought with the Syracusans, but died in the battle with the Siculi. His successor Gelon (491-478) took possession of Syracuse and became the founder of a fairly large Eastern Sicilian state centered in this city; Syracuse strengthened even more thanks to an alliance with the tyrant of Akragant - Feron.

Democratic revolutions, often associated with the establishment of tyranny, took place in the second half of the 6th century. and in a number of southern Italian cities. In Sybaris, a major trading center of Magna Graecia, a democratic revolution took place, the consequence of which was the establishment of tyranny and a war with the aristocratic Croton, which ended in the complete destruction of Sybaris (509). Soon, however, the aristocracy of Croton was deprived of power as a result of a popular uprising. A tyrannical form of government was also established in Kim, Tarentum, and Regia. This regime lasted the longest in the last city, where the tyrant Anaxilaus held power in his hands for a long time (494-476). The Kim tyrant Aristodemus at the end of the 6th century. seized power, relying on the lower strata of the urban population. He released convicts from prison and allegedly even freed slaves.

In another area of Greek colonization - in agricultural Cyrene in the 7th and 6th centuries. oligarchic government dominated, headed by the council and the king. But even here in the second half of the 6th century. broad sections of the free achieved reforms that limited the economic and political power of the tsar. However, the democratic restructuring of the state occurred only later, already in the 5th century, and the victory of democracy here was fragile.

What all these movements had in common was the desire to seize power and political rights by the trade and craft sections of the population. The internal struggle intensified even more in connection with the foreign political situation, as the desire of the Greek cities of the Western Mediterranean for dominance on trade routes led to serious conflicts with the Carthaginians, and then with the Etruscans.