The Role of Apollo. For a skeptical view of Delphi’s centrality, see Londy (1990, 122), who points out that “of colonies founded between 750 BCE and 500 BCE, scarcely one in ten can boast a Delphic response.” See further his table I (p. 119) for a list of the fifteen Delphic “colonization responses” dated ca. 750–500. As Malkin (1987, 17) notes, “not one foundation oracle with any claim to authenticity has come down to us from any other oracle.” Dougherty (1993, 178–98) suggests that Apollo’s importance is due partly to his role as purifier, viz of the violence perpetrated by Greeks against the local population. She writes (p. 180), “The Greeks use Apollo and the purification process that murder demands as a conceptual analogy, a metaphor, to describe colonization.” For an interesting parallel in the Hebrew Bible, see the question that is put to a local priest by representatives of the Danites when they are seeking a land to inhabit, “Inquire of God that we may know whether our undertaking will succeed,” which receives the instant reply, “Go in peace. The mission you are on is under the eye of the Lord” (Judges 18.5–6).
The Size and Composition of a Settlement. On the panhellenic nature of the movement in general, see Malkin (2011, 53–64). The pirates from Cumae who first settled Zancle (later called Messana) on the Strait of Messina were joined by “large numbers from Chalcis and the rest of Euboea” (Thuc. 6.4.5). The very large number of settlements founded by Miletus and Chalcis are difficult to explain unless we assume that the original nucleus of pioneers was supplemented by others from other city-states (Malkin, 2011, 54). An exception to the rule that most foundations comprised pioneers from a single polis in the first generation is Naucratis, which was jointly founded by nine cities (Hdt. 2.178).
Designating the Oikist. For the role of the oikist, see Graham (1983, 29–39). For the connection with Delphi and the posthumous cult of the oikist, see Malkin (1987, 17–91, 190–203). It is indicative of the challenges that the oikist often faced that our first encounter with Aeneas shows him to be so dispirited that he wishes he had died fighting at Troy (Aen. 1.94–96). This, however, does not prevent him from delivering a rousing pep talk to his fellow-refugees in the midst of his travails, even though he scarcely believes it himself (1.198–209). For heroic honors being granted to the oikist, see Hall (2007, 104–5), who notes that the literary testimony for this practice is late.
Identifying the Site. For Arganthonius’s offer to the Phocaeans and the site of Tartessus (Phoenician Tarshish), see Demand (1990, 37); Murray (1993, 109); and Asheri et al. (2007, 184). Regions where presettlement contacts are very likely to have occurred include the delta of the Rhône, southern Italy and Sicily, and the Black Sea coasts (Graham 1990, 45–60).
Choosing the Pioneers. Plato (Laws 5.735e–736a) suggests, not improbably, that in some cases those selected were the equivalent of political exiles, deemed to be the most dangerous and anti-social members of society. For priestesses as pioneers, see Graham (1980–81, 302–13).
Departing. On the questionable veracity of Herodotus’s account of the foundation of Cyrene and the ways in which foundation stories served later political agendas, see Osborne (1996, 8–15; 1998, 255–56). For the problematic relationship between the Cyrenean inscription and the Herodotean text, see Corcella (Asheri et al. 2007, 680). Other foundation inscriptions include ML 13 = Fornara 33 (Locrian decree relating to an unknown settlement, dated 525–500); ML 20 = Fornara 47 (decree of East Locrians relating to their settlement at Naupactus in Western Locris, 500–475); ML 49 = Fornara 100 (Athenian decree relating to the settlement at Brea, ca. 445 or 426/5). A fate similar to that of the Therans awaited the Eretrians when they tried unsuccessfully to return home after failing to establish a settlement on Corcyra (Plu. Mor. 293b).
Laying the Foundations. Dunbabin (1948, 179–83) rejected the view that in southern Italy and Sicily many of the cults and observances adopted by the apoikia were taken over from the Sicels and Italians, though he acknowledged that worship was sometimes established on sites previously venerated by indigenous peoples. Malkin (1987, 185) states, “Presence and familiar protection were felt to be all the more necessary in a new and foreign territory,” but he does not elaborate on the consequences that inevitably flow from this insight. For the establishment of cults and nomima, see Malkin (2009, 382–90). See also Osborne (1996, 232–42) for archaeological evidence of the physical transformation of three Greek settlements—Thasos, Metapontum, and Megara Hyblaea—each from being a “community with a priority on survival into a community with a distinct civic identity willing to invest in communal facilities, to render its civic face visible by monumental constructions” (p. 242).
Relations between Settlers and Indigenous Populations. See Graham (1982a, 155–57); Lomas (2000, 173–85); and Hall (2002, 97–100). Ridgway (1992, 114) writes of Pithecusae that it was “permeated by Levantine contacts and influences.” See further Boardman (1999, 16–568). A special case is Naucratis, where the pharaoh Psammetichus I (r.664–10) licensed the establishment of a colony of Greeks (Bowden 1996, 17–37; Boardman 1999, 117–35). For relations between Greeks, Carthaginians, and Sicels, see Sjöqvist (1973, 49–72). Dunbabin (1948, 43) states: “At least half the Greek colonies [viz in Sicily and southern Italy] were built on sites previously occupied by native towns, and it is likely that most were. In every case of which we hear, the Greeks drove out the Sicels or Italians by force.” He further maintains (p. 187) that “life in the [Italian] colonies was completely Greek in its material aspects.” Recently, however, scholars have detected the presence of both Greek and indigenous inhabitants in many settlements. Lomas (2000, 173), for instance, writes, “It is highly likely that the population of [settlements in Italy] was originally mixed even in respect of the Greek population, arising from the fact that the foundation of a colony was not necessarily a single decisive act.” For Taras and Sybaris, see Osanna (1992, 118–29). For Emporium, see Demetriou (2012, 24–52). For burials at Incoronata and Policoro, see Osborne (1998, 262–63). For the influence of the Greeks on the Gauls at Massalia “where it seemed as if Gaul had moved to Greece, not Greece to Gaul” (Justin 43.3), see Murray (1993, 109). For relations between the Greeks and the Getae in Dobruja Bulgaria, see Coja (1990, 157–68), who concludes: “[They] coexisted peacefully … each of them … living within its own social organization” (p. 166). For Greeks and indigenous populations in the Black Sea region, see Tsetskhladze (1998, 44–50), who maintains that “a small part of the local population formed a component in the Ionian Greek cities from the outset.” For relations between Greeks and natives in the Iberian peninsula, see Domínguez (2006, 492). For a brief summary of cultural interactions between the Greeks and non-Greeks in western Asia prior to the arrival of Alexander the Great, see Colledge (1987, 134–48). Dougherty (2003, 187) notes that the Athenian general Nicias likened the challenge of conquering Sicily to “establishing a city among hostile foreigners” (Thuc. 6.23.2). For the Mariandynoi and other subjected indigenous peoples, see van Wees (2003, 45–47). This complicated subject is of interest to scholars working in the emerging field of interaction studies, whose focus is inter-regional relations involving power and exchange (Aubet 2013, 41–77).
Women Settlers. See Graham (1980–81, 293–314); Hall (2002, 100–103); and Asheri et al. (2007, 177). For mixed marriages, see Baslez (1984, 69–74). On the basis of their important role in religion, Graham argues, “The great majority of women in Greek colonies must have been from the beginning Greek” (p. 313). This seems to me highly unlikely, not least because a relatively small number of women would have been selected for religious duties. For intermarriage between Euboeans and Italians at Pithecusae, see Coldstream (1994, 53) and Hodos (1999, 61–64). While conceding that fibulae (brooches) in Pithecusan graves can be interpreted as evidence of intermarriage, Hodos suggests that in Sicily the presence of such objects is more likely to be evidence of trade. The abduction of the Sabine women during the reign of Romulus is the most famous instance in Roman history. Livy (1.9) narrates the episo
de in such a way as to suggest that domestic harmony ultimately prevailed between the women and their abductors. By the Augustan era the story had evidently become something of an embarrassment, though it could not be excised from the record.
Setbacks, Failures, and Eventual Successes. A classic instance of the perils of nostalgia is recorded in the case of the Phocaeans, half of whom gave up the attempt to settle elsewhere and returned to their abandoned city (see chapter 4). For internal strife among settlers, see Verg. Aen. 5.636–40, where the goddess Iris takes the form of an elderly woman called Beroë and claims to have had a dream in which Cassandra told her that the Trojans should settle at Drepanum rather than continue on their voyage to Hesperia, thereby stimulating the women to set fire to the ships.
The Athenian Postscriptum. Fifth-century settlements founded by states other than Athens include Siris (Policoro), Heraclea Trachinia, Heraclea Pontica, and Chersonesus. For the difference between early migration and Athens’s settlements, see Brunt (1966) and Cawkwell (1992). For her cleruchies and settlements, see Graham (1983, 166–210), Salomon (1997), and Moreno (2009). As Malkin (2009, 376) points out, Athens was internally settled during the eighth and seventh centuries by the “filling” of Attica. Figueira (1991, 171) notes that some apoikiai had as many as 5,100–6,100 colonists. By the fourth century no distinction between the terms apoikia and “cleruchy” was being observed. For discussion of the socioeconomic class of the populations of Athens’s cleruchies and settlements, see Figueira (1991, 60 and 201) and Mattingly (1996, 137 n. 83).
The Alexandrian Post-Postscriptum. See Walbank (1993, 43–45) and Cartledge (2004, 204–6). An example of a foundation that served as a garrison is Alexandria in Caucaso (central Hindu Kush), which Alexander populated with 3,000 Macedonians and Greek mercenaries. For a list of the sources, see Heckel and Yardley (2004, 303–10), who note their inadequacy in helping us to determine the exact nature of each settlement, viz whether it was a polis, a military settlement, and so on. Fraser (1996) proposes that the number of poleis should be reduced to about six “of whose historical existence … there can be no serious doubt” (p. 170). Given their geographical locations, however, even these six meant that Greek culture now spread to parts of the world that were previously entirely ignorant of it, including modern-day Baluchistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. Fraser (p. 185) interestingly suggests that Alexander was partly motivated to establish foundations by the importance he attached to “reducing the damage done to agriculture and livestock by nomadic movements across fertile arable land.”
Chapter 4. The Portable Polis
Uprooting the City. See Demand (1988, 416–23; 1990); Raaflaub (1991, 565–88); Horden and Purcell (2000, 383–91); and Purcell (2005, 253–59). The other relocations cited earlier are discussed in detail in this chapter. For a taxonomy of synoecism (viz partial, full, and so on), see Hansen and Nielsen (2004, 115–19 with index 21 [pp. 1365–66]). As Demand (1990, 8) notes, even when an entire city was uprooted it may well have been the case that a handful of people remained behind, either because they refused to leave or because they were required to continue tending the shrines.
Instances of Relocation in Early Greek History. For the identity of the Cimmerians, see Corcella (Asheri et al. 2007, 580–81). For the relocation of the Colophonians to Siris, see Demand (1990, 31–32) and Boardman (1999, 184). As Demand (1988, 417) points out, metoikêsis “played a role in the structure of [Herodotus’s] work as a whole,” the proposed relocation of the Persians being an example of ring-composition. Another likely instance of metoikêsis is Lefkandi on Euboea, which flourished in the Late Helladic IIIC period. The site was abandoned in ca. 700, perhaps as a result of war, and the population may have resettled at nearby Eretria, whose rise coincides with this event.
The Relocation of the Phocaeans. See Demand (1988, 416–18; 1990, 34–39); Morel (2006, 368–70); and Malkin (2012, 174). Herodotus (1.166.1) states that the Phocaeans “were living together with the original settlers” at Alalia. Hansen and Nielsen (2004, 163) interestingly suggest that, while the Phocaeans saw themselves as undertaking a metoikêsis, the Alalians may have regarded them as settlers. Domínguez (2006, 476) and other scholars believe that some of the refugees headed to existing Phocaean settlements in the West, including Massalia on the southeast coast of France and Emporion on the northeast coast of Spain. Antiochus of Syracuse (FGrH 555 F 8 = Str. Geog. 6.1.1 C252) claims that the refugees first tried to settle at Cyrnus and Massalia but were forced away and eventually founded Elea. The circuitous wanderings of the Phocaeans evoke those of Aeneas in Aeneid book 3. For the partial relocation of the Teians, see Malkin (1987, 54–56, 131); Demand (1990, 39–42); and Asheri et al. (2007, 189). Though Herodotus states that all the Teians emigrated, he later tells us (6.8) that they contributed seventeen ships to the combined Greek fleet that fought at the Battle of Lade in 494 over half a century later—an indication that theirs was only a partial relocation. We also hear of Teians founding Phanagoria on the Taman peninsula in southern Russia at approximately the same time as their relocation to Abdera (Arr. Bithynika fr. 55 Roos and Wirth). A number of prominent intellectuals decided to leave their homes in the face of Persian expansion. A notable example is Pythagoras of Samos, who fled to Croton on the toe of Italy.
Plans to Relocate “All the Ionians” in the West. A more limited attempt to relocate to the west occurred in 497, some two years after the outbreak of the Ionian Revolt, when Aristagoras, the deputy tyrant of Miletus, suggested to his partisans that they should either establish a colony in Sardinia or take refuge in the city of Myrcinus among the Edonians. He eventually chose Myrcinus but was killed while besieging another city (Hdt. 5.124–26; cf. 6.22). As Asheri et al. (2007, 191) note, such projects “involved the mirage of the Island of the Blest”—the favored island in question being either Sardinia or Sicily. For events consequent upon Zancle’s offer to the Ionians, see Finley (1979, 49–50).
Themistocles’ Threat to Relocate the Athenians. For Siris, allegedly founded by the Trojans, see Str. Geog. 6.1.14 C264. Though some scholars continue to believe that the proposal ascribed to Themistocles is a fiction, Dunbabin (1948, 374) long ago advanced arguments in its defense. As Demand (1990, 66f.) has pointed out, the relocation would have constituted a sunoikismos. Elsewhere she plausibly suggests that the Athenians’ refusal to relocate in advance of the Persian invasion and Themistocles’ threat to do so on the eve of the battle are “crucial elements leading up to the turning point of the war” (1988, 422).
The Synoecism of Olynthus. See Larsen (1968, 62–64); Demand (1990, 74–83); and Hornblower (1997, 102f.). Olynthus’s population is thought to have eventually grown to about 30,000.
The Athenian Fleet as the Dêmos in Exile. See Forsdyke (2005, 189–91).
Dionysius I of Syracuse’s Program of Mass Resettlement. See Stroheker (1958); Finley (1968, 74–87); McKechnie (1989, 35–39); Caven (1990, 49, 86–88); and Demand (1990, 98–106). For Leontini, see Berger (1991, 138–39). For the factors that gave Greek civilization in Sicily a unique stamp and contributed to its instability, see Sjöqvist (1973, 61–62). Many of the names of the settlers at Entella that have been preserved in inscriptions are Oscan, which is what we should expect given the southern Italian ethnicity of the mercenaries, even though they are inscribed in Greek. As Demand notes (1990, 105), 13 of the relocations effected by Dionysius I are attested by Diodorus Siculus and one by the coinage. Verdicts on Dionysius are mixed. Stroheker (pp. 83–84) points out that, despite all his efforts, at the time of his death Carthage still dominated well over half the island. Caven (1990, 131), by contrast, while acknowledging that there was little to choose between enslavement by the Carthaginians and enslavement by Dionysius, claims that when he died hellenism in Sicily was “probably … in better shape than it had been for a decade.” Another motive behind the desire to found a new settlement on the part of a tyrant was to receive heroic honors after his death (D.S. 11.49.2).
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