The Greek colonisation of southern Italy

The period of the 8th until the 6th century B.C. saw the migration of large groups of Greek-speaking people of the Aegean area to southern Italy, resulting in the establishment of multiple Greek settlements. This migration, which is usually called 'the Greek colonisation of Italy', is known from several ancient literary sources, which narrate the histories of the different poleis, and from archaeological excavations. One of the main points on which the scientific debate on this colonisation has centred is the relation between the Greek migrants and the indigenous Italic population in the earliest phase of the colonisation.1 
The ancient literary sources depict the Greek migrants of this phase as conquerors, easily taking possession of land and resources and bringing civilization to a backward area.2 Up until the 1960's of the 20th century the vision on the Greek colonisation was virtually dominated by these literary sources. It has been only from the 1960's onwards that the amount of archaeological data about this area has increased significantly and that it started to play an important role in the debate. This data has shown striking differences with the literary sources, leading to a reappraisal of the literary sources.3 
As a result of this reappraisal the debate on the question of how the relation between the Greek migrants and the indigenous Italic population can be characterised remains unanswered.4 On the one side are the researchers who, while acknowledging the fact that the literary sources are not to be completely believed, still believe that the Greek migrants were hostile to the indigenous population and violently took possession of the land.5 On the other side are the researchers who believe that the relation between Greek migrants and the indigenous Italic population was more symbiotic and multifaceted, stressing  the fact that archaeological data shows evidence for the cohabitation of Greek migrants and Italic groups and the fact that up until recently the research was influenced by an Hellenocentric view as a result of our own European colonial past.6 
In order to answer this question more archaeological data will have to be collected on indigenous sites, which have not been as well investigated, and early Greek sites. This will make a further reappraisal of the literary sources possible. 


Burgers, G-J. / Crielaard, J.P. 2007, 'Greek colonists and indigenous populations at L'Amastuola, southern Italy', Babesch 82, 77-114.

Carter, J.C. 1993, 'Taking Possession of the Land: Early Greek Colonization in Southern Italy' in: R.T. Scott / A.R. Scott (eds.), Eius Virtutis Studiosi: Classical and Postclassical Studies in Memory of Frank Edward Brown (1908-88), Hanover, 342-367. 

D'Andria, F. 2002, 'Greek Colonization and Romanization from a Native Perspective', in: P. Attema (ed.), New developments in Italian landscape archaeology : theory and methodology of field survey, land evaluation and landscape perception, pottery production and distribution : proceedings of a three-day conference held at the University of Groningen, April 13-15, 2000, Oxford, 52-59.

Yntema, D.G. 2011, 'Archaeology and the Origo myths of the Greek Apoikia', in: R. Gocha Tsetskhladze (ed.), Ancient West and East 10, 243-266.

Yntema, D.G. 2000, 'Mental Landscapes of colonization: The ancient written sources and the archaeology of early colonial-Greek southeastern Italy', Babesch 75, 1-49.







1 Burgers/Crielaard 2007, 77; Carter 1993, 343.
2 Yntema 2010, 244-248; Yntema 2000, 36-40.
3 Burgers/Crielaard 2007, 78; Yntema 2010, 3-5, 40-45.
4 Burgers/Crielaard 2007, 77.
5 One of the protagonist of this group is Orlandini (Carter 1993). 
6 D'Andria 2000; Burgers 2007; Yntema 2000.