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Greek colonies were often established along coastlines, especially during the period of colonisation between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. Many Greek colonies were strategically positioned near coastlines to facilitate trade, communication, and access to maritime resources.
The ancient Greek tribes (Ancient Greek: Ἑλλήνων ἔθνη) were groups of Greek-speaking populations living in Greece, Cyprus, and the various Greek colonies. They were primarily divided by geographic , dialectal , political , and cultural criteria, as well as distinct traditions in mythology and religion .
In most cases, however, colony founders aimed to establish trade relations with foreign countries and to further the wealth of the metropolis. Colonies were established in Ionia and Thrace as early as the 8th century BC. [16] More than thirty Greek city-states had multiple colonies, dotted all across the Mediterranean world.
During the 7th century BC, the Greek city-states were expanding and establishing new colonies. The Dorian city-state of Megara, near Athens, was also searching for sites to set up yet another colony. After asking the oracle of Delphi, the Megarean king Nisos sent his son Byzas in search of "the land opposite the city of the blind".
When the Romans first encountered Greek colonists in Southern Italy, they used the name Graeci for the colonists and then for all Greeks; this became the root of all relevant terms in European languages. The Persians used the name Yaunas (Yunans) after the Ionians, a Greek tribe who colonized part of the coasts of western Asia Minor. [3]
The first Greek colonies were founded in eastern Sicily in the 8th century BC when the Chalcidian Greeks founded Zancle, Naxos, Leontinoi and Katane; in the south-east corner the Corinthians founded Syracuse and the Megareans Megara Hyblaea, while on the western coast the Cretans and Rhodians founded Gela in 689 BC, with which the first Greek colonisation of Sicily ended.
This is an incomplete list of ancient Greek cities, including colonies outside Greece, and including settlements that were not sovereign poleis.Many colonies outside Greece were soon assimilated to some other language but a city is included here if at any time its population or the dominant stratum within it spoke Greek.
Pages in category "Greek colonies" The following 3 pages are in this category, out of 3 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. D. Delium; E. Elateia (Epirus) K.