Overseas Expansion

The development of the polis coincided with the growth of the Greek world in both wealth and numbers, bringing new problems. The increase in population created more demand for food than the land could supply. The resulting social and political tensions drove many people to seek new homes outside of Greece (Map 5.2).

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MAP 5.2 Greek Colonization, ca. 750–550B.C.E. The Greeks established colonies along the shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, spreading Greek culture and creating a large trading network.

Greeks traveled throughout the Mediterranean, sailing in great numbers to Sicily and southern Italy, where there was ample space for expansion. Here they established prosperous cities and often intermarried with local people. Some adventurous Greeks sailed farther west to Sardinia, France, Spain, and perhaps even the Canary Islands. In Sardinia they first established trading stations, and then permanent towns. From these new outposts Greek influence extended to southern France.

In contrast to earlier military invasions and migrations of peoples, these were very often intentional colonizing ventures, organized and planned by a specific polis seeking new land for its residents, or by the losers in a political conflict within a polis who were forced to leave. Colonization changed the entire Greek world, both at home and abroad. In economic terms the expansion of the Greeks created a much larger market for agricultural and manufactured goods.

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Golden Comb This golden comb, made about 400 B.C.E. in Scythia (now part of Ukraine), shows a battle between three warriors, perhaps the three brothers who are the legendary founders of Scythia. Their dress shows a combination of Greek and Eastern details; the mounted horseman is clothed with largely Greek armor, while the warriors on foot are wearing Eastern dress. The comb may have been made by a Greek craftsman who had migrated to the Black Sea area, as the Greeks established colonies there, but it was buried in a Scythian burial mound.  (From Solokha burial mound, 4th century B.C./Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia/Photo © Boltin Picture Library/The Bridgeman Art Library)