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The Phoenicians were the major trading power in the Mediterranean in the early part of the 1st millennium BC. They had trading contacts in Egypt and Greece, and established colonies as far west as modern Spain, at Gadir (modern Cádiz) and later at Barcino (modern Barcelona). From there they controlled access to the Atlantic Ocean and the trade routes to Britain. The most famous and successful of Phoenician colonies was Kart-Hadasht ( Carthage), a colony founded from Tyre.
In Ancient Greece, colonies were sometimes founded by vanquished peoples, who left their homes to escape subjection at the hand of a foreign enemy; sometimes as a sequel to civil disorders, when the losers in internecine battles left to form a new city elsewhere; sometimes to get rid of surplus population, and thereby to avoid internal convulsions. But in most cases the object was to establish and facilitate relations of trade with foreign countries.
There were two similar kinds of colonies, apoikiai and emporia. The first were city-states on their own; the second were Greek trading-colonies.
The Greek city-states began establishing colonies around 800 BC. Among the earliest of the Greek trading emporia were Al Mina in northern Syria and the Greek emporium at Ischia in the Bay of Naples, both established about 800 BC.
Two flushes of new colonists set out from Greece at the transition between the " Dark AgesThe Greek Dark Ages (ca. 1200 BC 800 BC) refers to the period of Greek history from the Dorian invasion and the end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century BC to the rise of the first Greek city-states in the 9th century BC, the epics of Homer a" and the start of the Archaic Period , in the early 8th century and a second burst of the colonizing spirit in the 6th century BC7th century BC 6th century BC 5th century BC other centuries) ( 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC 570s BC 560s BC 550s BC 540s BC 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC other decades) ( 2nd millennium BC 1st millennium BC 1st millennium AD) Events Cyrus the Great conquere. Population growth and cramped spaces at home seem an insufficient explanation for the phenomena.
Several formulae were generally adhered to on the solemn and sacred occasions when a new colony set forth. If a Greek city was sending out a colony, an oracle (before all others that of DelphiThis article is about the city of Delphi. For other meanings, see the disambiguation page on "Delphi". Delphi is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece. In ancient times it was the site of the Delphic Oracle, dedicated to the god Apollo. Delph) was almost invariably consulted beforehand. Sometimes certain classes of citizens were called upon to take part in the enterprises; sometimes one son was chosen by lot from every house where there were several sons; and strangers expressing a desire to join were admitted. A person of distinction was selected to guide the emigrants and make the necessary arrangements. It was usual to honor these founders of colonies, after their death, as heroes. Some of the sacred fire was taken from the public hearth in the Prytaneum, from which the fire on the public hearth of the new city was kindled. And, just as each individual had his private shrines, so the new community maintained the worship of its chief domestic deities, the colony sending embassies and votive gifts to the mother-city's principal festivals for centuries afterwards.
The relation between colony and mother-city (literally metropolisA metropolis is a major city, which is an economical and cultural center for some country, and usually a hub for its international connections. The word is also used for a metropolitan area a set of adjacent and interconnected cities that function togethe) was viewed as one of mutual affection. Any differences that arose were made up, if possible, by peaceful means, war being deemed excusable only in cases of extreme necessity. The charter of foundation contained general provisions for the arrangement of the affairs of the colony, and also some special enactments. The constitution of the mother-city was usually adopted by the colony, but the new city remained politically independent. If the colony sent out a fresh colony on its own account, the mother-city was generally consulted, or was at least requested to furnish a leader. The cleruchs (klêrouchoi) formed a special class of Greek colonists. The trade factories set up in foreign countries (in Egypt, for instance) were somewhat different from the ordinary colonies, the members retaining the right of domicile in their own fatherland and confining themselves to their own quarter in the foreign city.