Massalia
Sign in to saveMassalia (; ) was an ancient Greek colony (apoikia) on the Mediterranean coast, east of the Rhône. Settled by Ionians from Phocaea ca. 600 BC, this apoikia grew up rapidly, and became the center of Greek trade in western Mediterranean, branching out and creating many outposts on the coasts of what is now Spain, the south of France (including Corsica island), and northwestern Italy (modern Liguria). Massalia persisted as an independent colony until the Roman campaign in Gaul in the 1st century BC. The ruins of Massalia still exist in the contemporary city of Marseille, which is considered the o
Key facts
- Country.native_name
- (Ancient Greek)
- Country.conventional_long_name
- Massalia
- Country.government_type
- Oligarchic republic
- Country.year_start
- c. 600 BC
- Country.year_end
- 49 BC
- Country.event_start
- Founded by Greeks from Phocaea
- Country.event_end
- Conquered by Julius Caesar
- Country.event1
- Alliance with the Roman Republic
- Country.date_event1
- 2nd century BC
- Country.s1
- Roman Republic
- Country.image_coat
- Massalia large coin 5th 1st century BCE.jpg
- Country.coa_size
- 200px
- Country.symbol_type
- A silver drachma, dated 375–200 BC, bearing the head of the Greek goddess Artemis on the obverse and a lion on the reverse
- Country.image_map
- Greek Colonization Archaic Period.svg
- Country.image_map_caption
- Greek settlement in the Mediterranean; Massalia shown in southern Gaul.
- Country.capital
- Massalia
- Country.common_languages
- Ionic Greek
- Country.religion
- Greek Polytheism
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
7 sectionsContents
- History
- Political system
- Reputation
- Legacy
- See also
- References
- Further reading
Massalia (; ) was an ancient Greek colony (apoikia) on the Mediterranean coast, east of the Rhône. Settled by Ionians from Phocaea ca. 600 BC, this apoikia grew up rapidly, and became the center of Greek trade in western Mediterranean, branching out and creating many outposts on the coasts of what is now Spain, the south of France (including Corsica island), and northwestern Italy (modern Liguria). Massalia persisted as an independent colony until the Roman campaign in Gaul in the 1st century BC. The ruins of Massalia still exist in the contemporary city of Marseille, which is considered the oldest city of France and one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited settlements.
== History == thumb|229x229px|Vestiges of the Jardin des Vestiges|ancient port of Massalia. Massalia was established ca. 600 BC by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western Anatolia. After the capture of Phocaea by the Persians in 545 BC, a new wave of settlers fled towards the colony. A creation myth telling the meeting between the Greeks and the local population is given by Aristotle and Pompeius Trogus (see founding myth of Marseille).