On the other hand, both modern and ancient sources agree that political differences had its part to play regarding Greek colonisation during the archaic period. Herodotus explains how the entire Tean populace “took to their ships and sailed away to Thrace where they founded the city of Abdera”[8] due to pressure from the Persian forces under the command of Harpagus. The impeding nature of a larger, more powerful army aiming to conqueror a city would arguably be a good reason for that group of people to move to a safer area in order to survive. Along with external political enemies being the reason for colonisation amongst the Hellenic peoples, internal political strife was also evident; one example being Dorieus failed attempt to colonise in Libya and later Sicily due to his brother Cleomenes I being crowned King of Sparta[9]. Dillon and Garland assert that along with other factors “political problems at home were the primary social and economic factors that impelled cities to send out settlements elsewhere”[10] which corresponds with Speake who argues “the foundation of Tarentum and Cyrene both refer to political strife, while Phocaea was a response to Persian expansion”[11]. Therefore political conflicts did also contribute to the Greek colonisation movement however it could be argued only on a smaller, more specific scale. The threat of a Persian invasion laying waste to cities and placing its inhabitants in captivity would seem like a reasonable excuse to relocate however this does not explain motivations behind colonisation before and after the conquests of Darius and later Xerxes I. The fact that Herodotus says “the Phocaeans and the Teans were the only Ionians who emigrated from the native lands rather than endure slavery” implies that external political pressure was limited as a reason for Greek colonisation. Colonisation stories similar to that of Dorieus would mainly have been restricting to only a few mother-cities like Sparta who abided by the Male Primogeniture rule of inheritance (the entire estate of the father going to the eldest son) rather than partible inheritance (equal division of father’s estate amongst children) whereby which led Dorieus to seek foreign land. In summation, political motivations were minor reasons for Greek colonisation during the archaic period.
A more extensive argument for Greek colonisation during the archaic period, maintained by modern historians, would be economic factors, chiefly land hunger and trade benefits. A combination of partible inheritance and population rise meant that less land was being divided between more people and that ultimately “there was not enough arable land in the existing Greek world to support the growing population by agriculture and pasturage alone”[12]. This assessment is accepted by Crawford who concurs that “shortage of land as a result of the growth of population in the eight century mainly lies behind the need to found settlements overseas”[13] and Dillon and Garland who agree that “it is important to realize how significant population size could be in Greek cities throughout this period”[14] and later go on to mention Thera’s colonisation of Cyrene due to drought and population increase, a settlement Herodotus problematically explains as being a result of an oracular prophecy. This view seems more concrete given archaeological finds such as increased amounts of graves being dated to around that period and urbanisation of large cities during that time.
In conclusion, the reasons Herodotus gives for Greek colonisation during the archaic period are useful as a starting point but not adequate as an entire description of the movements made by the Hellenics. Tales of divine instruction to establish new settlements and heroic singular efforts against the odds given to us by Herodotus hold less weight compared to the economic practicality of creating new communities to relieve the increase of population, a view upheld by most modern historians. Although factors such as religious zeal and political strife were possibly involved in the decision to set up new colonies they are not as significant as the economic advantages concerned. However this view of Herodotus as an inadequate source is by no means a criticism of his ability as a historian, rather a limitation on the reliability of the information he was given. It is clear that Herodotus’ resources were flawed and he himself implies that there are restrictions on their usefulness[15]. Luraghi agrees with this assessment of the passage and the Histories as whole by stating “Herodotus explicitly says a couple of times that his task is to report what is said, regardless of whether he believes it or not”[16]. Therefore Alone, Herodotus offers adequate explanations of the views of locals regarding the founding of settlements and their attitudes towards religion and heroes but must be used alongside archaeology and the views of modern historians in order to paint and adequate picture of Greek colonisation during the archaic period.
Bibliography
- Crawford. M, H: Archaic and classical Greece Cambridge (1993)
- Demand. N: A history of ancient Greece Sloan (2006)
- Desceudors. J P: Greek colonists and native populations Oxford (1990)
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Dillon. M and Garland. L : Ancient Greece: Social and historical documents from archaic times to the death of Socrates Routledge (2nd edition 2000)
- Fine. J, V A: The ancient Greeks Harvard (1983)
- Finley. M I: The ancient Greeks, Penguin (1971)
- Forrest. W G: The emergence of Greek democracy Weidenfield and Nicholson (1978)
- Herodotus: Histories,Trans. by Waterfield. R Oxford World Classics (1998)
- Luraghi. N: Meta-historie: Method and Genre in Dewald. C and Marincola. J: The Cambridge companion to Herodotus Cambridge (2006)
- Osbourne. R: Greek History Routledge (2004)
- Rood. T: Herodotus in Foreign Lands in Dewald. C and Marincola. J: The Cambridge companion to Herodotus Cambridge (2006)
- Shipley. G, Vanderspoel. J, Mottingly. D, Foxhall. L: The Cambridge dictionary of classical civilization Cambridge 2006
- Speake. G: A dictionary of Ancient History Blackwell (1994)
[1] Herodotus: The Histories, Book 1.165
[2] Herodotus: The Histories, Book 4. 147-160
[3]Dillon, M and Garland, L: Ancient Greece: Social and historical documents from archaic times to the death of Socrates, page 3 Routledge 2000 (2nd edition)
[4] Descoeudres, J.P: Greek Colonists and Native populations, page 117 Oxford 1990
[5] Descoeudres, J.P: Greek Colonists and Native populations, page 120 Oxford 1990
[6] Dillon, M and Garland, L: Ancient Greece: Social and historical documents from archaic times to the death of Socrates, page 3 Routledge 2000 (2nd edition)
[7]Demand, N: A history of Ancient Greece, page 121-122 Sloan 2006
[8] Herodotus: The Histories, Book 1.168
[9] Herodotus: The Histories ,Book 5.39-48
[10] Dillon, M and Garland, L: Ancient Greece: Social and historical documents from archaic times to the death of Socrates, page 1 Routledge 2000 (2nd edition)
[11] Speake, G: A dictionary of Ancient History, Blackwell 1994
[12] Fine. J, V A: The ancient Greeks, page 63 Harvard (1983), Penguin 1971
[13] Crawford. M, H: Archaic and classical Greece Cambridge (1993)
[14] Dillon. M and Garland. L : Ancient Greece: Social and historical documents from archaic times to the death of Socrates, page 2 Routledge (2nd edition 2000)
[15] Herodotus: Histories Book 7.152
[16] Luraghi. N: Meta-historie: Method and Genre in Dewald. C and Marincola. J: The Cambridge companion to Herodotus page 79 Cambridge (2006)