Magna Graecia during the archaic period

297 Pages·2014·8.19 MB·Italian

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ANATOMY OF A POLIS-SYSTEM: MAGNA
GRAECIA DURING THE ARCHAIC PERIOD
by
Anthony Miller (B.A. Hons.)
Submitted m fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
University of Tasmania
(August, 1999)
ANATOMY OF A POLIS-SYSTEM: MAGNA
GRAECIA DURING THE ARCHAIC PERIOD
by
Anthony Miller (B.A. Hons.)
Submitted 1n fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
University of Tasmania
(August, 1999)
VOLUME 1
I declare that this thesis contains no material which has been
accepted for the award of another higher degree or diploma in
any tertiary institution nor, so far as I am aware, any material
published or written by others, except when due reference is
made in the text of the thesis.
Anthony Miller
25 August 1999
This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying
in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 .
. Anthony Miller
25 August 1999
ABSTRACT
The aim of this thesis is to examine the development and
dynamics of Magna Graecia' s po l is-system during the
archaic period, and to evaluate the sources, nuances,
parameters, and exercismg of Italiote power in the context
of inter-po l is relations for these centuries. Particular
attention is given- to the nse of large imperialist poleis in
this period, and the impact these states had upon the polis
system as a whole.
Following thematic studies of the conceptual addition of
Magna Graecia to the Hellenic world and the ways in which
the earliest Greek presence in southern Italy influenced the
parameters of the future Italiote polis-system, the thesis
then divides Magna Graecia's poleis into separate
geographic regions for detailed examination. Special
attention is paid to the way in which the northern, southern,
and central regions of Magna Graecia were dominated by
Greeks of one particular ethnic identity, be it Euboian,
Achaian, or otherwise. Analysis of the maritime interests
and strengths of the Euboians and their poleis on the Bay of
Naples and the Straits of Messina, is followed by a study of
the Achaian hegemony in central Magna Graecia and the
enduring preponderance of the senior Achaian polis of the
archaic period, Sybaris. Attention is also paid to the
considerable effect these hegemonies had upon the pole is
of Magna Graecia not of Euboian or Achaian extraction, 1n
terms of their foreign policies and development.
The thesis concludes with a study of the last decades of the
archaic period and the momentous changes that took place
within the Italiote polis-system at this time. Essentially,
power within this polis-system experienced long-term and
fundamental redistribution. Particular attention is given to
the way in which internecine warfare brought about the
destruction of many of the props of Achaian Italiote power
in Magna Graecia, which m turn ushered in a far less
monopolistic era 1n terms of strength within this polis
system.
It is concluded that the collapse of Sybaris and the chain
reaction it sparked, facilitated a widespread decline in the
political stocks of the Italiote poleis from which it took
generations to recover. It is thus maintained that Sybaris
was the symbol of archaic Magna Graecia' s power and that
its demise ultimately exposed the Italiote pole is to
numerous hitherto dormant dangers and outside
interference. Moreover, it 1s demonstrated that the
parameters of Magna Graecia' s polis-system, so long linked
to the stability of its dominant Achaian and Euboian
components, were irrecoverably altered during the
transition to the classical period.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
During the writing of this thesis I received invaluable
assistance and support from many people, who I would now
like to thank. In particular, for his advice during the early
days of my work, I thank Dr. Ian Worthington. For her
continued encouragement, commentary, tolerance and
support, I thank my partner, Sarah Hyslop. I would also like
to acknowledge the support of my postgraduate comrades at
the School of History and Classics, University of Tasmania. I
am truly indebted to my supervisor, Dr. Paul Gallivan, whose
advice, positive outlook, and depth of experience, was
crucial to the completion of my work.
Thanks also to the Tasmanian Friends of the Australian
Archaeological Institute at Athens for -granting me a
scholarship, thus enabling me to visit Magna Graecia, and
discover some of its treasures firsthand.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS i
LIST OF MAPS iv
INTRODUCTION v
CHAPTER ONE: The colonial period and the primary
influences upon the development of the Ita-liote
polis-system 1
Section One: Patterns of settlement 1
1.1 The commercial phase 2
1.2 The agricultural phase 4
1.3 The refugee phase 8
Section Two: The Italian context and relations
between Greek and non-Greeks 12
2.1 Attrition and stalemate 14
2.2 Imperialism and expansion 1 7
2.3 An Ionian alternative? 21
2.4 Trade and competition 25
Conclusion: 29
CHAPTER TWO: The hellenization of the past and
present: conceptual and physical means of
constructing 'Magna Graecia' 3 1
Section One: The importance of tradition and the
role of myth 32
1.1 Myth as a colonial imperative 33
1.2 Myth as consolidator and appropriator 39
Section Two: Physical aspects of 'Great Greece': the
role of ritual and architecture 47
2.1 The ritualization of colonization 48
2.2 The role of public architecture 53
Conclusion: The foundation and demarcation of the
Greek pole is in southern Italy 6 1
CHAPTER THREE: Parameters shaped by trade: the
foundation and development of the Euboian pole is
in southern Italy to the end of the sixth century 6 4
Section One: The Euboians in Campania and the
central Tyrrhenian region 65
1.1 The political and physical landscape of Euboian trade
interests in the West and the foundation of Pithekoussai 67
1.2 Pithekoussai as a microcosm of Euboian adaptability in
the western Mediterranean 74
1.3 The foundation of Kyme and the shape of the new
polis-system in Campania 8 0
1.4 Kyme and the growth of the Greek poleis in Campania 9 0
1.5 From periphery to core: Kymaian high tide and the
tyranny of Aristodemos 99
Section Two: The Euboians on the Straits of
Messina and the lower Tyrrhenian region 116
2.1 Via Messina I: geography, currents and colonization 11 7
2.2 Via Messina II: political and strategic considerations 1 2 1
2.3 The construction and consolidation of a Straits 'system' 13 0
2.4 The Straits poleis and the lower Tyrrhenian region down
to the end of the sixth century 1 3 7
Conclusion: Parameters shaped by trade 154
CHAPTER FOUR: 'Mainstream' Magna Graecia and
the Achaian ascendancy 157
Section One: Achaian expansion and solidarity in
Magna Graecia 1 5 8
1.1 The expansion and consolidation of a 'magna Achaia' 15 9
Section Two: The empire of Sybaris 1 7 5
2.1 Population and empire 1 7 6
2.2 The Sybarite system of empire 1 8 6
2.3 The empire of Sybaris in action: territorial and
economic aspects of Sybarite imperialism 212
Conclusion: The 'mainstream' Italiote po lis- system
and the advent of Achaian hegemony 2 2 9