Greek colonization was made possible with the Greeks' adventurous spirit and youthful characteristics. These motives drove Greek men to colonize new cities in foreign lands, but they also drove others to seek the excitement and thrills of a sea-pirate's life of raiding others. When civilization advanced and ended the piracy, the Greeks had to find a way to maintain their warlike and adventurous needs, so they began serving as mercenaries. They would be hired by another country to protect and fight for it against the country's enemies.
The Minoan population of Crete had international ties to Egypt and the Near East. Because they continued to keep their relations with these countries the Mycenean Greeks could use Crete's contacts to their advantage.
These new cities could not survive isolated from Greece and surrounded by barbaric and sometimes angry populations. So the new colonies would send raw materials and food to Greece and then sell Greek products to the native tribes surrounding them. To do this the colonies needed ports, so almost all Greek colonies are centered along the coastal lines and direction of the currents.
The coast was not a very giving region due to the land and weather, so many agricultural ports became trading posts like Syracuse in Sicily and Tarentum located in "Greater Greece." It didn't matter if the colonists were to become an agricultural settlement or a trading port, they always took their religious and political habits with them. Thus the Mediterranean had become at least half Greek in less than three hundred years.
The coast of Syria and Palestine gave access to the riches and technical skills of Mesopotamia. Therefore the Minoans and Myceneans planted trading posts at various points along the coast of Asia Minor.
Greece also imported various items from the colonized and uncolonized countries. Some of these imports include: Jewelry, pottery, bronze bowls from Syria and possibly Cypriot gold earring pendants.
This Phoenician expansion might have been the reason why the Greek colonization movement slowed down at this time, but it was most likely the change in the system of family property. It had been replaced by that of individual ownership, and all sons inherited property. Greeks no longer had to travel to foreign lands to seek their fortune, they could remain at home and buy land.
Although the movement had slowed, the effects continued. In Cyrene (modern Libya), energetic rulers invited immigrants from all parts of Greece to live there. Cyrene was settled by men from the Greek city-state of Thera. Soon after it was settled it grew rich by the export of African products. Another example of a mixed colony is that of Naucratis in the Nile Delta in Egypt. Naucratis was a colony made up by a group of colonies from Greece and along the coast of Asia Minor.
Some colonies became influenced by the surrounding native people. One example, the towns of Cyrenaica were strongly influenced by the Lybian population that surrounded them.
Greece also became influenced by her surrounding neighbors. Egypt influenced Greece in respect to art and fashion. Egypt also influenced Greek architecture. For example, Knossos, a great palace located on the island of Crete, was imitated from Egyptian architecture.
While the Greek cities were fighting amongst each other, the Phoenician colonies in Africa, Sicily, Sardinia and Spain joined forces under the leadership of Carthage and became a strong empire with the boldest seamen and the best equipped fleet of all the western Mediterranean in its reach.
Thus about the year 500 BC, the Greeks found themselves pinned by the Persian Empire on the east and the Phoenician colonies in the west. In 490 BC Persia, led by Darius, set out with troops to attack Greece. This is the beginning of the Persian wars.
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