~ i • ' ' J t : ~ ; , . ' L._.:..~---·;:_.: :~---~ 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 CHAPTER FIVE: Non-Achaian poleis under the Achaian hegemony 232 Section One: The price of isolation: the death of Siris 2 3 3 Section Two: The artful survivor: Lokroi Epizephyrioi and the struggles of the sixth century 236 Section Three: Life on the periphery: Taras and its 'quiet' centuries 255 Conclusion: a century of working within limitations 2 7 0 CHAPTER SIX: The breakdown of Achaian solidarity and the end of the balance of power in archaic Magna Graecia 274 Section One: The fall and rise of Kroton 276 1.1 Early expansion and failure 2 7 7 1.2 Kroton and the 'Pythagorean revival' 2 8 9 Section Two: Ideological "POiarization and territorial competition: inter-Achaian conflict in the late sixth century 302 2.1 Pythagoreanism, anti-aristocratic revolution, and the clash of Sybaris and Kroton 3 0 2 2.2 Regional rivalry and the end of 'easy' expansion in central Magna Graecia 308 Section Three: Balance of power recast: the collapse of Sybaris and the Krotoniate new order 314 3.1 The fall of Sybaris 315 3 .2 The Krotoniate 'new order' 322 Conclusion: Balance of power recast: losses and gains 329 CHAPTER SEVEN: The successors to the post-Sybarite polis-system and the diffusion of power in Magna Graecia 332 Section One: Kroton: the legacy of Sybaris and the inadequate heir 334 Section Two: Rhegion: the 'principality' of the Straits 347 Section Three: Syracuse: foreign intervention, pa x Sy r a c us an a, and their impact upon the Italiote polis-system 379 3 .1 Syracuse and southern Magna Graecia: the humbling of the principality of the Straits and the clientship of Lokroi 3 8 0 3.2 Syracuse and northern Magna Graecia: the decline of Kyme and the retreat of Italiote power from the Tyrrhenian Sea 3 9 5 3 .3 Syracuse and central Magna Graecia: Kroton and the reality of Syracusan power 4 0 4 Conclusion: The end of the archaic period: opportunities lost 412 CONCLUSION 418 APPENDIX 423 MAPS 4 5 6' BIBLIOGRAPHY 462 1 ABBREVIATIONS AND TRANSLITERATION The abbreviations for ancient works used 1n this thesis correspond to those given in H.G. Liddell and R. Scott's Greek­ English Lexicon (Oxford, 1996 [9th ed. with suppl.]); and those for journals and periodicals are given in L'Annee philologique. Collections of inscriptions and fragments are abbreviated according to the guidelines set out by the Oxfor4 Classical Dictiona_ry (Oxford, 1996 [3rd ed.]).