Masaryk University Faculty .of Arts

Department of Classical Studies Ancient history

Lukáš PATRNČIAK

Reconstruction of Paleoenvironmental Conditions of Ancient Eastern and Influence of Geography on Greek Colonisation

Bachelor´s Thesis

Supervisor: Mgr. Marek MEŠKO, M.A., Ph.D. 2019

Acknowledgement First of all, I express my gratitude to my supervisor, Marek Meško, for his patience, guiding and support. I would like to thank Johannes Preiser-Kapeller from the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna and Adam Izdebski from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow for consulting the topic and helping me to get access to important related works. I would like to give my thanks to Martin Finné from the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University for sharing paleoenvironmental data. I thank Vojtěch Pavliska for language and grammatical revision of the thesis. The maps were built in the ArcMap version 10.6 software of ESRI Company, distributed by Masaryk University via student licence.

Declaration I hereby declare that this bachelor thesis is a result of my own work, carried out under the super- vision of Mgr. Marek Meško, M.A., Ph.D. All sources used in this thesis have been properly cited.

Brno, 28th June 2019 …………………………………...

Lukáš PATRNČIAK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...... 4 1 INTRODUCTION ...... 5 2 GREEK COLONISATION OF THE MEDITERRANEAN ...... 6 2.1 Ionian colonisation ...... 7 2.2 Great Greek Colonisation ...... 8 2.3 Classic Colonisation ...... 9 2.4 Hellenistic Colonisation ...... 10 3 GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING ...... 11 3.1 Weather and climate ...... 11 3.2 Tectonic setting and landscape ...... 12 3.3 Rivers, seas, and coastlines ...... 13 4 METHODS OF PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH ...... 15 4.1 Radiometric methods ...... 15 4.2 Incremental dating ...... 16 4.2.1 Tephrochronology ...... 16 4.2.2 Dendrochronology ...... 16 4.2.3 Speleothems ...... 16 4.2.4 Palynology ...... 17 4.2.5 Lacustrine and marine sediments ...... 17 5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...... 18 5.1 Environmental overview ...... 18 5.1.1 Climate changes ...... 18 5.1.2 Tectonics ...... 19 5.1.3 Sea-level changes ...... 20 5.1.4 Landscape ...... 20 5.2 ...... 21 5.2.1 ...... 21 5.3 ...... 23 5.4 Asia Minor ...... 23 5.5 coasts ...... 24 5.6 ...... 26 5.6.1 ...... 26 5.6.2 Southern ...... 26 6 CONCLUSION ...... 28 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 29 APPENDICES ...... 33

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BCE before common era (year 0) BP before present (year 1950) CAH Cambridge Ancient History CE common era (after year 0, common dating) FGrH Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker Hdt. Hist. Histories Hom. Il. Illiad Od. Oddysey OCD Oxford Classical Dictionary Pl. Phd. Phaedo Plut. Vit. Vitae Parallelae Them. Quaest. Nat. Quaestiones naturales Str. Geog. Geographica Thuc.

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1 INTRODUCTION Geographical space along with its characteristics is the base condition for existence and prosperity of every civilization. Soil fertility, suitable climate, access to natural resources, composition of eco- systems - these are only a few of many determinants defining the quality and course of evolution of human society in the specific area. It is not a coincidence that the oldest ancient civilizations began to evolve in fertile floodplains in , Mesopotamia, or China, where the generosity of natural conditions exceeded society usage of food and resources. Closely related system of geospheres guarantees that even a minor change of a single geo- graphical attribute could lead to a series of another natural adaptations on new conditions, which the human society also must react to. It means that behind every greater long-term historical break- point stands an actual status of environment. Civilizations in ancient times were able to react rela- tively well to the new conditions by altering the landscape and balancing the missing resources by foreign trade. Within this context, the historical breakpoint should be seen as civilization expan- sionism, when the climate change or overpopulation forced this very civilization to partly migrate or conquer new territories with their military forces. The historical events are inseparably depend- ent on local and global geography. This correlation starts to work in reverse sometime during the 19th century, when on the contrary, humans start to expressively alter the geographic and climatic attributes by their acts. There are no new data presented in this bachelor thesis. Based on paleoenvironmental re- search that has been already done, the thesis tries to explain the past stage and the influence of selected geographical inputs on the process of chosen historical event of . The cho- sen event should be of longer duration so that not so high-resolution paleo-data could be applied, which should show a long-term climate change. The ability of immediate environmental events, such as volcano eruptions, earthquakes or even storms, to affect the course of history, cannot be denied. The chosen period should be peaceful. During a war, the population tends to mirror the current political situation or their survival instincts, instead of reflecting the environmental state. The time and space setting is based primarily on the data availability. The individual environmental factors can be variable between two neighbouring locations and are, of course, also variable in time. The thesis focuses on events running during the age of highest time density of acquired data in the area most densely occupied by sample sources, from which the reconstructions were made. This description suits the periods of Greek’s colonisations of the Mediterranean Sea. Firstly, the work concentrates on the Greek colonisation and its era. It describes what colo- nisation means and why it occurred. Secondly, there is an overview of the geographical setting of the studied area. It is necessary to understand the attributes of the physical background, whose influence is studied in this thesis. And thirdly, the work describes several methods of paleoenvi- ronmental research from which the used environmental reconstructions are made. Furthermore, it explains the principles of their work and the look of results. This understanding is important for determining the reliability of the data, on which the author should build his historical interpretation. The main part of this thesis is dedicated to description of all of socio-environmental connections he managed to discover.

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2 GREEK COLONISATION OF THE MEDITERRANEAN According to SVOBODA,1 first, who began founding new in the Mediterranean, were the Phoenicians of Levant, whose settlers from Tyre at 814 BCE established a well-known African col- ony of Carthage.2 This statement should be revised, as far back in the 11th century it was the who began founding new settlements overseas, in .3 Ever since, attempts to colonise new foreign lands were held by many civilizations. What distinguishes the Greek Colonisation from the Archaic period is a much greater scale and a better organization of the entire process by the Greek city states. The term ‘Greek colonisation’ is quite controversial, as one can imagine not one, but three, even four events, a few centuries apart, during which the citizens of the Greek mainland founded new colonies all around the Mediterranean Sea and the inland of Asia. First of the events could be the Ionic Colonisation, which occurred in the 11th and 10th century BCE. This period fea- tures founding of new settlements by the Ionian and Dorian tribes on the Aegean Islands and the western coast of Asia Minor. Another event, the ‘great’ Greek colonisation occurred during the 8th and 6th century, followed by colonisation wave at the peak of classical period in 5th century and the last one began in the 4th century BCE by the conquests of Alexander the III. as a part of Helleniza- tion of Middle East.4 The Colonisation was primarily meant to seek new commercial opportunities and solve the demographic problems of founding cities.5 Nevertheless, the regions with unfavourable geographic conditions were not too attractive for incoming settlers, so even environmental conditions had their role. As the possession of land was at least until the middle-ages seen as the major measure- ment and source of wealth, the population growth at the end of the Dark Age threatened this social balance.6 No land to acquire forced families to find their luck elsewhere. SNODGRASS7 added a hypothesis of shortage of metal ores in the mainland, also mentioning a population growth. But overpopulation could be a matter of debate as there were opinions that it had never been a problem. Specifically, speaking of no overpopulation in -dispatching cities during the 8th century BCE and, in opposite, no dispatched colonies from overpopulating areas. Besides the demography, fer- tile land was always attractive8 - due to the limitations of the cultivable land in Greece to a few plains9 - as a source of trade goods and food supplies. Questioning the identification of a new site, we shall look at Odysseus, who just docked at the island of the Cyclopes: “For the isle is nowise poor, but would bear all things in season. In it are meadows by the shores of the grey sea, well-watered meadows and soft, where vines would never fail, and in it level ploughland, whence they might reap from season to season harvests ex- ceeding deep, so rich is the soil beneath; and in it, too, is a harbour giving safe anchorage,…”10 Colonies were built in locations with suitable environment (goal of this thesis) or strategic defend- ing/trade position, and in regions, where another civilization had not already flourished. As an example we should look at Egypt, lying in reachable proximity to Greece, but with only a single Greek settlement. Naukratis was established as a trade post with the approval of the and

1 SVOBODA, L. Encyklopedie antiky, 1974. Praha : Aca- 5 MARTIN, T. R. Ancient Greece : From Prehistoric to Hel- demia. 304. lenistic Times. 2nd edition, 2013. 70. 2 Ibidem, 288. 6 Ibidem, 69-70. 3 TSETSKHLADZE, G. R. (ed.) Greek Colonisation : An 7 SNODGRASS, A. M. The Dark Age of Greece. 1971. 417. Account of Greek Colonies and Other Settlements Overseas, 8 TSETSKHLADZE. Greek Colonisation, xxviii-xxix. volume 1. 2006. xxiii. 9 GWYNN. The character, 89 4 GWYNN, A. The Character of Greek . 10 HOM. Od. IX.131-137. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 1918, vol. 38, 88.

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under Egyptian oversight.11 Two kinds of settlements could be established by its mother city. The true city that the colony meant to live in was called an apoikia.12 OCD defines it as a “... estab- lished abroad by a polis at home.” An apoikia could have emerged from a simpler settlement - emporion13 - which was established as a trading post, where traders of various cultures engaged. Unlike the apoikia, emporion did not need to be established by the official act and does not have to have permanent inhabitants. Sources providing knowledge about the age of colonies are mostly archaeological. This might raise a few issues - because of developed trade, excavated pottery or other items that may not be of local origin, the dating can be confused. And on top of that, one can never be sure that the earliest layer has been found. Historical writings could be of use to help.14 The ancient historians who provide some information about Greek colonies are Herodotus, Thucydides, Strabo, Pseudo- Scymnus and Eusebius.15 First two were exceptionally interested in colonies. Herodotus, for in- stance, wrote about Greek cities in the Black Sea16, Egypt17, Cyrene18, and about attempts of Colo- nisation of Africa and Sicily.19 Thucydides also described the Greek Colonisation of Sicily20 and other Colonisation remarks are scattered over his writings. Strabo mentioned establishing and his- tory of colonies as a part of his description all around his books.

2.1 IONIAN COLONISATION The first wave of colonists left Greece in the late 11th-10th century. The migrating tribes of (after whom the event bears its name), and Aeolians (who were, in fact, first) all settled on the western coasts of Asia Minor and on the Aegean Islands, founding 12 cities,21 the most im- portant one being Miletos, later extensively colonizing on its own. According to Herodotus,22 the Ionians were driven out from , where they lived in 12 cities. In fact, the Ionians are de- scendants of the Athenian colonists.23 Strabo agreed the Ionians are former Athenians, but they were driven out from their colonies in Achaea, thus travelling to , where they newly founded their abandoned twelve cities.24 Thucydides claims the reason behind the colonisation was the overpopulation of Attica by citizens seeking refuge from internal conflicts.25 This theory may be plausible, because many authors, whom VANSCHOONWINKEL cites, are arguing about various origins of founders of Ionian cities: “… was founded by Thebans, and was colonised by Ancaeus, who had come from Same and was accompanied by migrants from Kephallonia, Ar- cadia, , Phlious, , and . A number of authors claim that was established by a population of Athenian, Aetolian and Samian origin. As for , in addition to the arrival of Pylian colonists under the authority of Andraemon, it had also acquired Theban colonists. Orchomenian and Athenian provenance has been advanced for the population of . Finally, the colonists of originated from .”26

11 GRAHAM, A. J. Patterns in early Greek colonisation. 19 HDT. Hist. V. 42-6. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 1971, vol. 91, 36-37. 20 THUC. VI. 3-5. 12 OCD, 122. 21 TSETSKHLADZE. Greek colonisation, 2006, xxiii. 13 OCD, 524. 22 HDT. Hist, I. 145-147; VII 94-95. 14 GRAHAM, A. J. Patterns in early Greek colonisation. 23 VANSCHOONWINKEL. Greek migrations, 116. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 1971, vol. 91, 36-37. 24 STR. Geogr. VIII.I.2, VIII.III.9, VIII.V.5, VIII.VII.1- 15 TSETSKHLADZE. Greek Colonisation, xxxi. 4. 16 HDT. Hist. II, 33; IV, 17-18, 24, 51-4, 78-9. 25 THUC. Hist. I.II.6. 17 HDT. Hist. II, 154, 178-9. 26 VANSCHOONWINKEL. Greek migrations, 118-119. 18 HDT. Hist. IV, 150-67.

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Examination of cult of Ionian cities, their institutions and proper names indeed show great variety of geographical origins.27 Traditional dating of the Ionic migration is believed to be the middle of the 11th century BCE, and taking into account the assumption of ancient authors, it should be 1076, 1044 and 1036 BCE. However, the discovery of Mycenaenan items at the sites suggests the Greek presence in Ionia goes further back in time.28 The colonisation of the Dorians followed by the colonisation of Thera by , accompa- nied by Laconians and Lemnians. The Laconians then occupied the nearby island of Melo. The Colonisation passed through the Dodecanese to the south coast of Aegean Anatolia. was colonised by the Dorians. The Lacedaemonians and Argives took Syme; the Laconians occupied Cnidus and the Melians Cryassus. The Troezians then founded , the Dorians from Epidarus settled on Cos, and the Dorians of Argos founded Iasus.29 However, the event was not a single, massive adventure as it may appear.30 As we saw, this Colonisation was a complex process, directed not by a single city but many of the same culture group, and even some of the newly founded settlements sent their colonists to further participation. Another migration wave composed of the Aeolians, probably mainly Thessalians, and Boeotians, and dialect relations support this theory. But some authors found out that some Aeolian cities in Asia Minor were founded by the Greeks of all mainland, except for the Ionians and the Dorians. The dating is estimated by ancient authors sometime around 60 years or within 4 generations after the fall of , and Strabo31 mentioned, that the Aeolian migration is 4 genera- tions older than the Ionian one. In fact, the lack of pottery older than the protogeometric pottery on particular sites suggests that the Aeolian migration was a short-time matter and occurred long after the Ionian colonisation.32 To make a conclusion: “…what are commonly called the Aeolian, Ionian and Dorian mi- grations are a set of migratory movements composed of populations of different geographical or- igins from almost all regions of mainland Greece.”33 and we should more precisely speak of the Greek migration to Ionia, and Doris, so in fact headed for Asia Minor (and Aegean islands in the way). These lands were not unknown to the Greeks, assuming by the excavations of Myce- naenan pottery, but there are no signs of any continuous occupations from Mycenaenan period.34

2.2 GREAT GREEK COLONISATION It began around the middle of the 8th century BCE and continued to the 6th century. The new colo- nisation waves were focused on finding new commercial opportunities and solving social issues in the local city states.35 According to OCD,36 Great Greek colonisation took place between the years 734 and 580 BCE. Particular poleis organized these migration moves for various economic and social reasons. Because Aegean was already densely occupied, the Greeks’ attention redirected to further lands. Euboean Al Mina on the Syrian coast, established by 800 BCE,37 can be considered a pioneer colony of this period. The main colonizing cities were Chalcis, , , , and Phocaea.

27 Ibidem, 125. 33 Ibidem, 136. 28 Ibidem, 127-128. 34 Ibidem, 136. 29 Ibidem, 120. 35 MARTIN. Ancient Greece, 69. 30 Ibidem, 134. 36 OCD, 362-363. 31 STR. Geogr. XIII.I.3. 37 MARTIN, Ancient Greece, 70. 32 VANSCHOONWINKEL. Greek migrations, 130-133.

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Eretrian Corcyra was the first Adriatic colony and was followed by the first Italian colony - Chalcidican in the Bay of Naples38 (before 725 BCE, THOMAS39 specified year of 775 BCE). The latter started the core transition point of cultural enrichment from the Greeks to the Etruscans and later the Romans. In exchange, the profit of Greeks came in a form of metal supplies from the Etruscans and their knowledge of metal working. founded only a single colony – , in the Bay of (706 BCE) - but by a group of illegitimate sons. This advance was also one of the aims of the colonisation - to get rid of unwanted persons.40 Cypselus, of Corinth, send his political opponents to settle in Leucas and .41 Strategic importance of Sicily and Straits of was later claimed by the Chalcidians (, 734 BCE), the Cumaeans (Zancle, Leontini, Catana, Messina) and by the foundation of Rhegium (720 BCE). In 734, the Corinthians founded Syracuse, in 688, the Rhodians and the Cretans founded . By the time, the density of the Greek colonies in southern Italy became so high, the name of Magna Graecia was introduced. Another reason for the introduction of Magna Graecia term was the impressive size of a Greece- resembling territory. The became the founders of , Croton, , Metapon- tum and Poseidonia. Another wave headed to northeast. Megara founded the city of Byzantion at the Bosphorus, whose importance rose about 1000 years later.42 The most important Greek city in Ionia - Miletus claimed the title of the most active ,43 sending pioneers to 36 settlements over the coasts of the Black Sea.44 The overpopulation on the island of Thera, colonisation of which is mentioned above, already drove colonists off to Cyrene in (65045 - 63046 BCE). Even behind the Etruscan land, cities of and were established at the Rhône delta and Emporion in northern .

2.3 CLASSIC COLONISATION In this period, a special type of colonies were introduced by Athens - klerouchiai. was kind of a special settlement, bounded more closely with its metropolis than a common colony. First of them were found in the end of 6th century,47 but expanded massively in the one that followed. Athens built the as a detached garrison, composed mainly of poor Athenians, on the territory of its allies. It worked as a political pressure and military support against the members of .48 Best source for this period is Thucydides, but his only mention of a cleruchy is a city of Mytilene after the revolt in 426 BCE.49 This could either mean the term was not used com- monly, or Athenian klerouchiai were exceeded in numbers by apoikiai. Since the Great colonisation up to the end of the Classical period, a total of 279 apoikiai were founded all around the Mediter- ranean Sea and 88 of them were established by former colonies.50 Dispatching of these colonies is driven by political ambitions, thus they should not be the aim of this study.

38 OCD, 362. 46 OCD, 361. 39 MARTIN, Ancient Greece, 70. 47 Salamis, taken from Megara, in 510-500 BCE (GAR- 40 Ibidem, 73. LAND. Wandering Greeks, 249-250). 41 GARLAND, R. Wandering Greeks : The 48 SVOBODA. Encyklopedie, 299. Diaspora from the Age of Homer to the Death of Alexander 49 FIGUEIRA, T. Colonisation in the Classical period. the Great, 2014. Princeton : Princeton University In: TSETSKHLADZE, G. R. (ed.) Greek Colonisation Press. 36. : An Account of Greek Colonies and Other Settlements Over- 42 SVOBODA. Encyklopedie, 304. seas, volume II, 2008. Leiden; Boston : Brill. 435.; 43 A mother city dispatching colonies. THUC. III.L.2. 44 GARLAND. Wandering Greeks, 35. 50 GARLAND. Wandering Greeks, 35. 45 MARTIN, Ancient Greece, 72.

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2.4 HELLENISTIC COLONISATION The primary task of the late 4th century Colonisation was to spread Greek culture and language through newly conquered Asia of . Even the king himself founded plenty of cities, which were then named after him. The policy was also followed during the subsequent Dia- dochi empires.51 At first glance, this event differs from those mentioned above. The objectives did not include solving overpopulation or finding an arable land, not even finding new trade possibili- ties in the first place. Hellenistic colonies imply the term ‘’ that MARTIN52 warned about, not to be mistaken with the early colonisation attempts. Hellenistic Colonisation was purely polit- ical, focused on administrative and social control on subject states, as the Athenians did in the previous century, therefore it is not necessary to dispute its geographical attributes.

51 OCD, 363. 52 MARTIN, Ancient Greece, 69.

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3 GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING This subchapter focuses on the influence of environmental factors on the common life of an an- cient Mediterranean citizen. The importance of the link between natural conditions and society was also known in antiquity. This concept is not something new and certainly was not overlooked in the past. The best examples are of those authors, whose written works about nature remained to this day. Strabo (64 BCE - 19 CE), a Greek historian and geographer whose Geographica is the most comprehensive writing about the ancient world - offered us a great overview of the regional geog- raphy. He visited many of the mentioned places himself, collecting and examining other written sources. Another geographer and traveller - Pausanias (2nd century CE) - wrote Hellados Periegesis (Description of Greece), which is one of the key sources to Greek topography and archaeology. (384-322 BCE), on the other hand, collected all known atmospheric knowledge in his Me- teorologica, which is considered the cradle of meteorology and climatology.53

3.1 WEATHER AND CLIMATE Ancient Greek civilization was a product of the Mediterranean Sea - the main trade, travel and information route led between them and other lands and cultures. Besides, it affects the regional character of its climate too - so-called “Mediterranean climate” - also used as a term for describing other similar climate conditions around the world.54 In general, it could be described by Köppen’s classification type Cs - drought in summer and rain in winter and mostly cyclonic precipitation.55 During summer, the weather is quite stable, influenced by the anticyclone above Azores and the cyclone above Iran. These two pressure systems horizontally circulate both clockwise and an- ticlockwise, which causes strong north winds in the Mediterranean. There are clear skies, high tem- perature and low precipitation during summers. These conditions are amplified in the east, as the sun stands high in the sky and Azores anticyclone diverts cold and moist air from the Atlantic northwards. In autumn, the Iranian cyclone is succeeded by a monsoon and the Azores anticyclone is dissipating. This allows the western Atlantic winds to advance. The temperature of the Mediter- ranean region does not dramatically drop towards winter. The sea could be considered an enclosed water body, with almost only internal current circulation, with very weak connection with cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. In other words, the temperature of a water body decreases very slowly, causing relatively warm air above to rise and form a low-pressure system above the Medi- terranean. During winter, two new anticyclones generate above Sahara and Eurasia, pushing away Atlantic depressions and combining with the low pressure above, the basin creates steady eastward winds bringing cloudy and stormy weather. During spring, the Eurasian anticyclone dissipates, so the depressions of the low pressure travel above Europe. The occurrence of weak ridges of low pressure and east-west direction cause southern Europe to experience fair western winds, in antique referred to as Zephyros. So, this area experiences two main seasons, hot and dry summer with clear skies and stormy, rainy winter.56

53 SVOBODA, Encyklopedie, 73-78, 457-458, 589. Mediterranean: A synthetic multi-proxy reconstruc- 54 CARY, M. The Geographic Background of Greek & Roman tion. The Holocene, 2019, 1-17. History, 1949. 1. 56 MORTON, J.. The Role of the Physical Environment in An- 55 FINNÉ, M.; WOODBRIDGE, J.; LABUHN, I.; ROB- cient Greek Seafaring, 2001. 46-48. ERTS, N. Holocene hydro-climatic variability in the

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The use of winds was very important for Greek sailors, mainly the sea and land breezes.57 A breeze is a type of a coastal wind, whose direction depends on the daytime. During the day, a sunlight warms the dryland faster than the water body, so the warm air above the land begins to ascend, creating a pressure depression and sucking the cold air from above the sea with higher pressure, creating a current of wind blowing towards the land. In the night, the system works in reverse, as the land cools faster and water tends to keep its heat from the day. This knowledge is also reflected in ancient literature, as Telemachus set sail from Ithaca in the evening,58 or more dramatically, according to Plutarch:59 Themistocles calculated with a sea breeze to raise waves in the narrow channel at Salamis to make Persian warships harder to steer, thus winning the key battle of the conflict.

3.2 TECTONIC SETTING AND LANDSCAPE The entire area of Aegean and its proximity is formed and still influenced by the local active tec- tonics. Since the Tertiary period, the African plate has been subducting northwards below Eurasian plate (5-10 mm/yr), but the Mediterranean Sea floor has been submerging faster (35 mm/yr) due to the southwest motion of Aegean itself, relative to Europe. The subduction zone in the Aegean Sea is forming a deep trench of semicircle shape, with up to 3 kilometres high slopes, from the Ionic islands in the west, the Peloponnese, and the south of to the central part of western Anatolia in the east.60 Subduction zones are characteristic by the increased number of earthquakes and volcanic activity, as the descending crust melts in the mantle and ascends. As a result, a chain of volcanic islands emerged in Aegean. This Hellenic arc “extends from the Greek mainland through the islands of Aegina, Methana, Poros, Milos, Santorini, and continues through Kos, Yali, and Nisyros to the Bodrum peninsula of .”61 During the process of subduction, marine sediments, somewhere even 10 kilometres thick, are thrusted up, forming a mountain ridges of Greece with a NW-SE direction. An intense tectonic activity caused a dense faulting of the bedrock, which allows the entire bedrock units to upheave or sink, which can be demonstrated by the Greek coastal cliffs.62 For the character of landscape, ancient Greece was seen in Renaissance more than ever as living in harmony with nature. Unfortunately, this is not even close to truth. The forests were being massively destroyed for the need of wood and making place for agricultural land, which was later eroded due to an exhaustion of the soil. At the high mountain ranges some forests persisted, some- where they were replaced by brushlands, but in all of the fertile floodplains, developing new forests was prevented by farming.63

57 NEUMANN, J. The sea and land breezes in the clas- SHAW, Beth. Active tectonics of the Hellenic Subduction sical , Bulletin American Meteorological Zone, 2012. 30. Society, 1973, vol. 54, no. 1, 5-8. 61 FRIEDRICH, L. Walter. Fire in the Sea : The Santorini 58 HOM. Odd. II, 388. Volcano: Natural History and the Legend of Atlantis, 2000. 59 PLUT. Vit. Them. 14. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. 22. 60 MUELLER, S.; KAHLE, H.-G.; BARKA, A. Plate tec- 62 MORTON. Role, 13-14. tonic situation in the Anatolian-Aegean region. In: 63 HUGHES, D. J. Ancient Deforestation Revisited. SCHINDLER, Conrad; PFISTER, Martin (eds.). Active Journal of the History of Biology, 2011, vol. 44, no. 1, 45. Tectonics of Northwestern Anatolia, 1997. 13-14.;

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3.3 RIVERS, SEAS, AND COASTLINES The importance of the Mediterranean and an easy access to it was crucial for (not)developing inland trade. Certain regions had little to exchange among them, but foreign trade offered much greater possibilities.64 The Greeks sometimes had no other choice than to use the sea for trading, as for example on the island of Aegina, due to low fertility of the local soil.65 Tides have no essential effect in the Mediterranean Sea, because it is virtually land-locked. The fluctuations of tides can signifi- cantly rise the sea-level only in deep and narrow bays and straits such as the Corinthian Gulf.66 Currents have a more significant role. The massive evaporation rate of the water from the Medi- terranean Sea is compensated mainly by the inflow of the Atlantic water through Gibraltar. The current of light, fresher water flows along the African coasts, turning north in Egypt and forming an anticlockwise circulation. In the Aegean, a strong current flows from the Black Sea via the Hel- lespont, which balances the water loss of the Mediterranean by evaporation, contributing to an anticlockwise circulation in the Aegean.67 An essential part of understanding the role of a coastline is realizing its morphometric insta- bility. As well as coasts and rock cliffs may be eroded primarily by a wave action, and decreasing the area of land, landmass may also expand. Beside what was mentioned above about a tectonic activity and landmass upheaval, the deposition of land-originated sediments should also be consid- ered. Homer, whose existence is not going to be the subject matter, offered us a splendid example: “Now there is an island in the surging sea in front of Egypt, and men call it Pharos, distant as far as a hollow ship runs in a whole day…”68 The island is now artificially connected with the dry land below , but at least in times when the city was founded, it was about a half a mile away from the land. Homer must have known the natural process of river sedimentation, and that in times of Menelaus speaking, the Egyptian coast should have been farther. The best present example of river deposition at the mouths is the seaport of Ephesus, where the sediments of Cayster River moved shoreline 6 miles away, so the harbour buildings can be found in the middle of a dry land. The same situation applies to former coastal towns of Miletos and Herakleia (Maeander river)69 in Ionia, or the islands being joined to Asia Minor by the river.70 Moving on to seas, according to Strabo71, Piraeus was formerly an island. Despite that, in antiquity, it was con- nected to a land by a sand hook - so called ‘tombolo’72 - which allows it to be attached with Athens by straight running . Strabo’s statement has been geologically proven by GOIRAN et al.,73 but the real surprise is - it was far before Strabo could have visited these lands (about 5000 - 3000 years BCE).

64 MICHELL, H. The economics of ancient Greece, 2nd edition, 70 HDT. Hist. 2.10. 1957. Cambridge : W. Heffer & Sons LTD, c1940. 5. 71 STR. Geog. I.III.18. 65 STR. Geog. VIII.VI.16 72 Tombolo‘ originates from lateral coast currents 66 MORTON. Role. 45. flowing paralel with the shore. Local irregularities 67 Ibidem. 37-38. may cause whirling of water, slowing the currents, 68 HOMER. Oddysey. IV.354-7. reducing water transportation capacity and sedimen- 69 MORTON. Role. 318e.; tation of carried material at the edge of whirls occurs, BRÜCKNER, H.; HERDA, A.; KERSCHNER, M.; MÜL- forming a narrow sand hook. LENHOFF, M.; STOCK, F.. Life cycle of estuarine is- 73 GOIRAN, J.-P.; PAVLOPOULOS, K. P.; FOUACHE, E.; lands - From the formation to the landlocking of for- TRIANTAPHYLLOU, M.; ETIENNE, R.. Piraeus, the mer islands in the environs of Miletos and Ephesos ancient island of Athens: Evidence from Holocene in western Asia Minor (Turkey). Journal of Archaeolog- sediments and historical archives. Geology, 2011, vol. ical Science: Reports, 2016, vol. 12. 876-894. 39, no. 6, 531-534.

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Another prove of ancient geographical knowledge is shown, when Strabo74 contemplates about Eratosthenes’ statements, why could the oyster shells be found so far away from the sea.75 According to Strabo, Strato even claimed, that the Euxine Sea (Black Sea) was not originally a sea, but flowing rivers that broke through straits of Propontis and Hellespont, and that the same thing happened to the Mediterranean basin, being filled by the ocean water flowing from the Pillars (Gibraltar strait). Modern scientific methods can confirm these declarations.76

74 STR. Geog. I.III.4. caused a massive flood (‚Zanclean flood‘) [GARCIA- 75 Which is either the consequence of raised sea-level CASTELANOS, D.; ESTRADA, F.; JIMENÉZ-MUNT, I.; in the past, or tectonic uplift and orogenesis of lime- GORINI, C.; FERNANDÉZ, M.; VERGÉS, J.; DE VIN- stone, which is made at the sea bottom. CENTE, R. Catastrophic flood of the Mediterranean 76 Mediterranean Sea was cut off from the Atlantic after the Messinian salinity crisis, Nature, 2009, vol. Ocean at Gibraltar strait by moving African plate 462, 778-]. The past of the Black Sea is not so clear. about 5.6 mil. years ago. Its almost total evaporation Two hypothesis exists - either the Black Sea broke left a great salt basins (‚Messinian salinity crisis‘) and into Mediterranean or reversely. following break of Gibraltar at 5.33 mil years ago

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4 METHODS OF PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH All the mentioned methods, besides chronologies, gather the proxy data, which are a provider of indirect measurements of past environments.77 The reconstructions using proxy data are based on well-known physically-chemical relations between the real environment and its preserved record. The methods mentioned below are only of those, which were used in paleoenvironmental works of cited authors. This chapter deserves much more space, due to its importance in setting a chron- ological timeline of certain events and to better understand their development. Without the proper dating, all the common terms that are used for description of the past would be lost in time.

4.1 RADIOMETRIC METHODS Radiometric dating is based on properties of radioactive decay of certain unstable isotopes, which, undergoing changes in the number of elementary particles, try to achieve more stable form. Several of these unstable elements naturally occur in nature. Due to a time-dependency of the decay, a stable value for each of known elements, we can date certain rocks or fossils and establish their approximate age.78 The time decay is called half-live, meaning a period needed to reduce the quan- tity of the mother isotopes to one half.79 Most commonly used are e.g.:80 - Uranium series - are based on the decay of natural 238U and 235U elements, gradually achiev- ing a form of 206Pb or 207Pb with a half-life of 4.49x109 years for 238 isotope, and 7.13 x108 for 235 isotope. Enormous half-life of uranium allows geologists to date even the oldest rocks on Earth. - Radiocarbon - dating is based on the decay of mother 14C, received from outer space by any living organism, into daughter 12C and 13C, with a half-life of ± 5730 years. This is possible to use only on former living fauna and flora and the achieved age approximately shows the organism’s death. - Argon series – use the decay of isotope of Potassium 40K into 40Ar; or measuring ratios between 40Ar and 39Ar. Half-life or 40K is ± 1250 mil. years, so it is quite inappropriate to date ages younger than 100 000 years. However, the latter method is more convenient for quaternary sciences, allowing to achieve an age lesser than 10 000 years. Measuring isotope ratios is not used for age estimating purposes only, but also for a climate reconstruction. It makes use of different conditions during which different isotopes are being stored within the material: - Most commonly used is oxygen, or 18O/16O method. Overlooking another existing 17O isotope, only these two are crucial. During water evaporation, whose rate depends on the 16 18 temperature, lighter H2 O molecule is drawn to the air more easily than heavier H2 O. With a decreasing temperature, the air loses its ability to contain heavier 18O, so the mois- ture in polar winds contains high ratio of lighter 16O, to be stored in glacier ice. Meaning, colder phases of the Quaternary are mirrored in high content on 16O in glaciers and 18O in oceans and melting those sheets releases 16O back into the ocean. This fluctuating ratio is then studied within organisms stored at seabed sediments.81

77 LOWE & WALKER. Reconstructing, 17. 80 Walker. Quaternary, 58, 66, 78 Ibidem, 288. 81 LOWE & WALKER. Reconstructing, 166-167. 79 Ibidem, 270.

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4.2 INCREMENTAL DATING These methods are based on principles of continual or seasonal additions of material to organic core or sedimentary layers. The use is not solely for dating, but geologists are able to acquire an- other indirect information.

4.2.1 Tephrochronology Volcanic eruptions produce a great amount of ash and volcanic rocks, releasing them into the atmosphere and letting them slowly disperse above a huge area. This material is called tephra, and after the eruption it is being slowly accumulated, forming layers on top of soils, lake bottoms, or ice sheets. Each tephra could be traced back to its origin due to unique geochemical attributes (such as isotopic composition) and dated by radiometric methods. Geographical deployment of a single eruption tephra is an indirect indicator to its magnitude and could suggest a presence of volcanic winter,82 affecting the human population, most significantly by its reduction.83

4.2.2 Dendrochronology The trunk of most coniferous trees is continually growing in diameter, as in each growing season new water and food-conducting cells are added to the outer perimeter. Higher demands for water and nutrients during a spring growing season urges cells to be larger, and smaller cells with thicker walls are produced in summer and spring, forming distinguishable lines of tree-rings. By counting of tree-rings, the tree age may be dated, but not all trees are suitable for dendrochronology dating. It is commonly used with oaks, pines, and junipers. Moreover, the tree growth depends on the climate, which is reflected in a ring-width pattern, allowing us to determine the quality of the growth year. Every specimen of certain species bears the same growth demands and reacts to the climate equally. Counting on this, a tree-ring record of an actual living tree can be extended into the past by overlapping tree-ring records of predecessor trees in the same area (dead wood found in marshes, used as building material etc.) and thus gathering the whole climatic record of the partic- ular zone.84

4.2.3 Speleothems According to LOWE & WALKER85 speleothem is a secondary mineral deposit forming in karst caves. Most known stalactites and stalagmites are so-called dripstones, deposits mainly of calcium car- bonate (and halite, gypsum or aragonite) formed by water drops from cave walls. Flowstone is also a mineral deposit, formed by water flowing over a rock and percolating into spaces within clastic sediments at a cave floor, cementing them and forming a porous rock ‘cave breccia’.

The water dripping into caves comes from the surface, where it saturates by CO2 from the soil biogenic processes. Air has lower partial pressure of CO2 in a cave, so CO2 degassing leads to carbonate precipitation. Continuous water supply leads to the creation of continuous sedimentary record of carbonate. This precipitation changes depending on the temperature, as it is reduced or

82 When eruption ejected such a mass of ash into at- 84 Ibidem, 298; mosphere it blocks sunrays and leads to cooling the WALKER. Quaternary, 122-123. planet, even for a few years. 85 LOWE & WALKER. Reconstructing, 143-145. 83 WALKER. Quaternary, 202; LOWE & WALKER. Reconstructing, 325-330.

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even aborted during cold stages and maximized in warm conditions, and 16O/18O ratios can be measured. This episodic record can be dated by uranium series dating method or by radiocarbon. As a result, high-resolution dated information about exterior temperature may be obtained.

4.2.4 Palynology One of the most common methods for environmental reconstructions, palynology, focuses on the presence of pollen in sedimentary records. Therefore, it is also referred to as pollen stratigraphy. A common pollen grain consists of three parts - the living part containing one or two generative and one vegetative cell; covered with a cellulose layer ‘intine’ and waxy, sporopollenin layer of ‘exine’. The first two cannot survive fossilized, but exine is very well preserved. Characterization of the grain in terms of size, shape and structure is the essence of pollen identification. Transported by air, water or animals, grains embed in soils, sea and lakes bottom, or glaciers. The less porous and loose the surrounding material, the less weathered or microbiologically damaged the spores. A laboratory work consisting of a comparison between known pollen grains with acquired samples can usually identify the sample to the genus level, less often to the species level.86 The main aim of the method is environmental reconstruction based on the known ecological demands of registered species.

4.2.5 Lacustrine and marine sediments Digging a borehole and acquiring a sediment core from the water-body bottom offers a rich envi- ronmental record. The sediment could be of two kinds - organic and inorganic - originated from the lake itself or from its catchment area. One of interesting stratigraphic layers which could be found is sapropel. Sapropel is a layer that is rich in organic material and was accumulated under anoxic conditions. Its occurrence is associated with an increase in nutrient input and episodes of higher precipitation.87 The altitude level of preserved fossils is, with proper radiometric dating, able to show a lake’s shoreline during a specified period, and thus reveal its fluctuations in response to environmental changes. Speaking of fossils, the presence of specific fauna, flora or pollen also indicates the local environmental conditions, just like the geochemical content of accumulated sed- iments. 88 In this case, a paleoenvironmentalist is also looking for foraminifera - prokaryotes with mineral (calcite or aragonite) shell mostly adapted for a wide range of temperature and salinity in marine environments, also found in saltmarshes and brackish water in estuaries. On the other hand, despite the wide ecologic adaptation of most of them, some species can be also used to recon- structing climate changes, as those are sensitive to water attribute changes. Their shells can be used for isotopic ratio measurements and distribution of foraminifera within the sediment core with an addition of proper dating could prove actual sea-level changes.89

86 Ibidem, 183-184. 88 Ibidem, 151. 87 Ibidem, 377. 89 Ibidem, 241-243.

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5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 5.1 ENVIRONMENTAL OVERVIEW 5.1.1 Climate changes By monitoring the climate fluctuations in Holocene, a great variability was found in its record, called Rapid Climate Changes (RCCs). The switch in climate characteristics though, was too slow for human society to recognize and to be called ‘rapid’ – up to few hundreds of years.90 These were, however, large-scale changes observed in proxy data gathered all around the globe, so they may not necessarily represent the Mediterranean variations. Within our period, one of these fluctuations occurred, settled approximately between 1500 and 500 BCE, perfectly overlapping our time set- ting.91 This ‘3,5 to 2,5 ka BP92 RCC event’93 is characterised by general cooling, alpine glacier ad- vances, and lowering the treeline elevation, followed by drier conditions in most areas. In this case: “Cooling over northeast Mediterranean is related to winter-time continental/polar air outbreaks”94 – means the gathered proxy data only reflects that there were colder winter seasons than they used to be. But general alteration from wetter early Holocene to drier middle Holocene since ~6k BCE is of no doubt, although locally some wetter phases occurred temporarily.95 Temperature decrease around 1000 BCE is listed in marine and cave records in south-west , Adriatic (1000-800 BCE), south-west Italy (1100-400 BCE), southeastern Aegean or (800 BCE). 96 An occurrence of decreased solar activity was registered, which could have had some impact on the temperature pattern, however it is still questionable. Mainly in the western Mediterranean, lowering of sea-surface temperature has been registered since the beginning of the Holocene, most intense around Sicily and the Tyrrhenian Sea (1,5 °C).97 The cooler the sea, the bigger reduction of its evaporation, which leads to little or no rain, as the air does not dispose enough precipitable water. The south and east of the Eastern Mediterranean shows a significant drop in rainfall, as observed in pollen data and the water-level decrease of the Dead Sea. A shift to arid conditions in Turkey, Levant and Arabian Peninsula occurred around 3000 BCE.98 Palynology and radiocarbon dating in the northwest of Syria show a record of 200 years lasting aridity, which started in ~1200 BCE and was followed by a drop in agriculture production.99 A destruction layer that refers to the Sea People invasions during the same age (1215-1190 cal. BCE), can be found within stratigraphy records. Thus, the LBA crisis, drought and Sea People raids are the same event.100 These similarities are found all around the Eastern Mediterranean. The lack of information about the Sea People

90 MAYEWSKI, P. A.; ROHLING, E. E.; STAGER, C. J.; 94 MAYEWSKI, et al. Holocene, 250. KARLÉN, W.; MAASCH, K. A.; MEEKER, D. L.; MEY- 95 FINNÉ et al. Climate, 3162. ERSON, E. A.; GASSE, F.; VAN KREVELD, S.; 96 Ibidem, 3168. HOLMGREN, K.; LEE-THORP, J.; ROSQUIST, G.; 97 LIONELLO, P. The Climate of the Mediterranean Region: RACK, F.; STAUBWASSER, M.; SCHNEIDER, R. R.; From the Past to the Future, 2012. London : Elsevier. STEIG, E. J. Holocene climate variability, Quaternary 47. Research, 2004, vol. 62, 243-244. 98 FINNÉ et al. Climate, 3162. 91 Ibidem. 246. 99 KANIEWSKI, D., PAULISSEN, E., VAN CAMPO, E., 92 Commonly used dating format in natural sciences. WEISS, H., OTTO, T., BRETSCHNEIDER, J., VAN LER- ‘BP’ = “before present” – represents the backward BERGHE, K. Late second–early first millennium BC dating from year 1950. abrupt climate changes in coastal Syria and their pos- 93 Also a ‘3,2 ka event‘, or ‘Late Bronze Age (LBA) cri- sible significance for the history of the Eastern Med- sis‘ (KANIEWSKI, D., VAN CAMPO, E., GUIOT, J., LE iterranean, Quaternary Research, 2010, vol. 74. 211; BUREL, S., OTTO, T., BAETEMAN, C. Environmental KANIEWSKI et al. Bronze Age Crisis, 9. Roots of the Late Bronze Age Crisis, PLoS ONE, 100 Ibidem. 9. 2013, vol. 8, no. 8. 1.)

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prevents us from estimating accurate conclusions, but the statement, that precipitation drop forced civilizations to migrate, should not be far from the truth. Forty-seven various lake, speleothem and marine records around the Mediterranean show significant differences in precipitation values.101 When mutually compared, a border between the west and east Mediterranean could be seen, where the Eastern Mediterranean (from Greece eastwards) shows a loss in precipitation values, whereas the Western (excluding Africa) was considerably wetter (App. 2 Fig. 3-5). This eastern drought is the first of environmental characteristics, typical to our setting, and will be referred to a few more times.

Figure 1 Moisture conditions around the Mediterranean Sea at 950 BCE. Z-score values (difference, made by subtraction of record mean from each proxy value, is divided by the record’s standard deviation), artificially calculated from proxy data by FINNÉ et al. (2019) have been used for mutual comparison of certain sites. The map shows one of the driest recorded intervals in the Eastern Mediterranean. In general, the Aegean Sea, Asia Minor, Levant and Atlas Mountains show a drier pattern than Northern Greece and coasts of Italy or Iberia. Numbers refer to sample sites (see FINNÉ et al., 2019).

5.1.2 Tectonics As stated before, the Aegean Sea lies above the African-plate subduction zone. Along the exterior of the Hellenic arc a shallow seismicity occurs, but it is connected with deeper hypocentres, be- tween 40 and 100 kilometres, where earthquakes up to magnitude of 8 originate.102 Due to this position, earthquakes are quite common. Most of them are registered by ancient authors of the Classical period: was hit by one before the Graeco-Persian wars,103 and the Greeks felt an- other on Salamis during their prepares for Persian attack,104 not to mention a great earthquake in Sparta during the . These were as far explained either as a bad omen or demands for sacrifices. Earthquakes are not the only hazardous product of the Mediterranean tectonics, but also a volcanic activity, really common in the area.105 However, after the eruption of Thera in ~1645

101 FINNÉ, Martin; WOODBRIDGE, Jessie; LABUHN, 104 HDT. Hist. VIII.64. Inga; ROBERTS, Neil. Holocene hydro-climatic var- 105 OPPENHEIMER, C., PYLE, D. Volcanoes. In: iability in the Mediterranean: A synthetic multi- WOODWARD, Jamie (ed.). The Physical Geography proxy reconstruction. The Holocene, 2019, 1-17. of the Mediterranean. Oxford, New York : Ox-ford 102 MUELER et al. Plate tectonic. 16. University Press, 2009, 663. 103 HDT. Hist. VI.98.

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BCE, there were no major eruptions in the Greek world until the awakening of Etna in the 5th century BCE.106

5.1.3 Sea-level changes Global changes regarding the amount of water in the oceans result in ‘eustatic’ sea-level changes, thus it is also affected by the local gravitational anomalies. Of a bigger interest are the changes along specific coasts, which can be referred to as ‘relative’ sea-level changes, describing the relation between the coast and a height of the surrounding sea. More specifically, it depends on the inter- action between eustatic sea-level changes and tectonic upheave/sinking of the coast.107 Sea-level altitude highly depends on the actual phase of glacial-interglacial cycle, as during glacial periods a considerable amount of water is locked within the ice sheets. Subsequent interglacial period with higher temperatures causes melting of those sheets and eventually releases the water into the oceans. During the last 2 million years, the global sea level decreased as low as 130 metres below the current state during glacial periods and increased to even 15 metres above during interglacial ones.108 Continual rising of the global sea-level in the Mediterranean since the last glacial maximum led to reaching present levels in 4000-3600 BCE and fluctuated slightly around this value for the rest of Holocene.109 Assuming the eustatic sea-level is known, by various observations at the coasts a relative sea-level development or tectonic upheaval could be estimated.

5.1.4 Landscape The most significant impact on the landscape was made by human hands, as in the LH III period population in Greece reached its peak. BONNIER et al.110 expects a correlation between the density and number of settlements and human exploitation of the land, reducing the amount of non-culti- vated soil, so so at the end of the Bronze Age we could expect, at least in Greece, all the way from the Peloponnese to , the greatest expansion of deforestation and cultivation until the beginning of the Archaic Age. Now, even considering the drier climate mentioned above, climatic cycles still bring seasonal (winter) rainfalls in the form of a storm. Occasional summer rains often turn into violent thunderstorms. Land without vegetation is extremely vulnerable against erosion by wind, rainfall or gravity and soil is being eroded from the hillsides. Water, which can no longer be contained within the ground or absorbed by trees, causes massive floods.111 An image of such events is well reflected in : “For he stormed across the plain like unto a winter torrent at the full, that with its swift flood sweeps away the embankments;…”112 and referred to a few more times.113 Deforestation left mountains of Attica wasted, as Plato complains.114

106 THOMMEN, L. An Environmental History of Ancient 109 Ibidem. 45. Greece and Rome, 2009. Cambridge : Cambridge Uni- 110 BONNIER, A.; SLOCZYNSKI, T.; KOLOCH, G.; versity Press. 61. KOULI, K.; IZDEBSKI, A. Landscape Change and Trade 107 LOWE & WALKER. Reconstructing. 59. in Ancient Greece: Evidence from Pollen Data, 2018. 22. 108 BENJAMIN, J; ROVERE, A.; FONTANA, A.; FURLANI, 111 HUGHES, D. J.; THIRGOOD, J. V. Deforestation, S.; VACCHI, M.; INGLIS, R.H.; GALILI, E.; ANTONI- Erosion and Forest Management in Ancient OLI, F.; SIVAN, D.; MIKO, S.; MOURTZAS, N.; Greece and Rome, Journal of Forest History, 1982, vol. FELJA, I.; MEREDITH-WILLIAMS, M.; GOODMAN- 26, no. 2. 67. TCHERNOV, B.; KOLAITI, E.; ANZIDEI, M.; GEH- 112 HOM. Il. V.89-91. RELS, R. Late Quaternary sea-level changes and 113 e.g. HOM. Il. XI.497-501. early human societies in the central and eastern 114 PL. Phd. 110E. Mediterranean Basin: An interdisciplinary review, Quaternary International, 2017, vol. 449. 33.

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5.2 GREECE To compare, I consider it useful to start with the reconstructions of environment within the Greek mainland, to better understand the regional differences. Most reconstructions comes from Mace- donia and Peloponnese, almost absent in central or eastern Greece. All around the mainland a similar climate variability is recorded. Estimated sea surface tem- perature of the South Adriatic Sea has been stable (± 0,5 °C) at 17°C ever since 4300 BCE.115 Since this age, aridification phase is documented in salinity increase.116 Aridification process, caused by cooling and decreased evaporation, was also recorded in Macedonia between ~6500 to ~1000 BCE.117 In the period between 1900 and 850 BCE, a macro-charcoal record was observed in sediment core from Diliki Tash, referring to an increased fire activity at the site.118 The Late Bronze Age (~ 1650-1000 BCE) is characterised by a decrease of alder (Alnus) forests (to <5 % from over 60 % in Late Neolithic), substituted by hydrophytic Poaceae plants at the marsh edges and by the introduc- tion of xerothermophilous taxa.119 Archaeological data suggest lower density of settlements com- pared to the previous periods, which also corresponds with the decrease of antropic-nitrogenous taxa or cereals. However, this location is an exception in the previously mentioned dry Holocene period, as pollen analysis suggests developing of the wetlands and rise of the water level in marshes. From ~1000 to 800 BCE an increased rate of sedimentation is a sign of increased human impact on land modification, supported by the presence of olive trees.120 The driest of all mainland regions is Attica, thanks to its position on the leeward side of mountains, with annual precipitation of 400 mm, barely enough for cultivation of wheat. Although, this disadvantage is balanced by sufficiency of natural resources like Cephissus clay, marble of Mt. Pentelicus or silver from Laurium mines.121 For northwestern Greece and Attica, a cooling and moistening of climate is registered at the end of Subboreal period (3500-700 BCE), but on the other hand, followed by repeated drying.122

5.2.1 Peloponnese The Peloponnese peninsula should be seen as a detached region of Greece. Its bedrock mainly consists of limestone, and “the major landforms are the result of long-term tectonic activities and catastrophic events (floods, earthquakes, and tsunamis), as well as river sediment influxes and sea level changes.”123 Palynology that was done in the Argive plain (east Peloponnese), proposed an evidence of natural oak trees replaced in the middle of the 4th millennium BCE by hornbeam, pine, scrub oak and heather, which are typical of a cleared and disturbed land, as its present state suggests. Soil

115 SIANI, G.; MAGNY, M.; PATERNE, M.; DEBRER, M.; Greece. A palaeoenvironmental perspective, Journal FONTUGNE, M. Paleohydrology reconstruction and of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2017, vol. 15, 410. Holocene climate variability in the South Adriatic 119 Ibidem, 414. Sea, Climate of the Past, 2013, vol 9, 503. 120 Ibidem, 418. 116 Ibidem, 506. 121 CARY. Geographic Background, 75. 117 ZHANG, X.; REED, J.; WAGNER, B.; FRANCKE, A.; 122 VAN OVERLOOP, E. Comparison of climatic evolu- LEVKOV, Z. Lateglacial and Holocene climate and tion during post-glacial times in Greece, tropical and environmental change in the northeastern Mediter- subtropical regions, in relation to desertification. In: ranean region: diatom evidence from Lake Dojran FANTECHI, R.; MARGARIS, N. S. (eds.) Desertification (Republic of Macedonia/Greece), Quaternary Science in Europe. 2006. Springer-Science; Business Media, Reviews, 2014, vol. 103. 62. B.V. : Brussels, Luxembourg. 59-72. 118 GLAIS, A.; LESPEZ, L.; VANNIÈRE, B.; LÓPEZ-SÁEZ, 123 Ibidem, 41. J. A. Human-shaped landscape history in NE

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degradation and erosion was a typical after-effect of deforestation and extensive agriculture of the Bronze and Iron Age, enduring to present. Moreover, the climate was not the trigger, as the soils of the whole Greece were not affected simultaneously, and the episodes of climatic events did not correlate with the dated changes.124 The degradation, erosion and exhaustion of the soil in their homeland could have been one of the triggers responsible for the migration of the Greeks, search- ing for a new and healthy arable land. Human settlements were most developed during the Early Helladic period, decreasing in numbers in the Middle and reaching the maximum in the Late Helladic period (LH III), corre- sponding with the Bronze Age’s maximum of human indicators in pollen record.125 The beginning of the Early Iron Age brings a rapid decrease in the amount of archaeological evidence and settle- ments, and only very poor grave equipment. The reason for this is still unknown. In the north of Peloponnese, palynology indicates a sudden drop in Olea pollen (olive tree) around the year 1000 BCE. The drop correlates with the rest of the sites, indicating vanishing settlements. Stratigraphy analyses also show few distinct layers of tsunami deposits. These are linked to the moves of the Egion fault, the subsiding hanging-wall in the north of the peninsula.126 The most relevant are roughly dated at 1000 and 500 BCE.127 The latter could possibly be linked to the infamous Spartan earthquake in 464 BCE. Nevertheless, the increase in quantity of settlements, buildings, and crafted items is more significant from 750 BCE onwards, also noticed in repeated drop in arboreal pollen.128 Demos of Athens129 mention agriculture problems after the Trojan war, when pestilence affected the entire Greece and in addition to that their crops were destroyed. The story gets myth- ological here. Pythia then advised the Greeks to send Orestes, Agamemnon’s only son, to re-es- tablish the cities and honours to the gods, being forgotten during the war. Orestes then gathered various people and sailed east. That is believed to be the beginning of the Aeolian colonisation.130 According to this belief, first of the Greek colonisation was caused by a drop of production in agriculture, which motivated the population to move. Even though there was a faith that gods wanted them to. Although the reason behind the drop, caused by climate change or soil erosion, is questionable, at this point, the statement that first Greeks went to wander and settle overseas due to unfavourable home environmental conditions should not be far from being correct. The LBA crisis shows a pattern in the reduction of population and settlement density in the mainland of Greece, Peloponnese and Macedonia, although it is still uncertain if climate change was the starter or just one of the contributors. After the beginning of the first millennium BCE, the Iron Age brings an increase in population density and land cultivation.

124 RUNNELS, C. N. Environmental Degradation in 126 KONTOPOULOS, N., AVRAMIDIS, P. A late Holo- Ancient Greece. Scientific American, 1995, vol. 272, cene record of environmental changes from the Al- no. 3, 98 iki lagoon, Egion, North Peloponnesus, Greece. 125 WEIBERG, E.; UNKEL, I.; KOULI, K.; HOLMGREN, Quaternary International, 2003, no. 111, 85. K.; AVRAMIDIS, P.; BONNIER, A.; DIBBLE, FLINT; 127 WEIBERG et al. Peloponnese, 56. FINNÉ, M.; IZDEBSKI, A.; KATRANTSIOTIS, C.; 128 Ibidem, 56. STOCKER, S. R.; ANDWINGE, M.; BAIKA, K.; BOYD, 129 FGrH 327 F 17. M.; HEYMANN, C. The socio-environmental history 130 DEMÍR, M. Making sense of the myths behind Aio- of the Peloponnese during the Holocene: Towards lian colonisation. Muğla Üniversitesi, 2001, vol. 6, an integrated understanding of the past. Quaternary 27. Science Reviews, 2016, vol. 136, 46.

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5.3 AEGEAN SEA Numerous islands in the Aegean rise as a part of Hellenic volcanic arc or by local tectonic uplifts. They were occupied at first due to their strategic importance, as they lies directly on the route between Greece and Asia Minor. Many of them hold certain amount of arable land or minerals to mine. The island of Thera (present Santorini and a few smaller, not so known surrounding islands), famous for its enormous volcanic eruption around 1645 BC,131 is here and there covered by a layer of volcanic ash, which can be even tens of metres thick. Thanks to this, the soil is very fertile and submerged caldera shows an interesting landscape. The island was inhabited before the eruption, probably colonised from Minoan Crete, and then reoccupied by the Lacedaimonians (Strabo). Hol- ocene climate variability played its role here as well - after a 7 years drought and resource shortage, its inhabitants were driven off to settle in . What speaks of urgency of such exodus, they were forbidden to come back.132 At the north, an island of was inhabited by Phoenicians as well as by citizens of . Here, together with a valleys suitable for agriculture, also a local mineral deposits attracted their attention. A gold ore, specifically. Foundation of Thasos is accredited to Paros in 680-650 BCE and later Thasos colonized Thracian mainland on his own (Abdera).133

5.4 ASIA MINOR Local tectonics shaped the landscape of Asia Minor. Its western part consists of high west-to-east mountain ridges and the only gentle slopes are facing west and northwest, where the mountain plateau descends into a piedmont land. This area is also well accessible from Europe - by the Ae- gean Sea via various islands and by the Bosphorus strait.134 Another input making these lands at- tractive is the weather. Although the entire peninsula shares the dry summer conditions of the Mediterranean, only its western coasts experience the rainfall during winter. They lie in the wind- ward face of mountain rims, which force the flowing air to rise along their slopes, to cool and release moisture. These conditions result in 400-500 mm annual precipitation and are suitable for fair crops of cereals.135 At the end of the Dark Age, the Greeks began to settle in the Aegean coasts of Anatolia. The climate was as favourable as Herodotus wrote: “[Ionians] …have built their cities in a region where the air and climate are the most beautiful in the whole world: for no other region is equally blessed with Ionia, neither above it nor below it, nor east nor west of it. For in other countries either the climate is over cold and damp, or else the heat and drought are sorely oppres- sive.”136 However, aridity is recorded throughout the entire millennium BCE.137 And Aeolis, north of Ionia, is even described as “…land was better than the Ionian territory, but the climate was not so good.”138 Herodotus was born in Halicarnassus so his description of Ionia could definitely be adjusted, but regarding that, he favours local climate conditions (of the 5th century BCE) over the neighbouring Aeolis or the rest of the oikumene.

131 FRIEDRICH. Santorini. 134 CARY. Geographical Background, 151-153. 132 GARLAND. Wandering. 36. 135 Ibidem, 154. 133 DILLON, M.; GARLAND, L. Ancient Greece : Social and 136 HDT. Hist. 1.142. Historical Documents from Archaic Times to the Death of 137 FINNÉ et al. Holocene. 855. , 2000. London, New York : Routledge, 138 HDT. Hist. 1.149. c1994. 19.

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A pollen analysis from southwest Turkey shows an extensive woodland clearance, degrada- tion of soil and increase in the amount of cultivated plants, as surroundings of Beysehir lake became populated around 1400 BC.139 All coastal cities and cities built at river mouths thus were threatened by previously mentioned process of sedimentation and landlocking, like what happened in Ephe- sus. There is another interesting environmental contributor affecting the choice of land for new settlement. Ephesus is believed to have been established at the place of the Hypelaeus spring, to which water rises through a limestone crevice caused by faulting. This spring used to be seen as a sacred well since the archaic period, with a small shrine built above, possibly a temple of Athena, in the Classical period. The fault did not damage the temple, so both the spring and the temple are older than the settlement and could definitely be one of the motives for the establishment of the city. Moreover, sacred enclosure is bordered by limestone scarps with votive reliefs sculpted.140 Such votive sculptures are also located at a fault scarp in Cnidus within a sacred enclosure, where the remains of the cult of Demeter and Kore were found, suggesting a belief that the place was the passage into the underworld.141 Such locations of magnificent landscapes were indeed invoking presence of gods and were later used for cultic rites. Tectonic basement of the Balkans, Aegean and Asia Minor created really convenient conditions for such landscapes to rise. They might to play a significant role in identifying a new site for a settlement.

5.5 BLACK SEA COASTS TSETSKHLADZE & TREISTER stated, that the Black Sea shores were not as rich in metals to be attractive enough for the new settlers.142 Therefore, the attention should be paid to the climate. From the Taman peninsula between the and the Black Sea, pollen data have been acquired. At the end of the Bronze Age, the landscape was dominated by forest-steppe vegetation of colder and wetter climate (1480-960 BCE). Cooling is implied mainly by the recorded maximum of Pinus sylvestris.143 During the times of Greek penetration into the Black Sea, the land was domi- nated by grass, herb-grass and pigweed-wormwood steppes, indicating one of the warmest and driest conditions between 960 and 640 BCE. Dominance of broadleaf forests suggests that a wet period did not occur again until 330 BC.144 An increase in rate of chernozem145 formation was rec- orded in the first half of the 1st millennium BCE. Development of such a fertile soil was noticed by the Greeks, who began to use these coasts for cultivating cereal crops, as the increase in Cerealia pollen confirms.146

139 FINNÉ et al. Climate. 3163. climate and environmental changes in the Taman 140 STEWART, I. S.; PICCARDI, L. Seismic faults and sa- Peninsula (Kuban River delta region) and their cor- cred sanctuaries in Aegean antiquity, Proceedings of the relation with rapid sea-level fluctuations of the Geologists’ Association, 2017, vol. 128. 713. Black Sea, Quaternary International, 2018, vol. 465. 30. 141 Ibidem, 714. 144 Ibidem, 32. 142 TSETSKHLADZE, G. R.; TREISTER, M. Y.: The Me- 145 Dark soil with rich humified layer, developing under tallurgy and Production of Precious Metals in Col- cold continental climate and dry steppe vegetation. chis Before and After the Arrival of the Ionians The soil is very fertile and agriculturally valuable. (Towards the problem of the reason for Greek co- (VYSLOUŽILOVÁ, B.; ERTLEN, D.; SCHWARTZ, D.; lonisation). Bulletin of the Metals Museum, 1995, vol. ŠEFRNA, L. Chernozem. From concept to classi-fi- 24, 1–32. cation: A review. Acta Universitatis Carolinae. Geo- 143 BOLIKHOVSKAYA, N. S.; POROTOV, A. V.; RICH- graphica, 2016, vol. 51, no. 1. 86.) ARDS, K.; KAITAMBA M. D.; FAUSTOV S. S.; KORO- 146 BOLIKHOVSKAYA et al. Taman Peninsula. 31. TAEV V. N. Detailed reconstructions of Holocene

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At the north of Euxine, a city of Phanagoreia was founded on the Taman peninsula. Strabo describes it as a noteworthy city, but mainly as an emporion for the commodities from Maeotis Lake (Sea of Azov) and barbarian lands northward. On the opposite side of the strait a colony of was established, trading articles from the south.147 Another emporion, , was founded in the north of Maeotis, where nomadic tribes brought slaves and hides in exchange for clothing, wine and “other things that belong to civilised life” of Greeks.148 On the northwestern coast of Euxine, a Milesian colony of is located. Herodotus described people living in the north as “…Scythian farmers, who plant grain not to eat but to sellThis looks like the Greeks were not especially interested in cultivating crops by themselves, but preferred acquiring them through trading with local tribes. Although there were exceptions, as between the Milesian colonies of Pan- ticapaeum and Theodosia “…the district is everywhere productive of grain,”149 just like the rest of ,150 assuming the Greeks were harvesting the crops directly here. On the west coast of the Black Sea, a pollen analysis shows an increase in humidity from 1280 BC to current millennium, as well as a decrease in percentage values of Cerealia, Hordeum and other human presence indicators. 151 This suggests the drop of occupancy, even despite the close proximity of the Milesian colony of Odessos. In Scytia Minor, Strabo mentioned tribes of Troglo- dytae with a plenty of barley.152 The Heracleia colony of Callatis is located there.153 The east coasts of the Black Sea, where the region is located, were also a target of the settlers, but not because of grain. The main cereal culture here was millet, which was largely harvested thanks to the suitable conditions. Colchis had to be an importer of grain, especially dur- ing the Roman period, when the Romans could not stand eating only millet and gained grain sup- plies from Bosphorus.154 Those colonies in Colchis soon developed into trade centres, autonomous poleis, but under the supervision of Colchis kingdom. In the south of , a colony of Cytorum is located, an emporion of Sinopeans.155 Strabo describes Sinope as one of the most noteworthy cities of this part of the world, founded by the Milesians. He admires its location on the neck of a peninsula, protected by ridgy limestone shores with many irregularities, making them almost impossible to climb. In addition, there is fertile soil in the surroundings. Strabo said that it was this natural advantage (and weakness of former inhab- itants) that encouraged the Milesians to settle there.156 Just few miles to the east to the east, decrease in precipitation from ~1200 to 600 BCE is registered. This led to a water decrease in rivers, decrease of transportation capacity but with a continual marine transgression of about 1 mm/year since 1000 BC onwards. Deltas progradation was slowed down and lagoons were formed.157 In Strabo’s times, about 600 years after the drought, he mentions an exceptionally fertile plain of Iris158 river

147 STR. Geog. XI.II.10. 154 TSETSKHLADZE, G. R. Greek Colonization of the 148 STR. Geog. XI.II.3. Eastern Black Sea Littoral (Colchis), Dialogues d’his- 149 STR. Geog. VII.IV.4. toire ancienne, 1992, vol. 18, no. 2. 253. 150 Chersonesus peninsula - present ; 155 STR. Geog. XII.III.10. STR. Geog. VII.IV.6. 156 STR. Geogr. XII.III.11. 151 FILIPOVA-MARINOVA, M.; PAVLOV, D.; GIOSAN, L. 157 BERNDT, C.; FRENZEL, P.; ÇINER, A.; ERTUNÇ, G.; Multi-proxy records of Holocene palaeoenvi-ron- YILDIRIM, C. Holocene marginal marine ostracod mental changes in the Varna Lake area, western successions from the Kızılırmak River delta; Impli- Black Sea coast, Quaternary International, 2016, vol. cations for depositional environments and sea-level 401, 107. changes at the Southern Black Sea coast, Sedimentary 152 STR. Geog. XI.V.7. Geology, 2019, vol. 382, 117. 153 STR. Geog. XII.III.6. 158 Present Yesil Irmak.

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nearby, with enough water in rivers to compensate any drought, allowing the plain to bear enough crops for cattle, horses and the people.159 5.6 MAGNA GRAECIA For the time of the Great Greek colonisation, when Greek metropoleis aimed mainly at Sicily and Apennine peninsula, we dispose of relative precipitation data (Appendix 2, fig. 2) from FINNÉ et al.160 The main dispatching metropoleis of colonies in Magna Graecia were Sparta, Athens, Chalcis and Corinth along with the Achaeans. Greece mainland and the Peloponnese suffered from lack of rain. In the Fig. X. and X we see considerable drought in the south of the Peloponnese in Agios Floros and lake Ioannina in the centre of Pindos mountains. We lack any information from the space in-between, thus we will work with indirect interpolation, meaning the whole mainland of Greece might have suffered from low precipitation. On the other hand, almost all sample sites from Magna Graecia hold significantly wetter conditions.

5.6.1 Sicily Sicily is formed by the limestone of the Apennines and the volcanic chain of western Italy. Mt. Etna and other submerged volcanoes enriched the soil with fertile volcanic ash.161 These conditions were good enough to grow wine, and crops were so rich, it made the sheep fat,162 and Sicily was assumed to be superior to the whole Italy in terms of agricultural wealth.163 Although it suffers of extensive summer drought of only 3% of annual rainfall drop,164 Plutarch wrote about it: “There- fore that country which is best watered with rain in spring, as Sicily is, produces abundance of good fruit,”165 so the dry conditions of summer are balanced by the spring rains. Thanks to its fertile soil and enough rainfall, Sicily was undoubtedly an island with great agricultural importance. We could claim that these environmental characteristics, along with a convenient position in the central Med- iterranean, attracted attention of the Greek settlers’, and that is why one of the waves of the Great colonisation headed to southern Italy. The most important colony on Sicily was Syracuse, dispatched by the Corinthians, led by Archias in 734 BCE.166 Strabo remarks that the city flourished not only because of the fertility of the soil, but also thanks to its good harbours,167 as Syracuse was the main trade centre of the island.

5.6.2 Southern Italy Climate of Northern Italy became gradually drier since ~2000 BCE compared to gradually wetter conditions at the south.168 The Adriatic coasts of Apulia shows a begin of a dry phase in ~2000 BCE by increase in fire frequencies and decrease in arboreal pollen. Between ~750 and ~240 BCE a wet phase is documented related to Alpine and Apennines glaciation. A period of 850 BCE - 330 CE is registered by increased sedimentation rate in local lakes, showing off significant erosion re- lated to Greek and Roman land cultivation.169 Greeks came to already inhabited area, as deforesta- tion in 2nd millennium suggests. Better climate conditions may not be the main aim of settling here,

159 STR. Geog. XII.III.14. 166 OCD. 1463. 160 FINNÉ et al. Holocene. 854. 167 STR. Geogr. VI.II.7. 161 CARY. Geographical Background, 143. 168 FINNÉ et al. Holocene. 852, 854. 162 STR. Geogr. VI.II.3. 169 BOENZI, F.; CALDARA, M.; CAPOLONGO, D.; DEL- 163 STR. Geogr. VI.II.7. LINO, P.; PICCARRETA, M.; SIMONE, O. Late Ple- 164 CARY. Geographical Background, 145. istocene–Holocene landscape evolution in Fossa 165 PLUT. Quaes. Nat. 4.

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like social and commercial interests of mother-cities were. But taking into account a rise in ero- sionrate, a cultivation of crops had to reflect regional population rise. On the other hand, there are cities like Rhegium, a Chalcidican colony build on the Italian coast of Straits of Messina, which was established in ~720 BCE by colonists driven out of their homeland by “a dearth of crops”,170 what certainly depends on better life conditions here.

Bradanica, (southern Italy), Geomorphology, 170 STR. Geog. VI.I.6. 2008, vol. 102. 304.

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6 CONCLUSION Among the Greek colonisation activities in the Mediterranean since the 11th century BC, only those of the late Dark Age and of the Archaic Age could be referred to as influenced by physical envi- ronment. The motives went full commercial later – such as founding trade posts during the classical period; and political – when colonisation was used as a tool of control over the subjugated nations by the Hellenistic monarchies. The most frequently mentioned reason for Greek colonisation is overpopulation, which combined with soil erosion left many people without reach of an arable land, forcing them to look for a new life elsewhere. However, there could be a reason behind overpopulation, as archaeological evidence shows not increase, but drop in the population of the Greece mainland around the 1st millennium BC. During the Late Holocene, a climatic event known as the Late Bronze Age crisis brought a great drought to the Eastern Mediterranean, which affected the harvest of crops. The rise of population did not exceed the supply capacity, but food availability dropped below the population sustain rates and initiated a forced move of civilizations, which was reflected even in mythology. In addition to Greek colonisation, also mysterious Sea People raids all around the Mediterranean were registered. For the Great Greek colonisation, a pattern can be seen in regional rainfall differences in 750 BCE and locations of newly founded colonies. Mainland Greece was hit by the drought wave, but the south of Apennine peninsula shows a significantly better precipitation conditions, thus Greek metropoleis started to dispatch colonies in more friendly Magna Graecia. We do not link local crops devastations, what driven out colonists to foreign lands, as absolutely dependent on unfa- vourable climate variations, but their higher occurrence was altered undoubtedly by these events. Since the very beginning of the Holocene period, the sea level rises in response to melting ice sheets from the last glacial maximum about 20 000 years BC. Rapid increasing from value of 125 metres below the current sea level slowed down around 8 000 BC. In 1 000 BC, the sea was about 1 meter lower that it is today at most or balanced around its current state. However, this halt contributed to the development of river delta, and additionally, human impact on deforestation and intensive agriculture led to soil exhaustion and erosion, adding more sediments to rivers, which were massively deposited at the river mouths. Due to the human impact on woodlands and culti- vating them into arable land, use of pollen analysis to determine climate variability is limited. One of the primary factors influencing the foundations of new coastal settlements was the shape of a shoreline, due to the need of safe harbour and natural protection against stormy seas. This need is well reflected in the works of ancient writers, who do not forget to mention a good harbour. Thus, many colonies were founded at enclosed, protected bays as coastal cities, but were later buried under advancing deposition of river material and being landlocked, as is the case of Ephesus or Halicarnassus. Western coasts of Asia Minor were in convenient position to Greek world, easily accessible from the sea, with plain arable land and enough of rainfall counter to the rest of the peninsula. Local civilizations were not a match to Greek colonists. Settlements of the Black Sea were of mixed nature. Colony was either built as an emporion in order to trade with local nomadic tribes, but also, mainly around the Crimea and on the Scythian borders, they had permanent inhabitants directly harvesting a plenty of grain, cultivated on newly formed chernozem soil of great fertility. In the west an increased amount of rain was noticed, as well as new trade opportunities, thus struggling poleis dispatched new settlements in Sicily and south of Apennine peninsula.

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APPENDICES Appendix 1. Greek colonisation of the Mediterranean Appendix 2. Precipitation characteristics, z-scores (FINNÉ et al., 2019)

Fig. 2 Main Greek colonies around the central and eastern Mediterranean Sea. Many of the colonies were re-established on old and abandoned basements (e.g. Illias) or taken from local inhabitants (e.g. Ephesos)

Figure 3 Z-score values and mutual comparison of moisture conditions at 1150 BCE. (FINNÉ et al., 2019) Greece, Asia Minor and Levant seem drier compared to Macedonia, Pontus or the rest of Europe.

Figure 4 Z-score values and mutual comparison of moisture conditions at 750 BCE. (FINNÉ et al., 2019) The south of Greece, Asia Minor and Levant preserved their dry conditions compared to Macedonia, southern Black Sea coasts or Magna Graecia.

Figure 5 Z-score values plotted against time (years before present) for sample sites from Bal- kans, Italy and Turkey. The numbers refer to certain locations in maps in figures 1, 3 and 4 (adapted from FINNÉ et al., 2019).