Empuries: The Ancient Greek Town of Spain

EU Greek Reporter ^ | March 29, 2012 | Stella Tsolakidou

[SunkenCiv]

The most western ancient Greek colony documented in the Mediterranean is revealing its secrets through the development of a Document Centre on Greek trade and presence in Iberia, according to the creators of the Iberia Graeca centre.

Empúries, formerly known by its Spanish name Ampurias, was a town on the Mediterranean coast of the Catalan comarca of Alt Empordà in Catalonia, Spain. It was founded in 575 BC by Greek colonists from Phocaea with the name of Emporion, meaning "market". It was later occupied by the Romans, but in the Early Middle Ages, when its exposed coastal position left it open to marauders, the town was abandoned.

The ruins are midway between the Costa Brava town of L'Escala and the tiny village of Sant Martí.

The ancient Greek colony has been gathering the attention of archaeologists over the years for its unique and well-preserved construction, with the first excavations of 1908 progressing so far that the site ranks first now in tourist arrivals. Some 200,000 tourists and another 35,000 students from across Spain and neighboring France are visiting Empúries every year.

Empúries was founded on a small island at the mouth of the river Fluvià, in a region inhabited by the Indigetes. This city came to be known as the Palaiapolis, the "old city" when, around 550 BC, the inhabitants moved to the mainland, creating the Neapolis, the "new city".

After the conquest of Phocaea by the Persian king Cyrus II in 530 BC, the new city's population increased considerably through the influx of refugees. In the face of strong pressure from Carthage, the city managed to retain its independent Hellenic character.

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[SunkenCiv]

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Greece for Sale on eBay
By Stella Tsolakidou on April 6, 2012
http://eu.greekreporter.com/2012/04/06/greece-for-sale-on-ebay/

[blueunicorn6]

I remember that place! I bought a t-shirt there. Great gyros!

[arthurus]

in the Early Middle Ages, when its exposed coastal position left it open to marauders

Specifically, to Mohammedan jihading pirates.

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[Verginius Rufus]

According to an encyclopedia article by Robert Grosse in Der Kleine Pauly, Emporiae (Ampurias) resulted from the growing together of four separate cities. The oldest one, Palaiopolis was on an island, now a peninsula, and had a temple to Ephesian Artemis; it was founded from Massilia probably only after 520 BC. The harbor is protected by a mole of Greek workmanship. Neapolis probably arose after 500, which was built up on terraces above the beach. West of that was an Iberian city Indike, separated from Neapolis by a wall. Then there was a Roman colony founded in 45 BC by Julius Caesar.

Emporiae was the starting point for Roman operations in Spain in the Second Punic War. Later it was undoubtedly a flourishing city, but an invasion of the Franks between 256 and 262 was apparently a catastrophe for the city. It continued to be the site of a bishopric in the Visigothic period until the Arab conquest.

Massilia/Massalia (Marseilles) was a Phokaian colony.

[colorado tanker]

I can’t put my finger on a name, but I am under the impression there were other Greek colonies further to the Southwest, down the coast from Ampurias.

[Verginius Rufus]

There was a Greek colony called Mainake, apparently colonized by Phokaia (the mother city of Massalia/Marseilles). It was in southern Spain in the general area of Malaga but evidently the exact site is not known for sure.

The Wikipedia article on "Tartessos" has a map showing Mainake a little to the east of Malacca (Malaga).

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!