[Heatseeker]

I took it too literally I guess. I certainly agree it's nice to see Magna Graecia mentioned under any circumstances. Interesting that some of the stuff on the Internet about seems to include Sicily, which I had never heard associated with MG though it certainly had Greek colonies.

[Graymatter]

I tend to think of Sicily as the heart of Magna Graecia, the great economic pump that nourished the whole.
Part of the problem, I think, is the historians' perspective. Few writers look at MG as such, or define the trade- and culture-connected colonies as a single phenomenon. No one ruler stands out; no precise territory in the modern sense, just a range, a "sphere of influence" if you will. MG was not a political phenomenon, not a state, not a nation, and few historians have as much grasp of trade as they have of politics. Every library has books on Rome, on Greece---they had their turf and their wars and their documentable wins and losses. You'll look a long time before you find a book on Magna Graecia.

[Graymatter]

Also, a lot of the archaeological sites are either underwater or hopelessly silted over. Agde in southern France comes to mind. What the water and the silt didn't get, the pirates, the Carthaginians, the Romans, and the Vikings messed with. Then the builders of the Canal du Midi. Then the modern day resort developers. Good luck finding a trace of the old trading port now! And there were dozens more like it.