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TheGreeks in pre-Roman Gaul have a significant history of settlement, trade, cultural influence, and armed conflict in theCeltic territory ofGaul (modernFrance), starting from the 6th century BC during the GreekArchaic period. Following the founding of the major trading post ofMassalia in 600 BC by thePhocaeans at present dayMarseille, Massalians had a complex history of interaction with peoples of the region. Large Greek colonies also existed west of theRhône, particularly atAgde andBéziers, the latter of which both predates, and was larger than, the Marseille colony.[1][2]
The oldest city of modern France,Marseille, was founded around 600 BC by Greeks from theAsia Minor city ofPhocaea (as mentioned byThucydides Bk1,13,Strabo,Athenaeus andJustin) as a trading post oremporion (Greek:ἐμπόριον) under the name Μασσαλία (Massalia).[3][4] More recently, the oldest phase ofBéziers, known as "Béziers I", has been dated as anterior to the settlement of Marseille, making Marseille the second oldest Greek colony in France, though Béziers was temporarily abandoned some centuries after the founding of the Greek colony.[5]
Afoundation myth reported by several Greek and Latin authors (includingAristotle andLivy) recounts how the Phocaean hero Protis (son of Euxenus) married the Celtic princess Gyptis (or Petta) of the localSegobriges tribe, thus giving Protis the right to receive a piece of land where he was able to found a city.[4][6][7] The contours of the Greek city have been partially excavated in several neighborhoods.[8][9] The Phocaean Greeks introduced the cult ofArtemis (specifically, the cult ofthe Ephesian version of Artemis, common inIonia), as in their other colonies.[10] The Phocaeans built a notabletemple to Artemis in Massalia, which housed an idol of the goddess carved in the style of axoanon.
It is thought that contacts started even earlier, however, asIonian Greeks traded in the Western Mediterranean and Spain, but only very little remains from that earlier period.[3] Contacts developed undisputedly from 600 BC, between the Celts andCelto-Ligurans and the Greeks in the city of Marseille and their other colonies such asAgde,Nice,Antibes,Monaco,Emporiae andRhoda.[3][11] The Greeks from Phocaea also founded settlements in the island ofCorsica, such as atAlalia.[12] From Massalia, the Phocaean Greeks also founded cities in northeastern Spain such asEmporiae andRhoda.
Before the Greeks came to pre-eminence in theGulf of Lion, trade was mainly handled byEtruscans andCarthaginians.[12] The Greeks of Massalia had recurrent conflicts with Gauls andLigurians of the region,[13] and engaged in naval battles againstCarthaginians in the late 6th century (Thucydides 1.13) and probably in 490 BC, and soon entered into a treaty with Rome.[10]
According to Charles Ebel, writing in the 1960s, "Massalia was not an isolated Greek city, but had developed an Empire of its own along the coast of southern Gaul by the fourth century".[14] But the idea of a Massalian "empire" is no longer credible in the light of recent archaeological evidence, which shows that Massalia never even had a very largechora (agricultural territory under its direct control).[15] However further archaeological evidence since shows Massalia had over twelve cities in its network in France, Spain, Monaco and Corsica. Cities Massalia founded that still exist today are Nice, Antibes, Monaco, Le Brusc, Agde, and Aleria. There is evidence of direct rule of at least two of their cities with a flexible system of autonomy as suggested by Emporion and Rhodus' own coin minting. Massalia's empire was not the same as the monolithic empires of the ancient world or of the nineteenth century, being a scattered group of cities connected by the sea and rivers. The Delian League was also a scattered group of cities spread far across the sea and became known as the Athenian Empire.[16]
Massalia eventually became a centre of culture which drew some Roman parents to send their children there to be educated. According to earlier views, a purportedHellenization of Southern France prior to the Roman Conquest of Transalpine Gaul is thought to have been largely due to the influence of Massalia.[17][18] The power and cultural influence of Massalia have been called into question by demonstrating the limited territorial control of the city and showing the distinctive cultures of indigenous societies. Local Gauls were not Grecophiles who wanted to imitate Greek culture, but peoples who selectively consumed a very limited range of Greek objects (mostly ceramic vessels for drink) that they incorporated into their own cultural practices according to their own systems of value.[19][20]
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These eastern Greeks, established on the shores of southern France, were in close relations with theCeltic inhabitants of the region, and during the late 6th and 5th centuries BC Greek artifacts penetrated northwards along theRhône andSaône valleys as well as theIsère.[3][4] Massalian grey monochrome pottery has been discovered in theHautes Alpes and as far north asLons-le-Saunier, as well as three-winged bronzearrowheads as far as northern France, andamphorae from Marseille and Attic pottery atMont Lassois.[3][21] The site ofVix in northernBurgundy is a well-known example of a Hallstatt settlement where such Mediterranean objects were consumed, albeit in small quantities. Some, like the famousVix krater, with 1.64 meters high, the largest bronze vessel of all antiquity.[22]
From Massalia, maritime trade also developed withLanguedoc andEtruria, and with the Greek city ofEmporiae on the coast of Spain.[4] Massalia traded as least as far asGades andTartessus on the western coast of theIberian Peninsula, as described in theMassaliote Periplus, although this trade was probably blocked by the Carthaginians at thePillars of Hercules after 500 BC.[23][24]
The mother city of Phocaea would ultimately be destroyed by thePersians in 545, further reinforcing the exodus of the Phocaeans to their settlements of the Western Mediterranean.[12][25] Trading links were extensive, in iron, spices, wheat andslaves.[26] It has been claimed frequently that a trade intin, indispensable for the manufacture ofbronze, seems to have been established at that time betweenCornwall in modern England, through theChannel, and along theSeine valley,Burgundy and theRhône-Saône valleys to Marseille.[26] However, the evidence for this is weak, at best.[27]
Celtic coinage emerged in the 4th century BC, and, influenced by trade with the Greeks and the supply of mercenaries to them, initially copied Greek designs.[17][28] Celtic coinage was influenced by Greek designs,[29] and Greek letters can be found on various Celtic coins, especially those of Southern France.[30] Greek coinage occurred in the three Greek cities ofMassalia,Emporiae andRhoda, and was copied throughout southern Gaul.[28]
Coins in northern Gaul were especially influenced by the coinage ofPhilip II of Macedon and his famous sonAlexander the Great.[28]
Celtic coins often retained Greek subjects, such as the head ofApollo on the obverse andtwo-horse chariot on the reverse of the goldstater of Philip II, but developed their own style from that basis, thus establishing a Graeco-Celtic synthesis.[17][28]
After this first period in which Celtic coins rather faithfully reproduced Greek types, designs started to become more symbolic, as exemplified by the coinage of theParisii in the region of northern France.[28] By the 2nd century BC, the Greek chariot was only represented by a symbolic wheel.[17]
TheArmorican Celtic style in northwestern Gaul also developed from Celtic designs from theRhine valley, themselves derived from earlier Greek prototypes such as the wine scroll and splitpalmette.[28]
With the Roman conquest of Gaul, Greek-inspired Celtic coinage started to incorporate Roman influence instead, until it disappeared to be completely replaced by Roman coinage.[28]
By the 1st century BC, the coinage of the Greeks of Marseille circulated freely in Gaul,[17] also influencing coinage as far afield as Great Britain. The coins of theSunbury hoard, thought to have been manufactured inKent, show designs derived from Greek coins from Marseille with the stylised head ofApollo and a butting bull.[31] Recently,[when?] original bronze coins from the 3rd or 2nd century BC from Greek Marseille have been found in several locations around Kent, UK.[32]
Celtic coin designs progressively became more abstract,[citation needed] as is exemplified by the coins of theParisii:
![Sunbury-on-Thames, Britain, 100–50 BC[33]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aSunbury_hoard_Northern_probably_Kent_manfacture_Design_derived_from_Marseilles_Greek_coins_with_stylised_head_of_Apollo_and_butting_bull_between_100BCE_and_50BCE.jpg)
Overland trade with Celtic countries beyond the Mediterranean region declined around 500 BC, in conjunction with the troubles following the end of theHalstatt civilization.[4] The site ofMont Lassois was abandoned around that time.[4]
The Greek colony of Massalia remained active in the following centuries. Around 325 BC,Pytheas (Ancient Greek Πυθέας ὁ Μασσαλιώτης) made a voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe as far as theArctic Circle from his city of Marseilles.[34][35] His discoveries contributed to the elaboration of theancient world maps ofDicaearchus,Timaeus andEratosthenes, and to the development of the parallels oflatitude.[35][36]
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TheLa Tène style, based on floral ornamentation, in contrast to the geometric styles of Early Iron Age Europe, can be traced to an imaginative re-interpretation of motifs on imported objects of Greek or Etruscan origin.[37][38]
During his conquest of Gaul,Caesar reported that theHelvetii were in possession of documents in the Greek script, and Gaulish coins regularly used Greek script until about 50 BC.[17]
