reek aples: wo ales of ne ity

The new city grew in a period when the Greeks from Siracuse had established their influence on the gulf. These Greeks, and those of Cuma, would have brought the weight of the power of Athens to bear upon Neapolis. Doubtlessly, another Greek colony on these coasts would have fitted in well with the plans of Pericles, and Neapolis would, in its turn, have gained commercial and trading advantage as a Greek colony when it came to dealing with the many Greek merchants who were then plying the Mediterranean. The period of maximum Greek-Athenean influence marks the growth in importance of Neapolis, and is also the period of urban planning which, once established, would remain unchanged for more than four centuries.