Pithekoussai
Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 20 " N , 13 ° 52 ′ 59.4" E
Pithekoussai ( Greek Πιθηκοῦσσαι ) is an ancient city on the island of Ischia in the Mediterranean. It is about a foundation of the Greeks in the western Mediterranean area , which is of great importance for research on the subject of Greek colonization . This settlement was founded around 770 BC. Founded. After a few decades of prosperity, it sank at the turn of the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Into insignificance. Whether Pithekoussai can be considered the first colony is , however, controversial in research, as it is not clear whether Pithekoussai is a colony ( apoikia ) or a trading post ( emporion ) . Regardless of this, it is clear that this city has represented an important bridge for the exchange between the east and west of the Mediterranean region.
Sources
Ancient written sources report only sparsely about Pithekoussai. Apart from the brief descriptions by Strabo and Livius , authors from the time of Emperor Augustus , there are hardly any notes about the settlement. The records of both authors came into being about eight centuries after Pithekoussai was founded and therefore have only limited historical value for the early days of the village. The most important source for our knowledge of Pithekoussai is, as with many other early Greek foundations, archaeological field research.
Literary sources
The most important ancient written sources are the following two brief mentions of the writers Strabo and Livius:
“Pithecussae was once inhabited by residents from Eretria and Chalkis who, although prospering there due to the fertility of the soil and thanks to the gold mines, neglected the island as a result of disputes; later they were also driven from the island by earthquakes and outbreaks of fire, sea and hot water; (...). Hence the myth according to which Typhon lies under this island, and when he turns his body, flames and water break out, and sometimes even small islands that contain boiling hot water. "
“ Paleopolis was not far from where Naples is now . The same people lived in both cities. It came from Cumae ; the Cumans trace their origins back to the Euboean Chalcis . By the navy in which they had come from their homes, they had great power on the coast of the sea on which they dwelt; she first landed on the islands of Aenaria and Pithecussae and then dared to move to the mainland. "
Strabo's assertion that there is fertile soil on Ischia does not entirely correspond to the facts, because the soil of Ischia contained very little humus even in ancient times . In the case of Ischia, there can be no question of particularly fertile soil, which would have provided a city like Pithekoussai with sufficient food and which could even have made it rich. The mention of the gold mines near Strabo also remains a mystery, since no gold could be found anywhere on the island. The description of earthquakes and volcanic activity, on the other hand, corresponds completely to the geomorphological conditions on Ischia.
Archaeological sources
In addition to the knowledge gained from the geographical location of this settlement and the geological nature of the soil on the island of Ischia, archaeological excavations are of immense importance for the exploration of Pithekoussai . Few Greek colonies in the west have been so thoroughly explored in this regard. From 1952 to 1982 archaeological research was carried out at Lacco Ameno under the direction of Giorgio Buchner . The archaeologists focused their work on three areas: the necropolis in the San Montano valley, the Pithekoussai acropolis on the eastern slope of Monte di Vico and the metallurgical quarter in the Mazzola area on the Mezzavia hill.
The necropolis
The archaeological findings from the necropolis are the most important, not least because the graves were practically intact when they were discovered. However, the necropolis presented the archaeologists with a difficult task: it is located in a thermal zone, and therefore the temperature rises the deeper you are below the surface of the earth. In the deepest graves - which are also the oldest - about seven meters below the surface of the earth, a temperature of up to 63 degrees Celsius was measured. In particular, pottery found in these tombs had a soft, leathery consistency. In total, about a tenth of the necropolis was thoroughly examined and around 1,300 graves were discovered. To date, however, only graves 1–723 have been systematically described. The excavations of the necropolis yielded extensive, historically interesting material.
In total, five different types of graves were found during the excavations:
- Burial in graves with graves 39% (194 graves)
- Burials in amphorae with or without graves 27% (131 graves)
- Burial in graves without graves 16% (81 graves)
- Cremation under burial mounds with grave goods 15% (73 graves)
- Cremation under burial mounds without grave goods 3% (14 graves)
The analysis of the graves provides researchers with important clues about the social structure in Pithekoussai (see below). The most important discoveries from the necropolis include the so-called Nestor Cup , the depiction of a shipwreck on a local type of pottery, scarabs made of faience of Egyptian provenance, seals from Syria or Cilicia , ceramics “ early Proto-Corinthian ” style and northern Syrian aryballoi .
The acropolis
The excavations on the Acropolis of Pithekoussai on Monte di Vico, which were carried out in 1965, provided a lot of new knowledge about the settlement. The reason for the excavations was the discovery of an archaeological site, a large ravine containing a large amount of pottery and other materials from the 8th century BC. And came to light during the construction of a large villa on Monte di Vico.
In total, more than 10,000 ceramic fragments from the Euboean period were discovered. The most important finds include Kotylai of the Aetos 666 type, which only existed before 750 BC. Were in circulation and therefore suggest that Pithekoussai was already in the first half of the 8th century BC. Was created. A large number of small remnants of iron and of so-called tuyères , ceramic pipes with which air was blown into the fire during the production of iron , were also found on the Acropolis . In addition, a piece of iron ore was found that has been proven to come from the island of Elba , from an area that was already known in ancient times for the extraction of iron ore.
The Mezzavia Metallurgical District
In the years 1969-1971 archaeological work was carried out in the area of Mazzola, which lies outside the foothills of Monte di Vico and is therefore to be counted on the periphery of Pithekoussai. This suburban complex, at least 500 meters long, includes a number of separate complexes that were built during the first quarter of the 7th century BC. Were abandoned. Three of them were examined, but only one systematically excavated.
A total of four structures can be seen in the examined complexes, among which only building No. I was probably used as an apartment. A well-preserved crucible in the kitchen room suggests that this complex may have been quickly abandoned as a result of a disaster. Perhaps - based on Strabon (see above) - an earthquake was the cause. Many small pieces of iron and remnants from a forge were found in the remains of Building No. III. Another forge was discovered in building No. IV and two smooth and hard stone surfaces that probably served as an anvil. Based on these findings, it can be assumed that intensive metal processing was carried out in the Mezzavia district. Iron was not the only metal that was processed: remains of bronze and lead were also discovered. In addition to the various references to metalworking, various ceramic remains were discovered in Mezzavia: One of the most important finds here is the so-called Nestor cup, on which the oldest known Greek alphabet inscription is attached. This shard dates from the late 8th century BC. Chr.
Pithekoussai in general
Foundation and function of the settlement
The findings from geographical, geological and archaeological research allow some hypotheses about the reasons for the origin of Pithekoussai. A look at a map of the Mediterranean region logically leads to the question of why Pithekoussai was created so far from the mother cities on the island of Euboea . A plausible answer is provided by the iron finds already mentioned, and others. a. of iron ore from Elba on the Acropolis and in the metallurgical quarter of Mezzavia. It can be assumed that one of the most important reasons for founding Pithekoussai was the Euboeans' interest in the metal of the Etruscans .
This thesis is also supported by the following findings: As mentioned, the soil on Ischia is not suitable for agriculture except for viticulture. So it can be ruled out that the reason for the emergence of Pithekoussai Landsuche - as in the case of many other colonies, for example Cyrene - was. In addition, the numerous finds of pottery from different parts of the Mediterranean show that Pithekoussai was an important trading center. The metallurgical quarter of Mazzola shows, however, that Pithekoussai was not only a commercial, but also an industrial center, which is supported by many other Greek foundations on the way to the Gulf of Naples : "The (...) colony foundations in Korkyra ( Eretria ) , Naxos , Zankle , Messana and Rhegion (through Chalkis ) are (...) not by chance at essential stages of the sea route from the Corinthian Gulf to Pithekoussai - a route leading to Corinth with the conquest of Korkyra, the founding of Syrakusai and its later foundations on the Adriatic ( Leukas , Ambrakia , Anaktrion ) followed as well as Megara and especially the communities Achaias , which Croton and Sybaris founded in the Gulf of Taranto . It is no coincidence that Sybaris is located on the shortest land connection between the Gulf of Taranto and the Tyrrhenian Sea - which avoided the dangerous crossing of the Strait of Messina and made him prosperous (...). "
Emporion or Apoikie?
An important, scientifically unresolved question is whether Pithekoussai is a trading post, an Emporion , or a colony, an Apoikia .
In general, the two terms are defined as follows: While an emporion as a market hub has a heterogeneous origin, possibly going back to several cities and is characterized by a mixed population, in the case of an apoikia it is a self-sufficient city as the foundation of a single Greek polis, with all the implications this entails. Pithekoussai had a mixed population, but not a heterogeneous origin. That is why the city can clearly not be called an Emporion or Apoikia.
At the time of the founding of Pithekoussai, the Greek polis as an organizational structure was probably not yet developed. Even Corinth was still around the year 730 BC. Only a conglomerate of villages. Therefore, Pithekoussai cannot be called a colony in the full sense of the word. However, the discussion has not ended to this day, as not all the specifics of the terms Emporion and Apoikia have been clearly defined. What is certain is that the term Emporion is preferred as a term for Pithekoussai in recent literature.
Social structure
With the help of the excavations from the necropolis, certain hypotheses can be drawn up about the social structure of the city, such as: For example, that adults who were buried without gifts were of a lower rank in society, and that there were at least two different social classes in Pithekoussai. It can also be assumed that children had a lower reputation in society than adults because they received fewer gifts. However, since the significance of grave goods in Pithekoussai has not been clearly established, the above assumptions are of limited value.
Pithekoussai and its mother cities Chalkis and Eretria
Pithekoussai was founded by their mother cities mainly out of commercial interests. Finds of ceramics from Evia in Pithekoussai testify that there was contact between the Greek motherland and Pithekoussai even after the founding. It should be mentioned, however, that ceramics from Euboea were by far not found as often as, for example, ceramics from Corinth or the Orient. In addition, local ceramics production is often imitations of Proto-Corinthian ceramics. As Giorgio Buchner notes, without written ancient sources Pithekoussai would probably have been called a Corinthian colony. Was imitated locally also geometrically - Euboean ceramics , apparently from the drawn pottery, which is so similar to many of the original Euboean pottery that you can be determined only by production site Tonanalysen safe. Trade relations with the mother cities played a role, but not the main one. The contacts between Pithekoussai and Euboea lasted until they left Pithekoussai after the end of the 8th century BC. After that, Evia also seems to no longer be interested in the west in general, at least no finds from Evia can be found in this area. Another possible indication of Pithekoussai's relationship with their mother cities is the mention of Strabons that the Eretrians moved away from Pithekoussai as a result of internal disputes (see above). In research it is controversially discussed whether this could be an echo of the so-called Lelantic War , which might have broken out on Euboea at this point in time.
Relations with the locals
The districts of Mazzola and Monte di Vico were evidently settled by indigenous people in the Bronze Age, whose legacies can be attributed to the Apennine culture. In the Iron Age, however, the settlements apparently were abandoned. However, this does not apply to the entire island of Ischia, as there was an indigenous village (today's Castiglione) near Pithekoussai, where remains from both the Bronze Age and the Iron Age have been excavated. Castiglione, which is located east of Pithekoussai, was settled at this time, and since this settlement was still in the 8th century BC. The relationship between Pithekoussai and Castiglione was evidently peaceful.
Women in Pithekoussai
Many researchers today ask the question of the origin of the women in Greek colonies: Were they Greek women who came either with the first colonizers or later, or did the Greeks marry indigenous women? This question is generally not easy to answer because women are rarely treated in the ancient sources. In the case of Pithekoussai it is no different. The only information we have comes from the archaeological excavations and can be summarized as follows: Firstly, women were present in Pithekoussai, as evidenced by a large number of women's and children's graves. Second, the primers of Italian provenance found in female graves suggest that at least women of the first generation were of indigenous origin. However, this assumption is not mandatory, since Greek women could also carry Italian primers, which they could have acquired in stores, for example. As current research shows, artifacts are not necessarily specific to just one ethnic group. The thesis that the women in Pithekoussai were of indigenous origin can therefore neither be confirmed nor refuted.
The meaning of pithekoussai
Contacts with the Orient
Pithekoussai did not only trade with the Orient. There is also evidence that foreigners from the Orient lived here. For example, three Semitic inscriptions were found on a Greek amphora from tomb 575 that was discovered in the necropolis, indicating the presence of foreigners in Pithekousassai. The vessel itself probably comes from the island of Rhodes , where a Phoenician minority lived. It originally served as an oil container and was probably exported from Rhodes to Pithekoussai. Here at the necropolis, however, the original purpose of this amphora was changed, as an infant skeleton was found inside. This is also attested by the last of the three Semitic inscriptions, which represent a Semitic religious symbol. From this it can be deduced that the third inscription was carved in Pithekoussai by someone who was not a Euboean. At least one of the parents of the child buried in the amphora came from the Orient.
Contacts with the Etruscans
The excavations of Pithekoussai show not only numerous connections with the Orient, but also with the world of the Etruscans in Italy, as has already been established with the finds of iron - and especially of iron ore from Elba - and clothes clips of Italian provenance. Many finds from the indigenous settlements of Italy are similar to the finds from Pithekoussai because they are of the same type, or even have an identical pattern. In the pre-Hellenistic Kyme necropolis , for example, cups were discovered which can be assigned to the Euboean Middle Geometric style . Similar cups have also been excavated in Capua , Pontecagnano and Pithekoussai. Also seals of the type of the "Lyra player group", which we also know from Pithekoussai, were found in various places in Etruria. A seal was even found in Faluri that corresponds to a seal from Pithekoussai. In Pithekoussai itself, two amphorae of Etruscan provenance were discovered. These examples are only a fraction of the finds that point to the exchange of goods with Etruscans.
The intensive trade contact between the Etruscans and the Euboeans and the simultaneous development of the metal industry in Etruscan centers lead David Ridgway to propose the thesis that the Etruscans offered the Etruscans their technical knowledge in exchange for iron and other goods. Ridgway also sees the growth of centralized settlements, demographic growth, the appearance of social differences and learning to navigate as possible fruits of contact with the Pithekoussai Euboeans.
Although there is no concrete evidence for these conjectures, they still serve as a plausible explanation for the boom of the Etruscans in the field of technology, politics and economics in the 8th century BC. These assumptions are mainly supported by the fact that these changes occurred in the 8th century BC. Occurred in places with which the Euboians, who already had all these achievements, were in close contact.
Nestor cup
The most famous find of Pithekoussai is certainly the so-called Nestor cup . It is an import from Rhodes , which was made in a from the end of the 8th century BC. The rich grave of an approximately ten-year-old boy was discovered. What makes this mug so interesting is a three-line inscription carved on it:
"Nestor had a cup that was extremely well worth drinking, but anyone who drinks from mine will immediately be attacked by a longing for the beautifully crowned Aphrodite ."
The inscription was carved into Pithekoussai and it is a joking allusion to verses of Homer from the Iliad , which were written around the same time as this inscription. For the researchers it is important that the inscription was carved in a Greek alphabet, Chalcidian type and in a Euboean dialect. Chalkis, one of the mother cities of Pithekoussai, was in the 8th century BC. One of the most important centers of the Ionian aristocratic culture, so it is not surprising that verses by the Ionian Homer appeared in one of his daughter cities . The Nestor cup is not only important because of its reference to Homer. It is also one of the oldest examples of the Greek alphabet ever found on Italian soil. This find illustrates the transmission of the alphabet from the Greeks to the Etruscans, who in turn passed it on to the Romans. The Etruscan alphabet appears around 700 BC. And it is the same type that was used in Pithekoussai and Kyme.
The find is now in the Museo Archeologico di Pithecusae on Ischia.
Foundation of Kyme
The importance of Pithekoussai also lies in the fact that it is the mother city of Kyme , the most important colony of Italy and Sicily after Strabo. Kyme was founded in the second half of the 8th century BC. Founded on the opposite coast from Pithekoussai, as a colony in the full sense of the word. When asked whether Kyme was founded from Pithekoussai, the ancient sources give an inconsistent answer: While Livy reports that Kyme was founded by Chalkidians from Pithekoussai (see above), Strabon does not mention this information. Strabon's silence can be plausibly explained by the fact that Strabon's source is for Kyme Ephorus , an author of the 4th century BC. BC Ephorus came from the Aeolian Kyme, which is why it can be assumed that he did not mention Pithekoussai in order to better emphasize his own hometown as one of the founders of Kyme.
Kyme gained great importance in the Mediterranean soon after it was founded, as it took over the function of Pithekoussai's trade and handicraft center. The importance of Kyme is, among other things, that it itself founded many important colonies, such as Naples , to name just the most important example. Kyme and its daughter towns had numerous contacts with the Etruscans, which greatly encouraged the exchange of ideas and goods between the Greek and the Etruscan world.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ridgway 1984, pp. 47-49
- ↑ Ridgway 1984, pp. 60-61
- ↑ Ridgway 1984, pp. 96-97.
- ↑ Buchner 1963, pp. 264-266.
- ↑ Ridgway 1984, pp. 104-105.
- ↑ Ridgway 1984, p. 112.
- ↑ Buchner 1972, p. 373.
- ↑ Boardman 1981, p. 663
- ↑ De Iuliis 1996, p. 48
- ^ Richard E. Jones, John Boardman : Greek and Cypriot Pottery. A Review of Scientific Studies . British School at Athens, Athens 1986, pp. 673-680.
- ↑ Boardman 1981, p. 194
- ↑ Buchner 1972, p. 364
- ↑ Sheperd 1999, p. 275.
- ↑ Ridgway 1984, pp. 126-129
- ↑ Ridgway 1984, pp. 147-169.
- ↑ Ruetter 1968, p. 237
- ↑ Wachter 1987, pp. 15-22.
- ↑ De Iuliis 1996, pp. 108-110
literature
swell
- Livius, T., Roman History, Book VII – X, ed. and over. by Hillen HJ, Zurich 1994.
- Strabon, The Geography, Book II, ed. Page TE u. a., London a. a. 1960.
Excavation report
- Giorgio Buchner, David Ridgway, con appendici di CF Russo e F. De Salvia, e contributi di J. Close-Brooks, FR Serra Ridgway e altri: Pithekoussai 1, La necropoli. tombe 1-723 scavate dal 1952 al 1961 , Roma 1993.
Secondary literature
- John Boardman : Colonies and Commerce of the Greeks. From the late 9th to the 6th centuries BC Chr. Munich 1981.
- Giorgio Buchner : Dibattito . In: Centro di Studi sulla Magna Grecia dell'Università di Napoli (ed.): Metropoli e colonie di Magna Grecia . Atti del terzo convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia tenuto a Taranto dal 13 al 17 ottobre 1963. Naples 1964, pp. 263-274.
- Giorgio Buchner: Pithecusa: Scavi e scoperte 1966–1971 . In: Centro studi dell Magna Grecia dell'Università di Napoli (ed.): Le Genti non Grece della Magna Grecia . Atti dell'undicesimo convegno sulla Magna Grecia. Naples 1972, pp. 363-374.
- Giorgio Buchner - D. Ridgway: Pithekoussai . Volume 1 (text). Rome 1993.
- Giorgio Buchner - D. Ridgway: Pithekoussai . Volume 1 (panels). Rome 1993.
- Ettore Maria De Iuliis: Magna Grecia. L'Italia meridionale dalle origini leggendaria alla conquista romana . Bari 1996.
- Walter Eder : Colonization. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 6, Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01476-2 , Sp. 646-666.
- Emanuele Greco : Archeologia della Magna Grecia . Bari 1992.
- Christian Hülsen : Aenaria . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 594 f.
- David Ridgway : L'alba della Magna Grecia . Milan 1984.
- David Ridgway: La "Precolonizzatione" . In: Istituto per la Storia e l'Archeologia della Magna Grecia (ed.): Un secolo di richerche in Magna Grecia . Atti del ventottesimo convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia. Tarent 1989, pp. 111-126.
- Klaus Rüter - Kjeld Matthiessen: To the Nestor cup from Pithekussai . In: Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy . Volume 2, 1968, pp. 231-255.
- Gillian Shepherd: Fibulae and Females: Intermarriage in the western Greek colonies and the evidence from the cemeteries . In: Gocha R. Tsestkhladze (Ed.): Ancient Greeks West and East . Brill u. a. 1999, pp. 267-300.
- Rudolf Wachter: Old Latin inscriptions. Linguistic and epigraphic studies of the documents up to around 150 BC Chr. Bern u. a. 1987.