and as a result of this invasion the Greek tribes — Aeolians, lonians, 

 and Achaeans — fled to the islands and to Asia Minor. Here the 

 Greeks learned the arts of trade and seafaring from the Phoenicians 

 and Mycenaeans, and by the eighth century Greek was being 

 written in the Phoenician script. Overpopulation of the Greek 

 mainland, and the Greeks' increased nautical know-how, led to a 

 vast emigration movement, the first area of settlement being south- 

 ern Italy, known as Magna Graecia. 



Later colonies were chosen particularly for their harbors and 

 commercial value, and soon the increased wealth of a civilization 

 based on trade enabled the mother cities on the mainland to import 

 food, so the need for emigration ceased. In this period, from the 

 eighth to the sixth century B.C., the Greeks colonized the Black Sea 

 coast, Asia Minor, Libya, Sicily, and parts of France and Spain. 



Competition between the Greek cities finally resolved itself into 

 a struggle for power between Athens and Sparta, a struggle de- 

 scribed in tragic detail by Thucydides in his history of the Pelopon- 

 nesian War. It was during this war that the Athenians sent a mag- 

 nificent fleet to Syracuse, where the long campaign eventually ended 

 in catastrophic defeat in 413 b.c. In 405 B.C. the last Athenian fleet 

 was destroyed at Aegospotami. 



Traditionally founded in 75 3 b.c, Rome in 5 10 b.c. freed herself 

 from the Etruscan tyrant Tarquinius Superbus. By the beginning 

 of the third century b.c, Rome controlled the whole of central 

 Italy, and was expanding into Magna Graecia. By 270 b.c all of 

 Italy was united. Just before Rome freed herself from Etruscan rule, 

 Carthage, a Phoenician colony, had won its freedom from Tyre 

 (about 600 B.C.), and soon established control over Phoenician 

 colonies in the western Mediterranean. This brought Carthage into 

 conflict with Rome in Sicily when the Romans expelled the Cartha- 

 ginian garrison of Messana. The Carthaginians were a great sea- 

 going mercantile people in true Phoenician style. In order to 

 challenge their supremacy the Romans had to build a fleet of 160 

 ships, almost overnight. After three protracted wars — the Punic 

 Wars — during which Rome herself almost bled to death, Carthage 

 was razed to the ground in 146 b.c, and Rome was mistress of the 

 Mediterranean. The sequence of power in the Mediterranean lands, 

 then, was Egyptian, Minoan, Mycenaean, Phoenician, Greek, Car- 

 thaginian, and Roman. 



This map of the Mediterranean shows in 

 different colors (see l^ey) the spheres of 

 influence of ancient civilizations, beginning 

 with Egypt around 5000 B.C. and ending 

 in Roman times about a.d. 100. The 

 Roman sphere extended beyond all others 

 of earlier times. 



The Phoenicians were the first to venture far 

 afield in search of trade. Here they bring 

 tributes of monkeys, animals highly prized 

 by the King of Assyria (c. 885 B.C.). 



Section of the Francois Vase (c. 570 B.C.) 

 showing Theseus, legendary Greek hero 

 who killed the Minotaur, coming ashore 

 after his voyage from Crete. 



129 



