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Gallia Narbonensis's Urbs of...
Massilia
General Urbs
Massalia, today’s Marseilles, was founded in c.600 BC by the Ionian city of Phocaea as a trading port in the west Mediterranean. Massalia is the original name that the Greeks from Phocaea gave the city they founded. Massilia is the latin name that appeared much later. The original greek name, Massalia, continued to be used by the inhabitants and on coinage long after the Roman conquest (the name is found in texts up to three centuries after the death of Caesar. [Worldbuilder: Decius Aemilius]
Location Massilia is a port city on the southern coast of the Mare Nostrum in the Province of Narbonensis. The initial city was set up on a rocky spur of three low hills near the sea. The site was protected by a marsh and flanked by streams. Nearby was a small plain where grape vines and olives were grown; this was the first introduction of these crops into Gaul and from here they spread northward. According to Strabo the site was selected because of its maritime advantages; the site overlooked a deep recessed harbour - Lacydon - and was in easy reach of the Rhone river estuary while being outside any risk of silting. Massilia was founded as part of Phocaean commercial ambitions, and the site allowed the city to control the sea routes leading to the west.History of Massilia The initial Greek colony was founded by the Ionian city of Phocaea about 600 BCE. An alternative tradition dates the founding to c.545, when a second wave may have arrived as refugees following the Persian attack on the mother city Phocaea. It was one of many apoikiai - away-homes - founded during the seventh century in response to growing overpopulation in the Greek homelands. The site had almost certainly been explored prior to settlement by commercial or pirate ships. The Founding Myth
The founding myth of the city is a romantic story which Justin probably derived from Timaeus. In the story the city site was aquired from King Nannus, the chief of the Ligurian tribe of Segobringii, and his daughter Gyptis became the wife of Phocis, the colonist's leader.
In the sixth century Massilia set up a colony of its own at Agathe Tyche, near the mouth of the river Aramis; others were later founded east along the Riviera. The Massilians also maintained relations with Phocaea and other Aegean centers. The city adopted Artemis of Ephesus and Apollo of Delphi as the principle deities, and Massilia maintained its own treasury at Delphi. Briefly it founded a combined Phocaean-Massilian colony at Alalia in Corsica, but it was forced to evacuate this site after the Battle of Alalia (c.540/535 BCE) because of the alliance between Carthage and Etruria. This may also have been the time of the initial contact between Massilia and Rome.
Massilian Government
Initially, the Massilian constitution was a narrow aristocratic regime. However, an attempt was soon made to reduce the power of the great families by insisting that, if a man belong to the Council his son could not, and if an elder brother belonged to the Council his younger brother could not be a member. Such specifics probably lapsed, but the tendency led to the evolution of the aristocratic system to a more plutocratic oligarchic system. This government is headed by the Council of Six Hundred. To be a member councilors has to be able to prove they were of citizen decent for at least three generations or, alternatively, has to possess children. The list is revised from time to time. The Council elects an executive council of fifteen— oi timoukoi—from the main body. The timouchoi are led by three presidents. An unusual feature of the Massilian government is that a criminal condemned to death is maintained at public expense for one year, after which the criminal is executed as a pharmakos or purification of the city.
Massilia is one of the great commercial cities of the western Mediterranean, possibly the greatest save for Ostia in Italia. Although Massalia produces grapes, wine, and olive oil, the primary employer of Massilia is in trade. In addition to trading along the shores of the Mediterranean, Massilia has a unique trade relationship with the Celtic peoples in the interior of Gaul. Massalia trades salt and Hellenic luxury goods - especially cups and mixing bowls - to far distant settlements to the north. Apparently they have become status symbols of a revolution in upper class Gallic drinking habits! In exchange Massalia receives grain, amber, tin, and slaves for resale elsewhere. In Massalia you can purchase these things for only a small markup compared to available prices elsewhere. Massilia, even under Roman rule, remains a highly Hellenic culture. Greek continues to be spoken widely, and the Hellenic tradition of education makes Massilia a good place to find a teacher in rhetoric or philosophy - or Greek, of course.
Notable Romans In Exile:
The Discussions of Massilia:
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