Lumbarda Psephisma ''(also referred to as Lumbardian Decree-Psefizam)'' is a stone inscription telling about the founding of an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

settlement on the island of

Korčula Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after K ...

, in modern-day

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The Psephisma is from

Lumbarda Lumbarda ( it, Lombarda) is a village and a municipality located on the eastern tip of Korčula in Croatia, seven kilometers away from the town of Korčula. A road passing through a picturesque area of pine woods and olive groves connects these t ...

, a small village where it was discovered in 1877 by Božo Kršinić. The Lumbarda Psephisma is kept in the

Archaeological Museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological Types Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum. Others display artifacts inside buildings, such as Na ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

The stone inscription

The stone inscription has a written decree that details the agreement surrounding the establishment of a Greek colony in the 4th or 3rd century BC. The text provides information on the Greeks from the island of Issa, today known as Vis. The Greeks established a settlement on the basis of a prior agreement with the representatives of the local

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo ...

who were Pyllos and his son Dazos. ''"During the time of the Hieromnemon Praxidamos, in the Machanemus month, the contract about the founding of the settlement was drawn up between the people from Issa and Pyllos and his son Dazos. The founders agreed and the people decided: that those who first took the land and walled the town would get special sites for building inside the fortified town ...and that the authorities swear that the town and the land will never again be divided .. ."'' The Lumbarda Psephisma was discovered on the top of the hill called Koludrt. It is understood that is where the Issian town most likely once stood. The stone inscription ends with 200 names of Greek families. This valuable document is the oldest found on the territory of Croatia. It places the Illyrians on the island of Korčula and is an insight into the Greeks setting up colonies throughout

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

. The colonies were set up so the Greeks could trade with the Illyrians. There is no evidence to suggest that the two communities interacted on a larger scale but rather kept to themselves. The Illyrians who had lived their ancient ways in the region for centuries would have been a sharp contrast to the Greeks Hellinic way of doing things with their urban culture and social organization. Nevertheless the two communities lived peacefully until the

Illyrian Wars The Illyro-Roman Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ardiaei kingdom. In the ''First Illyrian War'', which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adriatic Sea increased after the ...

with the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Greek colonies

Based on historical facts there were two

Greek Colonies Greek colonization was an organised colonial expansion by the Archaic Greeks into the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea in the period of the 8th–6th centuries BC. This colonization differed from the migrations of the Greek Dark Ages in that it ...

on Korčula. Periegesis in the 1st century mentions a Greek Cnidian colony on island Black Kerkyra (Korčula) Greek colonists from Corcyra (

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

) formed a small colony on the island in the 6th century BC. Black Corfu (Korčula) was named after their homeland and, the ''black'' was added to reflect the dense cypress and pine-woods on Korčula itself. Archeological finds are numerous, including carved marble tombstones, ceramics and foundations of Greek villas. These artifacts can be found in the town of Korčula's island museum.

References

{{Reflist

External links

www.korcula.net
Greek inscriptions Illyrian Croatia Hellenistic Croatia 1877 in Croatia

The stone inscription

Greek colonies

See also

References

External links