Topic summary
Greek colony
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Greek colonisation.
Motives
Another reason for Greek colonisation was the expansion of influence. As ancient Greeks in the Peloponnese and Ionia developed a sense of identity, they had the desire to spread their culture through colonisation. During the early days of Greek colonisation (8th to 7th centuries BCE), the apoikia (ἀποικία) was one of the most common types of Greek colony. Even though these colonies were usually independent of the metropolis and had their own governance, they usually modelled their systems on those of their mother city. Furthermore, apoikiai (ᾰ̓ποικῐ́αι) usually maintained strong cultural ties with the metropolis through their mutual heritage; this allowed mainstream Greek culture to spread to native populations.