Internet Archaeol. 14 Kaiser. History and Archaeology of Empúries

4.0 History and archaeology of Empúries: The Greeks

Greeks from Ionian Phocaea colonised the site during the first half of the 6th century BCE, settling on a small island in the Mediterranean at the mouth of the Fluvià River (Fig. 2) (Aquilué 1998). After a generation of occupation, the Greeks moved to the mainland and founded a new settlement (Fig. 3). According to ancient sources, the colonists referred to the island, which continued to be occupied, as Palaiapolis or 'the old city' (Strabo 3.4.8). Modern archaeologists have dubbed the town on the mainland Neapolis or 'the new city' (Puig i Cadafalch 1908, 161). Both settlements together were known as Empórion to the Greeks (Strabo 3.4.8) and Emporiae to the Romans (Livy 34.9).