The Greek presence on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula: Colonial establishments and rhythms of trade with Iberian societies

Abstract

The Greek presence along the Mediterranean coastline of the Iberian Peninsula is a phenomenon that we can trace from the Archaic Period until the beginning of the Roman Empire. Even though the earliest Greek trade contacts with the west have been dated from the 8th century BC, it was not until the 6th century BC, when the Phocaeans founded Massalia and Emporion, that these contacts began to intensify in the northeast and eastern seaboard of the Iberian Peninsula. Throughout the 5th century BC, the Greek commercial contacts with the Iberian world and the role of Emporion solidified until they reached their peak in the 4th century BC, when Greek products spread massively around the coastline, dovetailing with the rise in Punic trade and broader Greek settlement in the territory with the newly-founded Massalian settlements of Alonis and Hemeroskopeion (known solely through sources) and Rhode (Roses), which would export its own ceramics in the 3rd century BC.