Greek poleis: Athens, Sparta and the colonies

Land in Greece was scarce, and many people were in debt to nobles or owned no land. They left to try their luck in new lands; before departure they made sacrifices to the gods and took fire from the hearth of their homeland. In the 8th–6th centuries BCE many colonies were founded — this period is called the Great Greek Colonization. The Greeks settled in Sicily and southern Italy and along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts; on the Black Sea, cities such as Olbia, Chersonesos and Pantikapaion arose. Colonies gradually became independent city-states with their own rulers, armies, laws and coins, yet kept ties with the mother city. The Greeks called themselves Hellenes and their country Hellas; they called non-Greek peoples “barbarians”. Grain, metals and slaves were brought from the colonies to Hellas, and trade and crafts grew. In the 8th century BCE the Greek alphabet was created from the Phoenician one: it had 24 letters and included vowels.