Magna Graecia

Rapidly increasing population in the 8th and 7th centuries BC had resulted in the emigration of many Greeks to form colonies in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy and Sicily), Asia Minor, and further afield. The emigration effectively ceased in the 6th century BC by which time the Greek world had, culturally and linguistically, become much larger than the area of present-day Greece. Greek colonies were not politically controlled by their founding cities, although they often retained religious and commercial links with them.