This document discusses a blackware pitcher from Campania, Italy from 500-300 BC. It provides background that Campania was colonized by Ancient Greeks and was part of Magna Graecia. Greeks began arriving in Campania in the 8th century BC and brought Hellenic culture, leaving a lasting impression on Italy and Rome. The capital of Campania is Naples and it contains important ancient sites like Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Mount Vesuvius.

1. Sadigh Gallery:: Blackware pitcher.
Campania (500-300 BC)
Ancient Greeks in Southern Italy (Campania)
Posted on May 29, 2013 by Sadigh Gallery
Campania was colonized by Ancient Greeks and was
part of Magna Graecia. Magna Graecia, meaning Great
Greece in Latin, is the name of the coastal areas of
Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were
extensively colonized by Greek settlers. The colonists,
i.e. the Greeks, who began arriving in the 8th century
BC, brought with them their Hellenic cultures, which
left a lasting impression on Italy, particularly on the
culture of ancient Rome. The capital city of Campania is
Naples. Ancient sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum,
Paestum, Velia and Mount Vesuvius are all located in
Campania.
In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Greeks began to settle
and establish colonies in southern Italy. However, there are innumerable evidence that
the Mycenaean Greek sailors visited the area as early as the Late Bronze Age (around
1400-1200 BC) to trade for copper. These newcomers were probably the direct
ancestors of the peoples who inhabited southern Italy on the eve of the Roman
conquest. Their progress was slow; the transition from Bronze Age to Iron Age was
accomplished around 900 BC, few centuries after other European colonies mastered the
technology of smelting iron ores. Southern Italy was very different back then, no olive
farms or vineyards, just small villages, known for their cattle breeding.
“Ancient tradition claimed that the Greek geographical name Italia,
which originally applied only to the southern part of the peninsula,
derived from the native (Oscan) Vitelliu, which is related to the Latin
vitulus, calf.” – Michael C. Astour (from the Journal of Aesthetic
Education, Vol. 19, Spring ’85)
However, the fall of the Mycenaean age (around 1100 BC), led to the dissolution of these
colonies. The New Greek civilization emerged around 800 BC and they expanded

2. geographically and once again to southern Italy. An original Hellenic civilization soon
developed in southern Italy, as they interacted with the native Italic civilizations. Greek
culture, artistic creativity, literary genres, and philosophical thought were exported to
Italy. Thus many of the new Hellenic cities became very rich and powerful, like Neapolis
(Naples), Syracuse, Acragas, and Sybaris. Other cities in Magna Graecia included
Tarentum, Croton, Thurii, Elea, Nola, Ancona, Syessa, Bari and many others.
This cultural exchange is the reason why a vast majority of the vessels unearthed today
in southern Italy, bear a striking similarity, in terms of style and materials used, to
ancient Greek potteries. However, the most important cultural transplant was the
Chalcidean/Cumaean variety of the Greek alphabet, which was adopted by the
Etruscans; the Old Italic alphabet subsequently evolved into the Latin alphabet, which
became the most widely used alphabet in the world.
Find beautiful and authentic black-ware terracotta vessels, like the one pictured above,
and other Italian artifactsat Sadigh Gallery. Follow this link www.sadighgallery.us to
view and read about our ancient Greek artifactscollection.