The Greeks in Italy
The Greeks began to colonize the Italian Peninsula around the second half of the eighth century B.C. Those early settlements were agricultural communities, built by Greeks looking for a better life. Trade was also a factor, as they moved north to create contact with the Etruscans, who eventually became great trading partners.
The Italian Greek cities, called Magna Graecia, shared the great accomplishments of the motherland including town planning, art, coinage, science, and philosophy, but remained closed off from the rest of Italy. They quarreled among themselves often leading to civil war within the cities, and lacked the power to expand their area of dominance. Not able to stimulate the Latins to significant imitation, the Greeks had to be content to see their gods absorbed into the religion of Etruria and Rome.