MASSALIA
A STORY BY BASTIEN ARMAND
596 BC . Phokaia
A
subtle
breeze.
The
dawn
of
a
new
day.
The
water
is
clear,
serene.
The
anchored
boats
slowly
pitch
over
waters.
The
crew
is
complete.
The
sails
mended.
The
weapons
sharpened.
Rowers
are
taking
place.
The
boats
are
full:
supplies
and
water
for
a
month.
A
dozens
of
amphoraes.
Salted
fish,
olives,
barley.
They
are
used
to
this.
But
today
feels
different.
Two
weeks
earlier,
the
king
had
summoned
his
equipage
again.
A
new
land
must
be
found
in
Liguria.
Locations
have
been
identified
by
previous
crews.
But
food
shortage
and
skirmishes
with
local
tribes
brought
each
mission
to
an
end.
The
region
is
risky.
Known
for
being
overwatched.
Celtics,
Carthaginians,
Etruscans.
The
water
is
clear
and
serene,
but
the
tension
could
be
felt.The
dawn
of
not
a
simple
voyage.
The
dawn
of
a
journey
that
will
carve
their
name
into
history.
They
didn't
know
it
but
they
are
the
first
group
of
Phokaians
sailing
to
Liguria
who
will
not
return.
596
BC.
Phokaia
The Phokaians
History
of
Massalia
brings
us
back
to
the
Ionians,
people
from
the
greek
Phoenicia
who
had
established
their
reputation
as
a
prosperous
thalasoccracy
in
the
Mediterranean.
Their
float
was
the
illustration
of
some
of
the
greek
greatest
engineering
accomplishment:
pentecontere,
bireme
or
even
trireme.
Versatile,
fast
and
agile
ships
that
contributed
in
their
naval
supremacy
at
that
period,
and
supported
the
trades
between
their
own
colonies.
The
phokaians
settled
in
several
strategic
locations
of
the
Mediterranean.
The
first
one
could
actually
be
Alaria
(current
Aleria,
Corsica).
But
the
Etruscans
and
Carthaginians
empire
eventually
defeated
the
Greeks
on
this
colony
-known
as
the
naval
battle
of
Alalia,
leaving
them
with
no
choice
but
to
choose
a
safer
and
more
prosper
location.
And
that
was
to
be
Massalia,
which
eventually
became
the
Phokaian
metropolis.
The harbour
473 BC . massalia
Beyond
its
less
contested
status,
Massalia's
location
offered
great
access
to
both
sea
and
land
trades.
Its
natural
harbour
would
protect
the
passage
of
sailors
and
travelers.
But
it
also
gave
great
passage
through
northen
lands
with
the
natural
trade
route
of
the
Rhone.
The
economy
of
the
new
colony
will
flourish
through
wine
and
olive
oil
cultures,
as
well
as
ceramics
trades.
Indeed,
massaliotes
trades
and
maritime
commerce
is
very
likely
what
helped
them
assert
their
position
on
the
Celtic
territory.
Potery
and
greek
ceramics
were
brought
to
the
north
(up
to
places
like
current
Germany
and
Autrichia)
while
raw
materials
like
tin
and
copper
were
distributed
from
the
Celts
to
the
rest
of
the
Mediterranean
through
Massalia.
Though
its
prosperity
will
heavily
depend
on
the
politic
stability
of
Greece,
as
various
wars
opposed
Greece
with
the
Etruscans,
the
Carthaginians,
and
the
Spartians
throughout
the
5th
and
4th
century
BC.
473
BC
.
massalia
Massalia and Rome
Massalia
was
able
to
retain
its
independence
from
the
Roman
empire
for
the
first
5
centuries
of
its
existence.
But
local
conflicts
with
the
Celts,
common
ennemies
(like
Carthage),
and
the
declining
of
Athens
made
their
allegiance
to
Rome
a
necessity.
In
exchange
of
ships
provision
and
military
aids,
Ceasar
would
grant
them
protection
yet
leave
their
independence
untouched.
A
pledge
that
Caesar
would
capitalize
on,
most
notably
during
the
Punic
Wars
(between
264
and
146
BC).
146
BC.
Unfortunately,
this
stability
would
come
to
an
end
when
the
Greeks
made
side
with
Pompey
in
the
Civil
war
of
49BC.
The
city
fell
to
the
hands
of
Caesar
who
made
it
part
of
the
Republic.
From
there
on,
the
Romans
slowly
brought
their
culture,
transformed
the
architecture
of
the
city,
and
revamped
its
institutions.
More
importantly,
Roman
merchants
settled
in
the
regions
and
their
commerce
took
over
the
Massaliote's.
46
BC.
MASSALIA BECAME
MASSILIA
the heritage
Throughout
its
time,
Massalia
remained
a
very
unique
artefact
of
the
Greek
civilisation.
First
an
ark
for
the
Phokaians,
then
a
major
port
and
city
in
the
Hellenic
world.
The
city,
somewhat
isolated
from
the
rest
of
the
Greek
colonies,
shined
through
commerce
and
diffused
a
very
unique
influence
in
the
region.
Its
history
is
complex
and
still
much
debated
for
some
periods.
But
without
a
doubt,
it
thrived
for
centuries,
soaked
up
numerous
cultures,
from
the
Latin
and
Greek
worlds
to
smaller
local
tribes,
and
became
the
gate
between
the
Gaul
and
the
rest
of
the
mediterranean.
Source: World History
Source: The Wicked City, Nicholas Hewitt
Source: Arcana et les mystères du monde
Note: some illustrations from this story are AI generated and are initially inspired from the painting style of Emile Loubon, a prominent Marseillais painter of the 19th.
