Magna Graecia

[mag-nuh gree-shee-uh, mahg-nah grahy-ki-ah]

noun

1. the ancient colonial cities and settlements of Greece in S Italy.

Magna Graecia

/ ˈmæɡnə ˈɡriːʃɪə /

noun

1. (in the ancient world) S Italy, where numerous colonies were founded by Greek cities

Word History and Origins

Origin of Magna Graecia¹

Latin: Great Greece

Example Sentences

The items, the oldest of which date back to the 9th century BC, include works belonging to the periods of the Etruscan civilisation, Magna Graecia and Imperial Rome.

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Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the remains dug up at the popular tourist site of Velia were found on what had been an acropolis of one of Magna Graecia’s most important cities.

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It was part of Magna Graecia, the area of southern Italy colonized by Greek city-states.

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The city was settled mainly by colonists from Crete and Rhodes in an area the Romans called Magna Graecia, or “Greater Greece.”

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“Today, this site is at the mercy of predators and thieves, who for centuries have looted the area for its precious artefacts,” said Mimmo Macaluso, an EU researcher on Magna Graecia, the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of southern Italy that were extensively populated by Greek settlers.

Read more on The Guardian