Colonization came naturally to the Greeks. After the collapse of Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century BC, many Greeks fled to the islands of the Aegean Sea and the western coast of Anatolia (particularly the region called Ionia).
It was during the Archaic period from around 750 to 550 BC, however, that Greek colonists sailed across the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas in large numbers. The colonists avoided areas which were politically advanced, such as Egypt and the Syrian coast, and preferred to settle areas which had a similar climate to Greece.
Southern Italy and Sicily were thus ideal and were the first of the great areas of settlement. Settlers from the Euboean cities of Chalcis and Eretria were extremely active there in the 8th century BC. Settlement of other big islands soon followed, with Sardinia, Corsica, Crete, and Cyprus being colonized.
Colonies were also established at this time on the coast of Thrace and other areas in the northern Aegean. The colonization of areas surrounding the Black Sea, however, came later due to their unappealing climate.
Colonists from Corinth settled along the north-west coast of Greece in the 7th century BC. At the same time, other colonists from Thera landed in Africa. Greek colonies were even established on the coasts of Iberia (Spain) and southern France by 600 BC, but these colonies met with stiff resistance from the Phoenicians and the Etruscans.
