Civilizations

The relationship between Greece and Italy goes back a long way, to the colonization of the Magna Graecia (meaning "Greater Greece") area by ancient Greeks. And it endures today, with Greek communities in cities across Italy.The Griko people, sometimes spelled Griko, or Grecanici, are a Greek community in southern Italy who speak Griko. They derive from the Southern Italian group who migrated to Greece between the 15th and 17th centuries, most notably during the Venetian period of occupation of the territory. The Griko territory is reduced to a fraction of its ancient size but includes ...

The Etruscans established 12 major cities in pre-Roman Italy (Etruria, also known as the current Tuscany region). Along with the Latins and Sabines, formed the tripartite division of early Italians. The Etruscan language, culture, and religion have survived through inscriptions and through the modern names of towns and divinities. An alphabetized form of the Etruscan language was used by the Romans for some important transactions. It was most likely the basis for the widespread use of the Latin alphabet throughout western Europe today.Etruscan religion comprises a set of stories, beliefs, and ...

The Phoenicians were originally a group of tribes living in the modern-day Lebanon region. These tribes banded together during the Bronze Age to form the first Phoenician city-states. Over time, these states grew larger and more powerful until they eventually became one of the greatest international powers of their day. They established settlements as far west as Spain, as far east as Cyprus, as far north as Turkey and as far south as North Africa — including Carthage (now Tunisia). Many of these colonies were eventually absorbed into other empires — like the Roman Empire in Italy ...

The Italic peoples were an Indo-European ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages. The Italics were all the peoples who spoke an idiom belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages and had settled in the Italian peninsula.The first tribes were the Tuscans. Their culture and politics were more advanced than the Latin or Sabine, who also inhabited central Italy. Tuscan derives from the language of the Etruscan civilization.One of the first Italic tribes, the Latino-Falisci, entered Italy across the eastern Alpine, passing into the plain of the Po River ...

The origins of the Romans are uncertain. The most likely theory is that they were descendants of the Latins and Sabines who lived in Central Italy. By the 3rd century B.C., the Romans had conquered most of Italy. They moved on to conquer Greece, Spain, North Africa, and what we call today France. The Roman Empire was a complex and diverse civilization that had an extraordinary effect on the world.The Romans in Italy had a culture that was rich and diverse. They excelled in art and architecture. The Roman civilization is also credited with developing the first modern sewage system. The Romans` ...