44 SPREAD OF THE GREEK COLONIES, [CHAP.

spirit } as was notably the case in the foundation of Tarentum,
when the Partheniae, or youths illegitimately born of Spartan
mothers during the First Messenian war, after making an abortive
attempt at revolution in their native city, were drafted off to a
foreign country. At the same time, a vent was thus found for
the ardent love of enterprise which accompanied the first vigorous
growth of the Hellenic communities; and the trading spirit,
which, combined with a fondness for nautical pursuits, was early
developed among the Greeks, gave a practical turn to the pre-
vailing feeling of restlessness. The last-named motive soon
became all-absorbing, and the sites which were chosen for the
new settlements were chiefly determined by their suitableness
for commercial purposes. The conditions which
Qualifications were considere<j most favourable for these were a

for 9. Site. . t

position on the sea-shore with a safe harbour m
the recesses of a bay, and a steep height close at hand which
admitted of being easily fortified: in the neighbourhood a
moderate extent of fertile land, suitable for cultivation, and—
most important of all— a ready access to a district of con-
siderable area in the interior, the inhabitants of which by
means of barter might furnish articles for export. Here and there
an additional attraction was provided by the presence of some
special source of wealth, such as fisheries, or mines, or forests for
the supply of timber. The freedom which was thus exercised by
E i DC *ke new sett'ers *n ^e choke of an abode, enabling
veiopmentof them, as it did, to select the position most suited

e oo cs.

development of the colonies as compared with that of the parent
states. Where the conditions were so advantageous, the natural
result was the speedy accumulation of wealth, and, as a conse-
quence of this, a more rapid development of culture than would
have been possible elsewhere. In the fine arts this result is
especially conspicuous. The noblest specimens of early Greek
architecture are the temples of Paestum, Selinus, and Agrigentum,
and no coins from Greece Proper will bear comparison with
those of Magna Graecia,
The intercourse which thus sprang up between the foreign
settlers and the natives soon became an abundant source of