Crete and Sicily : Late Geometric and Orientalizing pottery from Megara Hyblaea
Résumé
The aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussions on the mobility of people and goods in the Early Iron Age Medi- terranean, and more specifically, on the interactions between Crete and Sicily. The two islands, as they physically contrib- ute to the geographical partition of the Mediterranean space, should constitute a particularly conducive laboratory to the study of the various phenomena of mobility. The reception of Cretan material culture in Magna Graecia remains, however, a complex matter. The traditional approach of archaeology, which tends to rely heavily on the literary sources regarding Greek colonization, does not promote today the identification of Cretan finds in Magna Graecia.
In this paper I present a selection of results from the reappraisal of the local pottery of Megara Hyblaea, an apoikia founded on the eastern coast of Sicily in the mid-8th c. BC1 (Figs. 1-2). I argue that Crete had a visible influence on the lo- cal pottery production and that some vases once considered to be local may have actually been imported from Crete. This is yet another argument pointing to Crete as being more involved in early seventh century Mediterranean networks, as it has been suggested by recent studies going against the trend of the Cretan isolation.