Synoikismos

Group 12

Definition of Synoikismos:

A formation/foundation of a colony or a polis; the combination of several smaller communities to form a single larger community. Occurred between 230-200 BC.
Several ways to describe a synoikismos:
- Resettlement or reconstruction of a city devastated by war. e.g. Kytenion in Grecce 205BC
- Physical concentration of the population in a single city
- Purely political unification that allowed the population to continue living in a dispersed way, (this did not affect the pattern of settlement or the physical existence of the separate communities).
- Migration of citizens to the new city.