Rhodian Pottery of the 8th and 7th C. BC., and its Distribution in Magna Graecia and Sicily

The paper deals with some general aspects of Rhodian ceramics in the 8th and 7th centuries BC, and its circulation in Magna Graecia and Sicily. Rhodian Geometric pottery during the 8th century BC shows differences related to the production of the island’s three main centers, Ialysos, Kameiros, and Lindos. The pottery, which was found in burial contexts, shows how these centers had built up a wide range of external relationships, particularly through the intense frequentation of the island by Cypro-Phoenicians and Euboeans. Conversely, Rhodian ceramics circulated very little outside the island, with the macroscopic exception of Spaghetti-style aryballoi. The latter, produced on Rhodes and especially in Ialysos between the last two decades of the 8th and the third quarter of the 7th century BC, are intended for perfume exports. They have been found in many centers of Magna Graecia and Sicily, and in large numbers in Gela, as a result of Rhodian colonization.