by Manolis Spanakis

by Manolis Spanakis

Marseille, 2007


Views of the famous port from a ferry. Marseille, known in antiquity as Massalia (from Greek: Μασσαλία), is the second largest city in France after Paris. The urban area extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000. Located on the southeast coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, Marseille is France's largest commercial port and largest French city on the Mediterranean coast. Marseille is the capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, as well as the capital of the Bouches-du-Rhône department.

Marseille, which can be called the oldest city in France, was founded in 600 BC by Greeks from Phocaea as a trading port under the name Μασσαλία. The connection between Μασσαλία and the Phoceans is mentioned in Book I, 13 of the History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. The settlers landed in the Lacydon, a rocky Mediterranean cove, now the site of the Old Port of Marseille. They set up a trading post or emporion in the hills on the northern shore. Until the nineteenth century the Old Port remained the centre of maritime activity in Marseille.

Marseille has been designated as European Capital of Culture 2013.




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