Peculiar history of Pharos (modern Hvar)

It is common knowledge that from the 8th century BC onward, the Greeks set out to establish colonies or trading ports around the Mediterranean Sea.

Magna Graecia (see: Magna Graecia, the forgotten Greek legacy), which includes southern Italy and Sicily, may be one of the most striking examples, but we tend to forget the lands on the eastern side of the Adriatic Sea, which eventually were also absorbed by the Roman Empire.

[Picture from Visit World Heritage]

One such rare and little-known colony is Pharos, situated on the modern island of Hvar off the coast of Croatia. These Greek settlers came from the island of Paros, and Diodorus tells us that this occurred in 384 BC. Dionysios, the tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily, lent a helping hand if only to increase his influence further north. 

Unlike other Greek settlements on the Dalmatian coast like Dubrovnik and Zadar, Pharos survived the centuries in a most peculiar shape in the plains surrounding modern Stari Grad. 

At first glance, we see fields of olive trees, vines, and other crops in parcels separated by low walls or streets and paths. Yet, the attentive eye will notice that all these fields are drawn in a correct grit pattern that seems inspired by the Hippodamian plan of ancient cities. Careful measurements reveal that this flat plain which covers an area of approximately 6 x 3.5 kilometers, counts 75 units each in a constant size of 181m x 905m. Each such plot was in turn subdivided in five square parcels of 181m x 181m, corresponding to a field that could be tended by a single family. Interestingly the basic unit of 181 meters equals the length of a Greek stadium of about 180 meters, which, based on the limited excavations of these lands, links the foundation to Greek Pharos in 384 BC. 

It is pretty amazing to find that today’s farmers in this part of Croatia still respect the old boundaries and plow the same land as their ancestors did nearly 2,500 years ago. It transpires that the Greek system was so efficient that it did not require any change or adaptation over the centuries and never fell out of use.

Underscoring the Greek ownership is a boundary stone from the 4th or 3rd century BC that was recovered in the area, carrying the inscription “Oros Mathios Pytheo,” in other words, “border [of the land of] Mathios [son of] Pytheas.” Another record containing a redistribution of lands dates from shortly after the Roman conquest in 218 BC. 

The Greek colonization has been repeatedly discussed in previous blogs besides the abovementioned one about Magna Graecia. More examples can be found at The many colonies of Miletus treating mainly about the area around the Black Sea, and Egypt, the land of the free for ancient Greeks focusing on the Greek city of Naucratis.