Hellenic Romans
In the 8th century BC (before the Roman Republic), Greeks began a large colonization drive to southern Italy to populate Sicily, Campania, Calabria, Apulia and Bascilicata. The romans referred to this region which includes the boot of Italy as Magna Graecia (Greater Greece). This large scale migration was underway by the time of the Trojan War and lasted several centuries. The settlers brought Hellenic civilization which had a lasting impact on the culture of Ancient Rome. The Hellenic civilization interacted with the native Italic civilization. The Greek cities were one by one absorbed into the Roman Republic starting with Neapolis in 327 BC. Sicily was conqureed by Rome during the first Punic War against Carthage.
Sicily was initially populated by Phoenicians but then heavily colonized and settled by Greeks. Syracuse (Sicily) became the most populous greek city in the world by the 3rd century BC. The population of the island remained mostly unchanged.
