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There was, unquestionably, a Gaulish settlement there. The Keltic name Ar-lath, the "moist habitation," tells us as much. So does the legend of Protis and Gyptis, already related. But it was speedily occupied by a large Greek contingent, and the race was formed of Greek and Gaulish blood united. In the year B.C. 46 a Roman colony was planted at Arles.
She did not hesitate for a moment, she went to the Greek stranger and extended it to him. Protis put the goblet to his lips, and the alliance was concluded. The example of Gyptis was followed by some of her maidens. The Gauls agreed to receive the Greeks, and suffer them to colonise the basin of Marseilles.
By a happy coincidence the embassy arrived on the day upon which Nannos had assembled the warriors of his tribe, for his daughter, Gyptis, to choose a husband among them. The arrival of the young Greek, Protis, in the midst of this banquet was a veritable coup-de-theatre; he took his place at the board.
His natural grace, his easy and polished manners, the nobleness and elegance of his person and features, contrasted strangely with the savagery and coarseness of the Gaulish warriors. Free to choose whom she would, Gyptis rose from the table, filled a cup, and made the circuit of the board. Every eye was fixed on her; he was to be her choice to whom she offered the bowl.
By accident, or quite another cause, say the ancient legends, Gyptis stopped opposite Euxenes, and handed him the cup. Great was the surprise, and, probably, anger amongst the Gauls who were present. But Nann, believing he recognized a commandment from his gods, accepted the Phocean as his son-in-law, and gave him as dowry the bay where he had landed, with some cantons of the territory around.
Nann, their chief, gave the strangers kindly welcome, and took them home with him to a great feast which he was giving for his daughter's marriage, who was called Gyptis, according to some, and Petta, according to other historians.
But the chiefs who had been set aside by the fair Gyptis bore a grudge against the new-comers. The growing prosperity and rapid development of the new settlement aroused their jealousy, which was probably augmented by the defection of some of their wives and daughters.
The three islands Phoenice, Phila, Iturium Marseilles first a Phoenician colony The tariff of fees exacted by the priests of Baal The arrival of the Ionians The legend of Protis and Gyptis Second colony of Ionians The voyages of Pytheas and Euthymenes Capture of Marseilles by Trebonius Position of the Greek city The Acropolis Greek inscriptions The lady who never "jawed" her husband The tomb of the sailor-boy Hotel des Negociants Menu Entry of the President of the Republic Entry of Francis I. The church of S. Vincent The Cathedral Notre Dame de la Garde The abbey of S. Victor Catacombs The fable of S. Lazarus.
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