I'M STROLLING along the quay of a small Mediterranean sea harbour, the sky as blue as all the myths proclaim possible. Small multi-hued wooden fishing caiques jostle for docking space with large fibreglass-hulled pleasure craft. The entire image is framed by a cacophony of traffic - motorcycles of all sizes, cars and trucks swirling frenetically about the harbour in a mad dash to go somewhere, anywhere. I could be in Greece. In a way, I am as close to being in Greece as possible without actually being there. But this is Marseilles and I am asking myself the question: "What does it mean to be Greek?"

My promenade is along the Vieux Port (Old Port) - of the bustling southern French city. France's second largest metropolis may be called Marseilles now, but it has been known to Greeks as Massalia since its founding 2,600 years ago by Greeks from the Ionian Coast of Asia Minor, near the presentday town of Izmir.

Marseilles fascinates me. The French constantly honour its early Greek origins when they refer to their city as "la ville Phoceenne". Whenever I pass through, I try to visit the Municipal Museum of History located in the basement of the large shopping mall near the Bourse, which is also on the periphery of the Old Port where wayfaring Phoceans first landed. There, proudly displayed in a variety of imaginative displays and an extensive sculpture garden, lies the proof behind the mythical foundation of Marseilles.

It is said that the first Greeks to arrive decided to explore the area because it reminded them of their homeland. Then, an extraordinary chance encounter led to their decision to stay. It seems that sometime about 600BC a small fleet of powerful Phocean ships, commanded by Photis, landed on the lee shore of a small hill because it was secluded and protected from the fierce winds that sweep across the Mediterranean Sea from Africa. Once ashore, they met a local tribe, the Segobriges, led by a chief called Nann. The natives were preparing a feast to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Nann's daughter Gyptis. The Greeks were invited to join the festivities. Gyptis appeared only at the end of the feast and, as was the custom, she carried a full goblet that was destined to be drunk only by her preferred choice for husband. To the surprise of all, she stopped in front of Photis and offered it to him. Nann took this totally unexpected gesture as a sign from the gods, accepted his daughter's choice of Photis and then, as a wedding present, gave the couple the land around the gulf where the Greeks had landed.

My fascination with Marseilles' origins led me to visit the site of ancient Phocea - the modern Foa, as it is called by its Turkish residents. It is situated about 65km north of Izmir on the peninsula between Candarli and Izmir. I was surprised at how closely the site of the pleasant little fishing port resembles what the Vieux Port must have looked like in antiquity. The main area, longer than it is wide, is open to the sea on the lee shore and a large hill protects the bay from the interior. A fresh water stream, the Hermos of antiquity and now the Gediz, pours into the Aegean Sea from within the town's boundaries.

Regardless of how its name is spelled, Phocea or Foca, the word means seal. In antiquity, there must have been many around the coves and bays where the city developed. Today, large sculptures of seals - in bronze in the square near the bus station for Izmir and in copper on the beachfront - are the only two seals most visitors will see during their visit to Foca. There is no mistaking the fact that fishing plays an important role in the life of the sleepy little port. A plethora of wary cats prowl around the little bay where multicoloured, wooden fishing craft sway gently while a slight, though seemingly constant, breeze cools the entire harbour area.
Although the area was probably settled sometime in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC it wasn't until the 7th century BC that Phocea - one of the 12 Ionian cities - began to send out colonists. According to Herodotus, the "Father of History", the Phoceans were the first Greeks to undertake long sea voyages, using large, swift, 50-oar ships capable of carrying 500 people. Herodotus claims that the Phoceans introduced the Adriatic, Etruria, Iberia and Tartessos to the Greek world.

When Phocean traders passed through the Straits of Gibraltar and went to silver-rich Tartessos, situated at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River in Spain, Arganthonios (who had ruled Tartessos for some 80 years) befriended them. Arganthonios, according to Herodotus, funded the building of fortifications around Phocea. "And he gave with no mean hand," states Herodotus. Parts of the wall were excavated during a 1992 archaeological dig.

I reflect on all this while sipping a tomato-based soup made with broth from a variety of locally caught fish. This delicacy must be the progenitor of Marseille's famed Bouillabaisse, I think, while watching a small flotilla of tourist-laden boats sail into Foa's bay to visit the many intriguing islands and rock formations that make the area such an appealing tourist destination.

Phocea's golden age ended in 546BC when the city was taken and sacked by the Persians. Most survivors fled, migrating to Phocean colonies situated throughout the Mediterranean. Greeks repopulated the city after the Persian invasions of Greece failed and it gained some measure of wealth when Alexander swept through Asia Minor several centuries later.

I sip a strong, syrupy Turkish coffee, sitting next to a large marble column base etched with Greek and lament the foibles of history that in 1922 brought about the end of a Greek presence in Phocea/Foca that had lasted for several millennia.
Greek Massalia

Massalia, during the troubled times experienced by its mother-city, became wealthy and prospered. In its turn, it sent out colonists founding presentday Antibes and Nice to the east and Agde to the west. One of Greek Marseilles' most noted sons is Pytheas who is reputed to be the first Mediterranean to have voyaged to Greenland.
Even though its population rarely exceeded 60,000 inhabitants, Massalia maintained its stature and independence well into Roman times. The ages-old Phocean ability to befriend foreigners came to its aid in its relations with Rome until it ran foul of internal Roman political intrigues. Massalia resisted but was conquered by Julius Caesar in 49BC. The city was sacked, and its Greek population largely eliminated. Massalia became Massilia and, like its mother city, fell into a centuries-long trough. But the legend of its Greek foundation remained.
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* What to read
The Lonely Planet City series guidebook on Marseilles and the Calanques offers a good introduction to the city.
For further reading: The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek (Penguin-2002) by Barry Cunliffe. An excellent book (in French only) on Greek Marseille is Marseille Grecque (1999 - Editions Errance, 7, rue Jean-du-Bellay, 75004 Paris, tel 331432685 82; fax 33143293488)
Don't miss Visitors to Marseilles interested in its Greek roots shouldn't miss the city's historical museum located in the Centre Commercial Bourse: tel 33491904222, fax 33491904378 (open every day but Sunday from 12 noon to 7pm).
Foca: There are buses every hour from Izmir to Foca. Though Foca does not have a museum (many of the finds from the three major 20th-century digs are in Izmir), the local Tourist office (tel 81 232 812 12 22, fax 81 232 812 55 34) sells an excellent 104-page guide Foca/Phocaea by Suzan Ozyigit (ISBN: 975-96574-0-6).
Several tourist boats sail daily for six-hour tours of the bay, usually leaving about 11am. All offer lunch and time in secluded spots for swimming and snorkelling.