Battle of Alalia The naval Battle of Alalia took place between 540 BC and 535 BC off the coast of Corsica between Greek s and the allied Etruscan s and Carthaginians . The Punic - Etruscan fleet of 120 ships was defeated by a Greek force of Phocean ships while emigrating to the western Mediterranean and the nearby colony of Alalia ( now Aléria ) . Background . The Phoenicians had planted trading posts in Africa , Sicily , Sardinia and Iberia during the 11th and 10th centuries BC while creating their trading monopoly . They had a relatively free hand during that period as other civilizations were suffering from a " Dark Age " during that period . The Etruscans emerged as a local power in the 8th century BC , spreading their trade to Corsica , Sardinia and Iberia and creating a powerful navy to guard their interests . The Phoenicians and Etruscans became trading partners and rivals , exchanging goods and opportunistic raids with each other . The situation changed with the arrival of the Greeks in the western Mediterranean in 750 BC . Greater Greece outside Greece . The Greek colonization started with the planting of Cumae in Italy by 750 BC and Naxos in Sicily by 735 BC . Within the next 100 years , several Greek cities had planted colonies along the coast of southern Italy and most of Sicily , creating a position to control trade routes around these areas and dominating the Strait of Messina . Etruscans clashed with the Greeks , but were unable to stop the process . Although the colonization process was not done according to any master plan , with several Greek cities acting simultaneously , it probably seemed to the Phoenicians and Etruscans that a flood of Greeks were drowning the Tyrrhenian seacoast . The Greek - colonized zone encompassing Sicily and Southern Italy came to be known as Magna Graecia . The Greeks living in this area behaved pretty much like the mainland Greeks , expanding their political and commercial domain at the expense of their neighbors while keeping the Ionian – Dorian feud alive . The colonization offered greater opportunities for increased trade , piracy and other conflicts among the Etruscans , Phoenicians and Greeks competing for control of seaborne trade of the area . Carthaginian hegemony . Carthage created her hegemony in part to resist Greek encroachments in the Phoenician sphere of influence . Phoenicians initially ( 750 – 650 BC ) did not resist the Greeks , but after the Greeks had reached Iberia sometime after 638 BC , Carthage emerged as the leader of the Phoenician resistance . During the 6th century BC , mostly under the leadership of the Magonid dynasty , Carthage established an empire which would commercially dominate the Western Mediterranean . The Phoenician cities of Motya , Panormus and Solus in Sicily and the Elymian s had teamed up to defeat the Greeks of Selinus and Rhodes near Lilybaeum in 580 BC , the first such recorded incident in Sicily . These cities remained independent until becoming part of the Carthaginian hegemony after 540 BC . Prelude : Phocaean pirates . The Phocaean Greeks from Asia Minor ( modern Turkey ) had founded the colony of Massalia around 600 BC , which the Carthaginians had tried and failed to prevent . Massalia became a thriving trading center and a major rival of Carthage for the Spanish markets and the tin trade through Gaul . The Phocaeans also planted a colony in Alalia in Corsica around 562 BC . When the city of Phocaea itself fell to Cyrus the Great of Persia in 546 BC , most Phoceans moved to Alalia , partly because they were on good terms with the Greek colonies along the Strait of Messina and had even been granted toll - free passage . They also founded Elea in southern Italy ( Magna Grecia ) in 540 BC . The Phoecians had managed to establish their base at a time when Carthage was engaged in defending Punic colonies in Sicily ( Greeks had started to encroach on Punic cities in 580 BC ) and conquering territory in Sardinia , Tyre was facing Persian domination and the Etruscans were engaged in expansion across Italy , starting with the formation of the Etruscan League . The Greeks started to prey on Carthaginian and Etruscan trade from Corsica , which continued unchecked for five years . However , fearing that the Greeks would threaten their colonies in North Italy and Sardinia next , the Etruscans and Carthaginians joined forces to oppose the Greeks around 540 BC . It is not known if the Carthaginians had allied with the Etruscan League or with individual Etruscan cities . The battle . It is assumed that the Phocaean Greeks had 60 pentekonters ( ships with 48 oars and two rudders for steering ) , not the trireme that would become famous at the Battle of Salamis , and the allied fleet was twice as large , also made of pentekonters , not the bireme normally used by the Phoenicians . Details of the battle are sketchy , but it is known that the Greeks had driven the allied fleet off , but had lost almost two - thirds of their own fleet in doing so : a Cadmean victory , according to Herodotus . The rams of the surviving ships had been severely damaged . Realizing that they could not withstand another attack , the Greeks evacuated Corsica , and initially sought refuge in Rhegion in Italy . Carthaginian and Etruscan battle losses are not known . A legend describes how Greek prisoners were stoned to death at Caere by the Etruscans , while the Carthaginians sold their prisoners into slavery . This battle is also known as " The Battle of Sardinia Sea " . Aftermath . Corsica passed into Etruscan hands , while Carthage retained Sardinia . Carthage would fight two more major naval battles with Massalia , losing both , but still managing to close the Strait of Gibraltar to Greek shipping and thus containing the Greek expansion in Spain by 480 BC . Attempts by Etruscans to conquer Greek areas in Southern Italy would be opposed by the Greek city of Cumae . They would defeat an Etruscan invasion in 524 BC . Carthage would defeat the attempt of Spartan prince Dorieus to colonize North Africa ( c . 513 BC ) and Western Sicily c . 510 BC . While Carthage was busy in Sardinia after 509 BC dealing with a native uprising , the Greek city of Syracuse under Gelon , allied with the Greek city of Agrigentum under Theron to jointly challenge the Carthaginians in Sicily . This set the stage for the Sicilian Wars ( 480 – 307 BC ) between Carthage and the Greeks . According to Herodotus , it was only after the battle that Phocaeans moved to Italy where they founded Elea . Some authors consider that the Greek defeat and consequent lack of Greek traders in the Gibraltar Strait led to the collapse of the Tartessian civilization in Southern Spain , while the Punic presence remained undisturbed .