The city of Antibes would have been founded by the Phocaeans of Marseille in the 5th or 4th century BC. This relatively late foundation would have been part of the context of the colonial redeployment of Marseille, established in the 6th century BC. This process intended to secure maritime trade routes by installing strongholds or trading posts on the Mediterranean coast. Antipolis, the city in front of in Greek, which became Antibes, was founded before Nikaia, the former name of Nice. It gave its name to the neighboring technology hub of Sophia Antipolis.