The present essay is limited in scope to that region of the ancient world which roughly corresponds to the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis; more specifically to the delta of the Rhtne valley which for a considerable time was under the political hegemony of the Greeks of Marseilles. However, the questions raised here with regard to the introduction of classical art in Gaul should prove to be equally applicable to the art of the other provinces of the Roman Empire.