Thurii
Encyclopedia
Thurii called also by some Latin
writers Thurium (compare in Ptolemy
), for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia
, situated on the Tarentine gulf
, within a short distance of the site of Sybaris
, whose place it may be considered as having taken. Its location is in the frazione
of Thurio, comune
of Corigliano Calabro
, in the Province of Cosenza
, Calabria
region, Italy
.
colonies in this part of Italy, not having been founded until nearly 70 years after the fall of Sybaris. The site of that city had remained desolate for a period of 58 years after its destruction by the Crotoniats; when at length, in 452 BC, a number of the Sybarite exiles and their descendants made an attempt to establish themselves again on the spot, under the guidance of some leaders of Thessalian
origin; and the new colony rose so rapidly to prosperity that it excited the jealousy of the Crotoniats, who, in consequence, expelled the new settlers a little more than 5 years after the establishment of the colony. The fugitive Sybarites first appealed for support to Sparta
, but without success: their application to the Athenians
was more successful, and that people determined to send out a fresh colony, at the same time that they reinstated the settlers who had been lately expelled from thence. A body of Athenian colonists was accordingly sent out by Pericles
, under the command of Lampon and Xenocritus; but the number of Athenian citizens was small, the greater part of those who took part in the colony being collected from various parts of Greece
. Among them were two celebrated names – Herodotus
the historian, and the orator Lysias
, both of whom appear to have formed part of the original colony. The laws of the new colony were established by the sophist Protagoras
at the request of Pericles.
The new colonists at first established themselves on the site of the deserted Sybaris, but shortly afterwards removed (apparently in obedience to an oracle) to a spot at a short distance from thence, where there was a fountain named "Thuria", from whence the new city derived its name of Thurii. The foundation of Thurii is assigned by Diodorus to the year 446 BC; but other authorities place it three years later, 443 BC, and this seems to be the best authenticated date. The protection of the Athenian name probably secured the rising colony from the assaults of the Crotoniats, at least we hear nothing of any obstacles to its progress from that quarter; but it was early disturbed by dissensions between the descendants of the original Sybarite settlers and the new colonists, the former laying claim not only to honorary distinctions, but to the exclusive possession of important political privileges. These disputes at length ended in a revolution, and the Sybarites were finally expelled from the city. They established themselves for a short time upon the river Traeis (modern Trionto), but did not maintain their footing long, being dislodged and finally dispersed by the neighboring barbarians. The Thurians meanwhile concluded a treaty of peace with Crotona, and the new city rose rapidly to prosperity. Fresh colonists poured in from all quarters, especially the Peloponnese
; and though it continued to be generally regarded as an Athenian colony, the Athenians in fact formed but a small element of the population. The citizens were divided, as we learn from Diodorus, into ten tribes, the names of which sufficiently indicate their origin. They were: the Arcadian (from Arcadia
), Achaean (from Achaea
), Elean (from Elea
), Boeotian (from Boeotia
), Amphictyonic (from Amphictyonis
), Dorian (from Doris
), Ionian (from Ionia
), Athenian (from Athens
), Euboean (from Euboea
), and Nesiotic (from the islands). The form of government was democratic, and the city is said to have enjoyed the advantage of a well-ordered system of laws; but the statement of Diodorus, who represents this as owing to the legislation of Charondas
, and that lawgiver himself as a citizen of Thurii, is certainly erroneous. The city itself was laid out with great regularity, being divided by four broad streets or plateae, each of which was crossed in like manner by three others.
Very shortly after its foundation, Thurii became involved in a war with Tarentum (modern Taranto
). The subject of this was the possession of the fertile district of the Siritis, about 50 km north of Thurii, to which the Athenians had a claim of long standing, which was naturally taken up by their colonists. The Spartan general, Cleandridas, who had been banished from Greece some years before, and taken up his abode at Thurii, became the general of the Thurians in this war, which, after various successes, was at length terminated by a compromise, both parties agreeing to the foundation of the new colony of Heracleia in the disputed territory.
Our knowledge of the history of Thurii is unfortunately very scanty and fragmentary. Fresh disputes arising between the Athenian citizens and the other colonists were at length allayed by the oracle of Delphi, which decided that the city had no other founder than Apollo. But the same difference appears again on occasion of the great Athenian expedition
to Sicily
, when the city was divided into two parties, the one desirous of favoring and supporting the Athenians, the other opposed to them. The latter faction at first prevailed, so far that the Thurians observed the same neutrality towards the Athenian fleet under Nicias
and Alcibiades
as the other cities of Italy. Thurii was, in fact, the city where Alcibiades escaped his Athenian captors who were taking him home for trial.
But two years afterwards (413 BC) the Athenian party had regained the ascendency; and when Demosthenes
and Eurymedon
touched at Thurii, the citizens afforded them every assistance, and even furnished an auxiliary force of 700 hoplites and 300 dartmen. From this time we hear nothing of Thurii for a period of more than 20 years, though there is reason to believe that this was just the time of its greatest prosperity. In 390 BC we find that its territory was already beginning to suffer from the incursions of the Lucanians, a new and formidable enemy, for protection against whom all the cities of Magna Graecia had entered into a defensive league. But the Thurians were too impatient to wait for the support of their allies, and issued forth with an army of 14,000 foot and 1000 horse, with which they repulsed the attacks of the Lucanians; but having rashly followed them into their own territory, they were totally defeated, near Laüs
, and above 10,000 of them cut to pieces.
This defeat must have inflicted a severe blow on the prosperity of Thurii, while the continually increasing power of the Lucanians and Bruttians, in their immediate neighborhood would prevent them from quickly recovering from its effects. The city continued also to be on hostile, or at least unfriendly, terms with Dionysius of Syracuse
, and was in consequence chosen as a place of retirement or exile by his brother Leptines
and his friend Philistus
. The rise of the Bruttian people about 356 BC probably became the cause of the complete decline of Thurii, but the statement of Diodorus that the city was conquered by that people must be received with considerable doubt. It reappears in history at a later period, when Corinth
ian soldiers en route to join Timoleon
on his expedition to Syracuse are blockaded there by Carthaginian
ships. At this point it is still an independent Greek city, though much fallen from its former greatness. No mention of it is found during the wars of Alexander of Epirus in this part of Italy; but at a later period it was so hard pressed by the Lucanians that it had recourse to the alliance of Rome
; and a Roman army was sent to its relief under C. Fabricius. That general defeated the Lucanians, who had actually laid siege to the city, in a pitched battle, and by several other successes to a great extent broke their power, and thus relieved the Thurians from all immediate danger from that quarter. But shortly after they were attacked on the other side by the Tarentines, who are said to have taken and plundered their city; and this aggression was one of the immediate causes of the war declared by the Romans against Tarentum in 282 BC.
Thurii now sunk completely into the condition of a dependent ally of Rome, and was protected by a Roman garrison. No mention is found of its name during the wars with Pyrrhus
or the First Punic War
, but it plays a considerable part in the Second Punic War
with Hannibal. It was apparently one of the cities which revolted to the Carthaginians
immediately after the battle of Cannae
, though, in another passage, Livy seems to place its defection somewhat later. But in 213 BC, the Thurians returned to their alliance with Rome, and received a Roman garrison into their city. The very next year, however, after the fall of Tarentum, they changed sides again, and betrayed the Roman troops into the hands of the Carthaginian general Hanno
. A few years later (210 BC), Hannibal, finding himself unable to protect his allies in Campania
, removed the inhabitants of Atella
who had survived the fall of their city to Thurii; but it was not long before he was compelled to abandon the latter city also to its fate; and when he himself in 204 BC withdrew his forces into Bruttium, he removed to Crotona 3500 of the principal citizens of Thurii, while he gave up the city itself to the plunder of his troops. It is evident that Thurii was now sunk to the lowest state of decay; but the great fertility of its territory rendered it desirable to preserve it from utter desolation: hence in 194 BC, it was one of the places selected for the establishment of a Roman colony
with Latin rights. The number of colonists was small in proportion to the extent of land to be divided among them, but they amounted to 3000 foot and 300 knights. Livy says merely that the colony was sent in Thurinum agrum, and does not mention anything of a change of name; but Strabo tells us that they gave to the new colony the name of Copiae, and this statement is confirmed both by Stephanus of Byzantium
, and by the evidence of coins, on which, however, the name is written "COPIA". But this new name did not continue long in use, and Thurii still continued to be known by its ancient appellation. It is mentioned as a municipal town on several occasions during the latter ages of the Roman Republic
. In 72 BC it was taken by Spartacus
, and subjected to heavy contributions, but not otherwise injured. (Appian, B.C. i. 117.) According to Suetonius
, the Octavian family held some renown there, and Gaius Octavius (father of the future Caesar Augustus) defeated a Spartacist army near there; as a result, the future emperor was granted the surname Thurinus shortly after birth. At the outbreak of the Civil Wars it was deemed by Julius Caesar
of sufficient importance to be secured with a garrison of Gaul
ish and Spanish
horse; and it was there that M. Coelius was put to death, after a vain attempt to excite an insurrection in this part of Italy. In 40 BC also it was attacked by Sextus Pompeius
, who laid waste its territory, but was repulsed from the walls of the city.
It is certain therefore that Thurii was at this time still a place of some importance, and it is mentioned as a still existing town by Pliny and Ptolemy, as well as Strabo. It was probably, indeed, the only place of any consideration remaining on the coast of the Tarentine gulf, between Crotona and Tarentum; both Metapontum
and Heracleia having already fallen into almost complete decay. Its name is still found in the Itineraries. and it is noticed by Procopius
as still existing in the 6th century. (Procop. B. G. i. 15.) The period of its final decay is uncertain; but it seems to have been abandoned during the Middle Ages, when the inhabitants took refuge at a place called Terranova (Terranova da Sibari), about 12 miles inland, on a hill on the left bank of the Crathis
.
The exact location of Greek Thurii is not known, but that of the Roman town, which probably though not certainly occupied the same site, is fixed by insignificant ruins as being 4 miles to the east of Terranova da Sibari, and as occupying an area some 4 miles in circuit. It is clear, from the statements both of Diodorus and Strabo, that Thurii occupied a site near to, but distinct from, that of Sybaris (Diod. xii. 10; Strab. l. c.): hence the position suggested by some local topographers at the foot of the hill of Terranova, is probably too far inland. It is more likely that the true site is to be sought to the north of the Coscile (the ancient Sybaris), a few miles from the sea, where, according to Zannoni's map, ruins still exist, attributed by that geographer to Sybaris, but which are probably in reality those of Thurii. Henry Swinburne
, however, mentions Roman ruins as existing in the peninsula formed by the rivers Crathis and Sybaris near their junction, which may perhaps be those of Thurii.
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
writers Thurium (compare in Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
), for a time also Copia and Copiae, was a city of Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia
Magna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that were extensively colonized by Greek settlers; particularly the Achaean colonies of Tarentum, Crotone, and Sybaris, but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neapolis to the north...
, situated on the Tarentine gulf
Gulf of Taranto
The Gulf of Taranto is a gulf of the Ionian Sea, in southern Italy.The Gulf of Taranto is almost square, 140 km long and wide, and is delimited by the capes Santa Maria di Leuca and Colonna...
, within a short distance of the site of Sybaris
Sybaris
Sybaris was an ancient city in Magna Graecia on the western shore of the Gulf of Taranto. The wealth of the city during the 6th century BC was so great that the Sybarites became synonymous with pleasure and luxury...
, whose place it may be considered as having taken. Its location is in the frazione
Frazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of Thurio, comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
of Corigliano Calabro
Corigliano Calabro
Corigliano Calabro is a comune and town located in the province of Cosenza, in Calabria, southern Italy. In the comune are the ruins of the ancient city of Thurii.-External links:* * *...
, in the Province of Cosenza
Province of Cosenza
The Province of Cosenza is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza.It has an area of 6,650 km², and a total population of 733,797 . It is the biggest Calabrian Province...
, Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
region, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
History
Thurii was one of the latest of all the GreekAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
colonies in this part of Italy, not having been founded until nearly 70 years after the fall of Sybaris. The site of that city had remained desolate for a period of 58 years after its destruction by the Crotoniats; when at length, in 452 BC, a number of the Sybarite exiles and their descendants made an attempt to establish themselves again on the spot, under the guidance of some leaders of Thessalian
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
origin; and the new colony rose so rapidly to prosperity that it excited the jealousy of the Crotoniats, who, in consequence, expelled the new settlers a little more than 5 years after the establishment of the colony. The fugitive Sybarites first appealed for support to Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, but without success: their application to the Athenians
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
was more successful, and that people determined to send out a fresh colony, at the same time that they reinstated the settlers who had been lately expelled from thence. A body of Athenian colonists was accordingly sent out by Pericles
Pericles
Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
, under the command of Lampon and Xenocritus; but the number of Athenian citizens was small, the greater part of those who took part in the colony being collected from various parts of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Among them were two celebrated names – Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
the historian, and the orator Lysias
Lysias
Lysias was a logographer in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC.-Life:According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the author of the life ascribed to...
, both of whom appear to have formed part of the original colony. The laws of the new colony were established by the sophist Protagoras
Protagoras
Protagoras was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue Protagoras, Plato credits him with having invented the role of the professional sophist or teacher of virtue...
at the request of Pericles.
The new colonists at first established themselves on the site of the deserted Sybaris, but shortly afterwards removed (apparently in obedience to an oracle) to a spot at a short distance from thence, where there was a fountain named "Thuria", from whence the new city derived its name of Thurii. The foundation of Thurii is assigned by Diodorus to the year 446 BC; but other authorities place it three years later, 443 BC, and this seems to be the best authenticated date. The protection of the Athenian name probably secured the rising colony from the assaults of the Crotoniats, at least we hear nothing of any obstacles to its progress from that quarter; but it was early disturbed by dissensions between the descendants of the original Sybarite settlers and the new colonists, the former laying claim not only to honorary distinctions, but to the exclusive possession of important political privileges. These disputes at length ended in a revolution, and the Sybarites were finally expelled from the city. They established themselves for a short time upon the river Traeis (modern Trionto), but did not maintain their footing long, being dislodged and finally dispersed by the neighboring barbarians. The Thurians meanwhile concluded a treaty of peace with Crotona, and the new city rose rapidly to prosperity. Fresh colonists poured in from all quarters, especially the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
; and though it continued to be generally regarded as an Athenian colony, the Athenians in fact formed but a small element of the population. The citizens were divided, as we learn from Diodorus, into ten tribes, the names of which sufficiently indicate their origin. They were: the Arcadian (from Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
), Achaean (from Achaea
Achaea
Achaea is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The capital is Patras. The population exceeds 300,000 since 2001.-Geography:...
), Elean (from Elea
Elea
Elea may refer to:* Elea, ancient name of an Italian Greek colony, now known as Velia**Eleatics, school of pre-Socratic philosophers at Elea* Elea, Kyrenia, a settlement of Cyprus in Kyrenia District...
), Boeotian (from Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
), Amphictyonic (from Amphictyonis
Amphictyonis
Amphictyonis in Greek mythology is a goddess of wine and friendship between nations, a local form of Demeter. Demeter was worshiped under this name at Anthela, because it was a meeting place for the amphictyons of Thermopylae, who offered sacrifices to her at the start of every meeting.The general...
), Dorian (from Doris
Doris
- Geography :* Doris , region of Asia Minor inhabited by Dorians* Doris , region in central Greece in which the Dorians had their traditional homeland* Doris, Iowa, USA- People :* Doris, mother of Antipater...
), Ionian (from Ionia
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
), Athenian (from Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
), Euboean (from Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
), and Nesiotic (from the islands). The form of government was democratic, and the city is said to have enjoyed the advantage of a well-ordered system of laws; but the statement of Diodorus, who represents this as owing to the legislation of Charondas
Charondas
Charondas was a celebrated lawgiver of Catania in Sicily. His date is uncertain. Some make him a pupil of Pythagoras ; but all that can be said is that he was earlier than Anaxilas of Rhegium , since his laws were in use amongst the Rhegians until they were abolished by that tyrant...
, and that lawgiver himself as a citizen of Thurii, is certainly erroneous. The city itself was laid out with great regularity, being divided by four broad streets or plateae, each of which was crossed in like manner by three others.
Very shortly after its foundation, Thurii became involved in a war with Tarentum (modern Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
). The subject of this was the possession of the fertile district of the Siritis, about 50 km north of Thurii, to which the Athenians had a claim of long standing, which was naturally taken up by their colonists. The Spartan general, Cleandridas, who had been banished from Greece some years before, and taken up his abode at Thurii, became the general of the Thurians in this war, which, after various successes, was at length terminated by a compromise, both parties agreeing to the foundation of the new colony of Heracleia in the disputed territory.
Our knowledge of the history of Thurii is unfortunately very scanty and fragmentary. Fresh disputes arising between the Athenian citizens and the other colonists were at length allayed by the oracle of Delphi, which decided that the city had no other founder than Apollo. But the same difference appears again on occasion of the great Athenian expedition
Sicilian Expedition
The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian expedition to Sicily from 415 BC to 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. The expedition was hampered from the outset by uncertainty in its purpose and command structure—political maneuvering in Athens swelled a lightweight force of twenty ships into a...
to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, when the city was divided into two parties, the one desirous of favoring and supporting the Athenians, the other opposed to them. The latter faction at first prevailed, so far that the Thurians observed the same neutrality towards the Athenian fleet under Nicias
Nicias
Nicias or Nikias was an Athenian politician and general during the period of the Peloponnesian War. Nicias was a member of the Athenian aristocracy because he had inherited a large fortune from his father, which was invested into the silver mines around Attica's Mt. Laurium...
and Alcibiades
Alcibiades
Alcibiades, son of Clinias, from the deme of Scambonidae , was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War...
as the other cities of Italy. Thurii was, in fact, the city where Alcibiades escaped his Athenian captors who were taking him home for trial.
But two years afterwards (413 BC) the Athenian party had regained the ascendency; and when Demosthenes
Demosthenes (general)
Demosthenes , son of Alcisthenes, was an Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War.-Early Military Actions:The military activities of Demosthenes are first recorded from 426 BC when he led an Athenian invasion of Aetolia. This was a failure. Demosthenes lost about 120 Athenians along with his...
and Eurymedon
Eurymedon
Eurymedon was one of the Athenian generals during the Peloponnesian War.In 428 BC he was sent by the Athenians to intercept the Peloponnesian fleet which was on its way to attack Corcyra...
touched at Thurii, the citizens afforded them every assistance, and even furnished an auxiliary force of 700 hoplites and 300 dartmen. From this time we hear nothing of Thurii for a period of more than 20 years, though there is reason to believe that this was just the time of its greatest prosperity. In 390 BC we find that its territory was already beginning to suffer from the incursions of the Lucanians, a new and formidable enemy, for protection against whom all the cities of Magna Graecia had entered into a defensive league. But the Thurians were too impatient to wait for the support of their allies, and issued forth with an army of 14,000 foot and 1000 horse, with which they repulsed the attacks of the Lucanians; but having rashly followed them into their own territory, they were totally defeated, near Laüs
Laüs
Laüs or Laus or Laos , was an ancient city on the west coast of Lucania, at the mouth of the river of the same name, which formed the boundary between Lucania and Bruttium; the site of Laüs is in the frazione of Marcellina in the comune of Santa Maria del Cedro, Province of Cosenza, Calabria...
, and above 10,000 of them cut to pieces.
This defeat must have inflicted a severe blow on the prosperity of Thurii, while the continually increasing power of the Lucanians and Bruttians, in their immediate neighborhood would prevent them from quickly recovering from its effects. The city continued also to be on hostile, or at least unfriendly, terms with Dionysius of Syracuse
Dionysius of Syracuse
Dionysius of Syracuse may refer to:*Dionysius I of Syracuse, tyrant of Syracuse from 405 BC to 367 BC.; father of Dionysius II*Dionysius II of Syracuse, tyrant of Syracuse from 367 BC to 357 BC and again from 346 BC to 344 BC.; son of Dionysius I...
, and was in consequence chosen as a place of retirement or exile by his brother Leptines
Leptines
Leptines was an Athenian orator. He is known as the proposer of a law that no Athenian, whether citizen or resident alien , should be exempt from the public charges for the state festivals.The object was to provide funds for the festivals and public spectacles at a time when both the treasury and...
and his friend Philistus
Philistus
Philistus , son of Archomenidas, was Greek historian of Sicily. Philistus was born at Syracuse about the beginning of the Peloponnesian War. He was a faithful supporter of the elder Dionysius, and commander of the citadel. Cicero who had a high opinion of his work, calls him the miniature Thucydides...
. The rise of the Bruttian people about 356 BC probably became the cause of the complete decline of Thurii, but the statement of Diodorus that the city was conquered by that people must be received with considerable doubt. It reappears in history at a later period, when Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
ian soldiers en route to join Timoleon
Timoleon
Timoleon , son of Timodemus, of Corinth was a Greek statesman and general.As the champion of Greece against Carthage he is closely connected with the history of Sicily, especially Syracuse.-Early life:...
on his expedition to Syracuse are blockaded there by Carthaginian
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
ships. At this point it is still an independent Greek city, though much fallen from its former greatness. No mention of it is found during the wars of Alexander of Epirus in this part of Italy; but at a later period it was so hard pressed by the Lucanians that it had recourse to the alliance of Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
; and a Roman army was sent to its relief under C. Fabricius. That general defeated the Lucanians, who had actually laid siege to the city, in a pitched battle, and by several other successes to a great extent broke their power, and thus relieved the Thurians from all immediate danger from that quarter. But shortly after they were attacked on the other side by the Tarentines, who are said to have taken and plundered their city; and this aggression was one of the immediate causes of the war declared by the Romans against Tarentum in 282 BC.
Thurii now sunk completely into the condition of a dependent ally of Rome, and was protected by a Roman garrison. No mention is found of its name during the wars with Pyrrhus
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic era. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became king of Epirus and Macedon . He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome...
or the First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
, but it plays a considerable part in the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
with Hannibal. It was apparently one of the cities which revolted to the Carthaginians
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
immediately after the battle of Cannae
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, which took place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic under command of the consuls Lucius...
, though, in another passage, Livy seems to place its defection somewhat later. But in 213 BC, the Thurians returned to their alliance with Rome, and received a Roman garrison into their city. The very next year, however, after the fall of Tarentum, they changed sides again, and betrayed the Roman troops into the hands of the Carthaginian general Hanno
Hanno
Hanno may refer to:* Hanno, Saitama, Honshū, Japan* Hanno , a lunar crater* Hanno , the pet white elephant of Pope Leo XPeople named Hanno:*Several ancient Carthaginians, including:...
. A few years later (210 BC), Hannibal, finding himself unable to protect his allies in Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, removed the inhabitants of Atella
Atella
Atella was an ancient city of Campania, halfway between Naples and Capua; its ruins lie between the towns of Orta di Atella and Sant'Arpino. Atella is not mentioned until the Second Punic War, when, although an independent city striking its own coinage, it was allied with Capua and the other...
who had survived the fall of their city to Thurii; but it was not long before he was compelled to abandon the latter city also to its fate; and when he himself in 204 BC withdrew his forces into Bruttium, he removed to Crotona 3500 of the principal citizens of Thurii, while he gave up the city itself to the plunder of his troops. It is evident that Thurii was now sunk to the lowest state of decay; but the great fertility of its territory rendered it desirable to preserve it from utter desolation: hence in 194 BC, it was one of the places selected for the establishment of a Roman colony
Colonia (Roman)
A Roman colonia was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of Roman city.-History:...
with Latin rights. The number of colonists was small in proportion to the extent of land to be divided among them, but they amounted to 3000 foot and 300 knights. Livy says merely that the colony was sent in Thurinum agrum, and does not mention anything of a change of name; but Strabo tells us that they gave to the new colony the name of Copiae, and this statement is confirmed both by Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephen of Byzantium, also known as Stephanus Byzantinus , was the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica...
, and by the evidence of coins, on which, however, the name is written "COPIA". But this new name did not continue long in use, and Thurii still continued to be known by its ancient appellation. It is mentioned as a municipal town on several occasions during the latter ages of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
. In 72 BC it was taken by Spartacus
Spartacus
Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
, and subjected to heavy contributions, but not otherwise injured. (Appian, B.C. i. 117.) According to Suetonius
Lives of the Twelve Caesars
De vita Caesarum commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of Suetonius,...
, the Octavian family held some renown there, and Gaius Octavius (father of the future Caesar Augustus) defeated a Spartacist army near there; as a result, the future emperor was granted the surname Thurinus shortly after birth. At the outbreak of the Civil Wars it was deemed by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
of sufficient importance to be secured with a garrison of Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
ish and Spanish
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
horse; and it was there that M. Coelius was put to death, after a vain attempt to excite an insurrection in this part of Italy. In 40 BC also it was attacked by Sextus Pompeius
Sextus Pompeius
Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, in English Sextus Pompey , was a Roman general from the late Republic . He was the last focus of opposition to the Second Triumvirate...
, who laid waste its territory, but was repulsed from the walls of the city.
It is certain therefore that Thurii was at this time still a place of some importance, and it is mentioned as a still existing town by Pliny and Ptolemy, as well as Strabo. It was probably, indeed, the only place of any consideration remaining on the coast of the Tarentine gulf, between Crotona and Tarentum; both Metapontum
Metapontum
Metapontum, Metapontium or Metapontion , was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus . It was distant about 20 km from Heraclea and 40 from Tarentum...
and Heracleia having already fallen into almost complete decay. Its name is still found in the Itineraries. and it is noticed by Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
as still existing in the 6th century. (Procop. B. G. i. 15.) The period of its final decay is uncertain; but it seems to have been abandoned during the Middle Ages, when the inhabitants took refuge at a place called Terranova (Terranova da Sibari), about 12 miles inland, on a hill on the left bank of the Crathis
Crathis
The Crathis or Crater is a river in Calabria, southern Italy. It rises in the central the Sila Mountains, a few kilometers south of Cosenza, flows below the walls of that city, where it is joined by the smaller stream of the Busento, and has a course nearly due north through the center of the...
.
The exact location of Greek Thurii is not known, but that of the Roman town, which probably though not certainly occupied the same site, is fixed by insignificant ruins as being 4 miles to the east of Terranova da Sibari, and as occupying an area some 4 miles in circuit. It is clear, from the statements both of Diodorus and Strabo, that Thurii occupied a site near to, but distinct from, that of Sybaris (Diod. xii. 10; Strab. l. c.): hence the position suggested by some local topographers at the foot of the hill of Terranova, is probably too far inland. It is more likely that the true site is to be sought to the north of the Coscile (the ancient Sybaris), a few miles from the sea, where, according to Zannoni's map, ruins still exist, attributed by that geographer to Sybaris, but which are probably in reality those of Thurii. Henry Swinburne
Henry Swinburne
Henry Swinburne was an English travel writer.-Life:He was born at Bristol on 8 July 1743, into a Catholic family, and was educated at Scorton school, near Catterick, Yorkshire. He was then sent to the monastic seminary of Lacelle in France. He afterwards studied at Paris, Bordeaux, and in the...
, however, mentions Roman ruins as existing in the peninsula formed by the rivers Crathis and Sybaris near their junction, which may perhaps be those of Thurii.