Sybaris on the Traeis

Sybaris on the Traeis was an ancient city situated on the

In the present day the Trionto river flows through the Province of Cosenza in Calabria, Italy. The mouth of the river lies approximately 25 kilometers southeast of the site of Thurii. The exact location of Sybaris on the Traeis has not been found along the course of the Trionto yet.

History

Foundation

Strabo also mentions Sybaris on the Traeis, stating that some people thought it was of Rhodian origin.^[6] Frank Walbank argues that this idea was probably a mistake not endorsed by Strabo himself.^[2]

Two alliances

Polybius writes that Sybaris was allied with two other Achaean colonies, Croton and Caulonia.^[7] Walbank thinks it very likely that Polybius meant Sybaris on the Traeis.^[2] Wonder agrees, noting that the original Sybarites would have been hostile to Croton and would not have formed an alliance with that city.^[5]

Wonder argues the cities formed this alliance in the second half of the 5th century BC because they felt threatened by neighboring Greek city-states in Southern Italy. In spite of Croton's destruction of the original Sybaris, an alliance would have been mutually beneficial to the former enemies. The establishment of Thurii and its expansionist policy now threatened both cities. Sybaris on the Traeis probably would have been small and not powerful enough to threaten Croton. It could have functioned as a buffer against Thurii for Croton. In turn, the city could benefit from Croton's protection.^[5]

In the early fourth century BC the situation drastically changed when Dionysius I of Syracuse and the Lucanians threatened the Greek cities of Southern Italy. With the exception of Locri, which was an ally of Dionysius, the cities formed an alliance called the Italiote League in 393 BC. Wonder thinks Sybaris on the Traeis probably was a member of the league together with Croton, Caulonia, Thurii, Rhegium and Velia by 389 BC.^[5]

Destruction

Diodorus Siculus writes that Sybaris on the Traeis was eventually destroyed by the Bruttii, but does not give a specific date.^[4] Because he dates the formation of the Bruttii as an ethnic group to 356/355 BC^[8] the city could not have been destroyed before that date.

References