Sybaris

Sybaris was an ancient Greek polis in Magna Graecia, located on the southern Italian coast near the Crathis (Crati) river and the Gulf of Taranto. It was established in the mid-8th century BCE by Greek colonists, traditionally associated with settlers from the Achaean mainland. The city grew into a prosperous urban and commercial center, controlling fertile hinterland and engaging in extensive Mediterranean trade.

The city became renowned in antiquity for its wealth and luxurious lifestyle, a reputation that gave rise to the term sybaritic in many languages to describe lavish living. Its prosperity supported substantial urban development, with notable residences and public buildings, and it played a prominent role in the cultural and political life of the Greek world in southern Italy.

In 510 BCE, Sybaris was destroyed by its powerful neighbor Croton after a protracted conflict. According to tradition, the survivors fled to the nearby coast and founded Thurii, a new settlement on or near the old site. The original city did not recover, and the region subsequently remained under Hellenic or rising Roman influence.

Archaeological work in the Sibari area of northern Calabria has uncovered remains of early Greek occupation at the site commonly associated with Sybaris, and the broader region is known as the Sibaritide. The city’s legacy persists in place names and the enduring term sybarite, used to denote a person devoted to luxury.