Tarentum

Tarentum, known in ancient Greek as Taras, was a Greek city-state located on the gulf that bears its name in southern Italy, in the region of Apulia. The site corresponds to the modern city of Taranto. According to myth, Taras, son of Poseidon, founded the city; historically, it emerged as a Greek colony in Magna Graecia during the 8th century BCE and grew into a prominent urban center.

With a natural harbor and strategic position along maritime routes between the Greek world and the Italian peninsula, Tarentum developed into a major commercial and naval power. It minted coinage and maintained a vigorous mercantile fleet, linking Greece, Illyria, and Sicily with inland Italic communities. The city was also a cultural hub, contributing to the broader Greek world through trade, art, and learning.

In philosophy, Tarentum was associated with the Tarentine school, linked to Archytas of Tarentum and other early Pythagorean-influenced thinkers. This tradition contributed to discussions in natural philosophy, mathematics, and political thought, and it influenced later Greek and Roman scholarship.

During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Tarentum participated in regional conflicts, including the Pyrrhic War. Following Roman expansion into southern Italy, Tarentum gradually came under Roman influence and was eventually incorporated as a Roman municipium; the city continued to be inhabited into late antiquity, its identity gradually merging with that of the wider Roman world and, in modern times, with the city of Taranto.

Archaeological remains from Greek and Roman eras attest to Tarentum's historical significance, including elements of fortifications and public architecture. Today, Taranto preserves a legacy as a major ancient Greek center in Italy and as a conduit between the Greek world and Rome.