elea

Elea, an ancient Greek city also known in later times as Velia, was located on the Tyrrhenian coast of southern Italy. It was founded in the 7th century BCE by colonists from Phocaea in Ionia and grew as a trading port within Magna Graecia. The site lies near the modern town of Velia, in the province of Salerno, Campania.

Elea is best known for the Eleatic School of philosophy, established in the 5th century BCE. Its leading figures included Parmenides, who argued that ultimate reality is unchanging and that change is an illusion, and Zeno of Elea, famed for paradoxes designed to defend that view. Melissus of Elea is also associated with the school. The Eleatic method and arguments influenced later Greek thought, contributing to developments in metaphysics, logic, and epistemology and shaping debates that persisted into Hellenistic and medieval philosophy.

Historically, Elea prospered as part of Magna Graecia before falling under Roman influence. In late antiquity the city declined and was ultimately abandoned. Today the archaeological remains—such as city walls, streets, and public buildings—offer insights into the urban planning and daily life of a Greek colony in southern Italy.

The Eleatic philosophical tradition, centered at Elea, left a lasting intellectual legacy beyond the site itself. Modern scholarship treats Elea as a key location for understanding early Greek philosophy as well as the broader cultural and commercial theater of Magna Graecia. The site continues to be a focus of archaeological study and regional heritage.