Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1216

 1192 THURII. governor. As there are no sources of water liere, it is to be supposed that the building was supplied by an aqueduct from the neighbouring river o( Fidhima." (Leake, Morea, vol. i. pp. 354. seq. 360; Boblaye, Recherches, cf-c. p. 105; Ross, Reisen im Peloponnes, p. 2; Curtius, Peloponnesos, vol. ii. p. IGl.) THU'lvII l@ovpi.oi. : Eth. Qovpluos, Thurinus), called also by some Latin writers and by Ptolemy Thuriuji (^0ovpLov, Ptol.), a city of Magna Graecia, situated on the Tarentine gulf, within a short dis- tance of the site of Sybaris, of which it may be con- sidered as having taken the place. It was one of the late.st of all the Greek colonies in this part of Italy, not having been founded till 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 [Sybaris] ; when at length, in B.C. 452, a number of the Sybarite exiles and their descendants made an attempt to establish them- seh es 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 establir-hment of the colony. (Diod. xi. 90, sii. 10.) 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 col- lected froin 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. (Diod. xii. 10; Strab. vi. p. 263 ; Dionys. Lt/s. p. 453 ; Vii. X. Orat. p. 835 ; Plut. Peric. 1 1, Nic. 5.) The new colonists at first established themselves on the site of the de- serted Sybaris, but shortly afterwards removed (ap- parently 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. (Diod. ?. c. ; Strab I.e.) The foun- dation of Thurii is assigned by Diodorus to the year 446 B. c; but other authorities place it three years later, B. c. 443, and this seems to be tue best au- thenticated date. (Clinton, F. E. vol. ii. p. 54.) 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 pro- gress 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 privi- leges. These disputes at length ended in a revolu- tion, and the Sybarites were finally expelled from the city. They established tliemselves for a short time upon the river Traens, but did not maintain their footing long, being dislodged and finally dispersed by the neighbouring barbarians. (Diod. xii. 11,22; Arist. Pol. V. 3.) The Thurians meanwhile con- cluded a treaty of peace with Crotona, and the new city rose rapidly to prosperity. Fresh colonists poured in from all quarters, especially the Pelopon- nese ; and though it continued to be generally re- garded as an Athenian colony, the Athenians in fact THURIL 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 in- dicate their origin. They were, — the Arcadian, Achaean, Elean, Boeotian, Amphictyonic, Dorian, Ionian, Athenian, Euboean, and Nesiotic, or that of the islanders. (Diod. xii. 11.) The form of govern- ment 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 cer- tainly erroneous. _Dict. ofBiogr. art. Charondas.] 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. (Diod. xii. 10.) Very shortly after its foundation, Thurii became involved in a war with Tarentum. The subject of this was the possession of the fertile district of the Siritis, about 30 miles N. of Thurii, to which the Athenians had a claim of long standing [Sikis], 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. (Diod. xii. 23, 36, xiii. 106 ; Strab. vi. p. 264 ; Polyaen. Strut. ii. 10.) [Hkracleia.] Our knowledge of the history of Thurii is unfortunately very scanty and fragmen- tary. 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. (Diod. xii. 35.) But the same difference appears again on occasion of the great Athenian expediticm to Sicily, when the city was divided into two parties, the one desirous of favouring 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 (Thuc. vi. 44) ; but two years afterwards (b. c. 213) 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. (Id. vii. 33, 35.) From this time we hear nothing of Thurii for a period of more than 20 years, though there is reason tobelieve that this was just the time of its greatest prosperity. In B. c. 390 we find that its territory was already be- ginning to suffer from the incursions of the Lucaiiians, a new and formidable enemy, for protection against whom all the cities of JIagna 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 Laiis, and above 10,000 of them cut to pieces (Diod. xiv. 101). This defeat must have inflicted a severe blow on the prosperity of Thurii, while the continually in- creasing power of the Lucanians and Bruttians, in their immediate neighbourhood would prevent them from quickly recovering from its efiects. The city