Τερίνα | |
 The site of Terina in 2020. | |
  Terina Shown within Italy | |
| Location | Lamezia Terme,Province of Catanzaro,Calabria,Italy |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°56′22″N16°14′2″E / 38.93944°N 16.23389°E /38.93944; 16.23389 |
| History | |
| Builder | Settlers fromCroton |
| Founded | 480–470 BC |
| Periods | Classical Greece toRoman Empire |
Terina (Ancient Greek:Τερίνα and Τέρινα[1]) was an ancient city located on the Piano di Tirena hill inNocera Terinese about 20 km (12 mi) fromLamezia Terme inCalabria. The site of the city was allegedly found in 1922 by the archaeologistPaolo Orsi near the modern village of Sant'Eufemia Vetere. A systematic archaeological investigation was made from 1997[citation needed] and coins, inscriptions and other artefacts retrieved from the site can be seen in the Museo Archeologico Lametino in Lamezia Terme.
The site is surrounded by two rivers,Savuto and Grande and matches the description byStrabo[citation needed] written around 20 AD.
In the fifth century BC the Greek citiesCroton andLocri, both located on theIonian Sea, vied for the control of ports on theTyrrhenian Sea. These ports were important for conducting trade. Locri had founded the citiesMedma andHipponium there and had assumed control ofMetauros.Temesa lay north of Hipponium and had close relations with Croton, which may have been its mother city. Temesa was valuable because of itscopper mines and its trade with the north. Locri conquered Temesa at some time in the first half of the fifth century BC, probably in the 480s or 470s. Croton was disadvantaged by the loss and founded Terina at this time to compensate.[2] Terina's foundation is dated to 480–470 BC.[3] It started minting its own coins sometime after 480 BC, which indicates that it soon became independent from its mother city.[4]
Terina became a prosperous city and protected the route from the Tyrrhenian Sea to Croton.[5] Later in the second half of the fifth century BC Terina was attacked byThurii, after that city's foundation in 444/3 BC. Thurii wanted to capture Terina because the city was closely connected with Croton, Thurii's enemy. TheSpartan generalCleandridas who led the Thurian army planned a surprise attack, but this failed when his army was discovered. He retreated after ravaging the city's countryside.[6]
When theBruttians arose as a new ethnic group in Lucania in 356/5 BC their first target was Terina, which they besieged and plundered.[7] When Alexander of Epirus arrived in Southern Italy in approximately 333 BC[8] he took the city from the Bruttians.[9] He did not possess it for long because he was defeated by a combined army of Bruttians and Lucanians at theBattle of Pandosia in 331 BC. At some later point Terina became a Roman possession.[citation needed] It was ultimately destroyed in theSecond Punic War byHannibal because he could not defend the city during his stay inBruttium.[10]
The city was rebuilt at some point because it is mentioned again byPliny the Elder.[11]
Material evidence of the presence of an ancient settlement in the area of Sant'Eufemia dates to 1865, when agolddiadem and a treasure of jewels of the4th century BC were found by chance. At the end of the same century the treasure was sold to theBritish Museum, where it is still preserved today.[12]
Terina is linked to the myth of Ligea, one of the threeSirens ofHomer'sOdyssey.[13]
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