Taranto (ancient Tarentum)
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| Taranto (ancient Tarentum) | |
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| Name | Taranto (ancient Tarentum) |
| Native name | Taras |
| Settlement type | Ancient city |
| Coordinates | 40°28′N 17°14′E |
| Founded | c. 706–706 BC |
| Founders | Sparta, Taras (legendary) |
| Region | Magna Graecia |
| Major events | Battle of Heraclea (280 BC), Pyrrhic War, Second Punic War, Social War (91–88 BC), Battle of Tarentum (212 BC), Battle of Tarentum (209 BC) |
Taranto (ancient Tarentum) was a prominent Greek colony in Magna Graecia on the heel of the Italian peninsula, founded in the 8th century BC and notable for its naval power, mercantile wealth, and Hellenic culture. It served as a major hub linking the Ionian Sea, Adriatic Sea, and inland Italic networks, interacting with peoples and polities such as the Spartans, Lucanians, Bruttians, Romans, and Carthaginians. Over centuries Tarentum featured in major conflicts including engagements with Pyrrhus of Epirus, Hannibal, and Roman generals leading to its integration into the Roman Republic.
Etymology and Names
The city's Greek name, Taras, derives from the eponymous hero Taras (legendary), son of Poseidon and a local nymph, while the Latinized form Tarentum appears in sources such as Livy, Polybius, and Strabo. Medieval and modern forms like Taranto evolved through transmission by authors including Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy, and Paulus Orosius, and through interactions with Byzantium, Normans of Sicily, and later Kingdom of Naples. Ancient epigraphic attestations appear in inscriptions catalogued by scholars of epigraphy and in works preserved by Diodorus Siculus and Thucydides.
History
Founded by settlers from Sparta and other Laconian groups, Tarentum quickly established colonies such as Lepanto (Naupactus), Heraclea (Lucania), and coastal emporia cited by Herodotus. The city expanded through alliances and conflicts with Italic tribes like the Messapians and Iapygians, confronting rival Greek polis including Syracuse and Croton. In the classical era Tarentum became a maritime power noted by Thucydides and engaged in geopolitical struggles culminating in appeals to Pyrrhus of Epirus against Roman Republic expansion, documented by Plutarch and Appian. During the Second Punic War Tarentum oscillated between Carthage and Rome, seeing sieges recorded by Livy and tactical operations by commanders such as Hannibal Barca and Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus. Under Roman rule Tarentum underwent municipal reforms under laws reflected in Lex Julia and appears in legal texts alongside mention by Cicero and Virgil. In the late antique period the city endured Lombard incursions, Byzantine administration under officials like the Catepanate of Italy, and Norman reconquest in the era of Roger II of Sicily.
Geography and Urban Layout
Situated on a natural harbor with inner and outer bays, Tarentum controlled access to the Ionian Sea and the littoral routes connecting Brindisi and Ostuni, with topography illustrated in accounts by Strabo and cartographers such as Ptolemy. The urban plan featured a fortified acropolis, agora, and dual harbors—an inner port (porto interno) and outer anchorage—comparable to other Greek colonies like Syracuse and Neapolis. Street grids, residential quarters, and sanctuaries are referenced in travel literature by Pausanias and maps preserved in manuscripts associated with Portolan charts. Suburban sanctuaries and necropoleis reached into neighboring territories controlled by the Lucanians and the Bruttians.
Economy and Trade
Tarentum's economy was dominated by maritime commerce, shipbuilding, and agriculture, exporting goods such as oil, wine, and metalwork to markets including Etruria, Massalia, and Carthage. The polis minted coinage bearing symbols of Taras (legendary) and sea motifs; numismatic evidence is catalogued alongside examples from Akragas and Selinus. Tarentum's artisans produced pottery in styles allied with Corinthian and Attic workshops, while trade networks linked to colonies in Sicily, Corinth, and the wider Hellenic world through merchant families noted in inscriptions and commercium records. Agricultural hinterlands cultivated grains and pasturage supplying urban populations and provisioning fleets during campaigns involving Pyrrhus and Roman admiralties such as those of Gaius Laelius.
Culture and Society
Social life in Tarentum reflected Hellenic institutions including gymnasia, athletic contests, and theatrical performances modeled on traditions from Athens and Sparta, with public festivals honoring deities like Apollo and civic benefactors recorded in decrees. Elite families maintained patronage ties with artists and philosophers, evidenced by literary mentions alongside figures like Archytas of Tarentum—a Pythagorean philosopher-statesman—and contacts with scholars from Croton and Metapontum. Tarentum's population included Greek settlers, indigenous Italic peoples, mercenaries, and later Roman citizens, creating multilingual epigraphic records in Greek language and Latin used in legal and funerary inscriptions.
Architecture and Archaeology
Monumental structures attested in literary sources and excavations include temples, city walls, and a well-preserved Greek theatre comparable to those at Epidaurus and Syracuse. Archaeological campaigns have recovered pottery, bronze statuary, and architectural fragments linked to workshops observed in contexts alongside finds from Paestum and Capua. Key excavated sites reveal agora layouts, sanctuaries of Dionysus and Apollo, and layered stratigraphy spanning Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine phases, with material curated in museums like the Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Taranto and studied by institutions such as the Italian Archaeological School.
Religion and Mythology
Religious practice centered on cults of Hellenic deities including Poseidon, Apollo, and Dionysus, while local hero-cults venerated Taras and maritime protector deities, reflected in votive offerings and temple dedications recorded by Strabo and Pausanias. Mythic associations connected Tarentum to epic cycles and to colonization narratives found in works by Homeric tradition and later mythographers like Apollodorus of Athens. Religious calendars, sacrifice rites, and oracular consultations reveal syncretism with Italic cults and later Roman imperial cult practices visible in inscriptions and architectural reuse.
Legacy and Modern Significance
Tarentum's legacy endures in classical scholarship, numismatics, and archaeological research informing understanding of Magna Graecia and Hellenic diaspora in Italy, cited in comparative studies with Rome, Syracuse, and Massalia. Modern Taranto preserves archaeological monuments and urban continuity studied by historians such as Theodor Mommsen and archaeologists associated with the Università degli Studi di Bari, while cultural heritage debates involve preservationists, municipal authorities, and UNESCO-related frameworks. The city's ancient identity influences regional tourism, antiquities collections, and academic curricula across departments of Classical Studies, Ancient History, and Archaeology.
Category:Ancient Greek colonies in Apulia