The wealthiest and most powerful Greek colony of southern Italy—a Spartan foundation famed for its harbor, its Pythagorean philosopher-statesman Archytas, and its long resistance to the rise of Rome.
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Tarentum (Magna Graecia) through the eras
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Classical Age
Founded by Spartan settlers in the late eighth century BCE, Tarentum (Greek Taras) became the leading city of Magna Graecia, dominating the gulf that bears its name. Its greatest figure was Archytas of Tarentum (c. 435–347 BCE), the Pythagorean mathematician and statesman, friend of Plato, who was elected general seven times, solved the geometric problem of doubling the cube, laid foundations for the theory of musical harmony, and is said to have used his influence to save Plato's life during one of his Sicilian visits.
Hellenistic Age
As Rome pushed south into Italy, Tarentum called in the brilliant adventurer King Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose costly victories over the Romans in 280–279 BCE gave us the phrase 'Pyrrhic victory.' When Pyrrhus withdrew, the city fell to Rome in 272 BCE, ending its independence and gradually drawing the Greek culture of the south into the Roman orbit.