A panhellenic colony in southern Italy, founded under Athenian leadership on the site of old Sybaris, planned by the philosopher-architect Hippodamus and chosen by Herodotus, the 'Father of History,' as his adopted home.
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Thurii (Magna Graecia) through the eras
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Classical Age
Established around 444/443 BCE under the sponsorship of Pericles' Athens as a deliberately panhellenic foundation near the ruins of fabled Sybaris, Thurii was laid out on a rational grid by Hippodamus of Miletus, the first theorist of town planning, and reportedly given laws by Protagoras. Among its original colonists was Herodotus of Halicarnassus, the 'Father of History,' who is said to have settled here and completed his great 'Histories' of the Persian Wars—so that some ancient sources call him 'Herodotus of Thurii.'
Hellenistic Age
Caught between the native Lucanians and the expanding power of Rome, Thurii repeatedly sought Roman protection and was eventually refounded as the Latin colony of Copia in 193 BCE, its Greek identity fading as southern Italy passed firmly under Roman control.