Editing Sybaris (section)

{{Short description|Important city of Magna Graecia}}
{{about|the ancient city of Magna Graecia||Sybaris (disambiguation)|and|Sibari}}
{{Infobox ancient site
  |name = Sybaris
  |native_name = Σύβαρις<br />Sibari
  |alternate_name =
  |image = Sibari-scavi-teatro.jpg
  |alt =
  |caption = Remains of the theatre of Sybaris
  |map_type = Italy
  |map_alt =
  |coordinates = {{coord|39|43|0|N|16|29|38|E|display=inline,title}}
  |location = [[Sibari]], [[Province of Cosenza]], [[Calabria]], [[Italy]]
  |region = [[Magna Graecia]]
  |type = Settlement
  |part_of =
  |length =
  |width =
  |area = Approximately {{convert|500|ha|abbr=on}}
  |height =
  |builder = [[Achaeans (tribe)|Achaean]] and [[Troezen]]ian colonists
  |material =
  |built = 720&nbsp;BC
  |abandoned = 445&nbsp;BC
  |epochs = [[Archaic Greece]] to [[Classical Greece]]
  |cultures =
  |dependency_of =
  |occupants =
  |event =
  |excavations = 1960s
  |archaeologists =
  |condition =
  |ownership =
  |management = Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Calabria
  |public_access =
  |website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20140226183334/http://www.archeocalabria.beniculturali.it/archeovirtualtour/calabriaweb/sibari1.htm ArcheoCalabriaVirtual] {{in lang|it}}
  |notes =
}}

'''Sybaris''' ({{langx|grc|Σύβαρις}}; {{langx|it|Sibari}}) was an important ancient Greek city situated on the coast of the [[Gulf of Taranto]] in modern [[Calabria]], Italy.

The city was founded around 720&nbsp;BC by [[Achaeans (tribe)|Achaean]] and [[Troezen]]ian settlers and the Achaeans also went on to found the nearby great city of [[Crotone|Kroton]] 10 years later. Sybaris amassed great wealth thanks to its fertile land and busy port so that it was known as the wealthiest colony of the Greek Archaic world. Its inhabitants became famous among the [[Greeks]] for their [[hedonism]], feasts, and excesses, to the extent that "sybarite" and "sybaritic" have become bywords for opulence, luxury, and outrageous pleasure-seeking. Sybaris also ruled over smaller colonies throughout the area, and had an ''acropolis'' at [[Timpone della Motta]] near [[Francavilla Marittima]] about 10 km distant.

The city of Sybaris was destroyed in about 510 BC by its neighbour Kroton{{cref2|A}} and its population driven out, but its colonies in the area continued to exist.<ref>Rethinking Collapse: the Fall of Sybaris (ca. 510 BC) and the Transformation of Greek Colonial Space  https://francavilla.philhist.unibas.ch/it/rethinking-collapse/</ref>

It was replaced by a new colony under Athenian leadership in 444/43 BC which became the city [[Thurii]] built partially on top of the older city. Thurii was also destroyed in 193 BC but the Romans built the city of [[Copia (ancient city)|Copia]] on the same grid as Thurii, and parts of these cities are visible today. 

The ruins of Sybaris/Thurii/Copia became forgotten as they were buried by sediment from the Crati river. The ruins were rediscovered and excavated from 1932. Today they can be found southeast of [[Sibari]] in the [[Province of Cosenza]], [[Calabria]], [[Italy]].