Sybaris, The Lost City of Luxury

Nothing grabs attention like a good mystery. A person disappears and we can’t imagine where he or she may have gone, but a whole city? What happened to Sybaris? Where did the pinnacle of ancient Greek civilization go? The accounts of its grandeur have undoubtedly heightened curiosity over the millennia. Modern technology has, in part, helped locate the lost city, and today, we can even visit Sibari Archeological Park in northeastern Calabria. 

WHERE IS SYBARIS?

The ancient territory of the lost city of Sybaris is in Sibari, a frazione or neighborhood of Cassano all’Ionio. At the end of the 8^th-century BC, Achæan Greeks from the northern Peloponnesian founded Sybaris along the Gulf of Taranto on a fertile plane between two rivers, present-day Crati and Coscile. The Sybarites prospered, cultivating wheat and fruit, especially olives for oil production, and in a relatively short time span, the polis became one of the most powerful of Greater Greece.

Sybaris gradually expanded, founding other cities, notably Metaponto, also on the Gulf of Taranto about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast, and Poseidonia, better known as Paestum, as it was called by the Romans, located on the Tyrrhenian Sea, much further away to the northwest on the other side of the mountains. Sybaris came to rule an empire. According to ancient sources, its large territory embraced four peoples and 25 cities. Population estimates mention as many as 300,000 inhabitants before its demise at the hands of neighboring Kroton, Crotone today.

Not much hard evidence of Sybaris remains. Historical accounts survive from its satellite colonies, but many of the fanciful stories about Sybaris were penned hundreds of years after the fact.

WHAT HAPPENED TO SYBARIS?

In 510 BC, Sybaris and Kroton clashed in battle. As the legend goes, Kroton’s Olympic superstar Milo led an army of 100,000 to defeat the Sybarites and destroy their city. In 444 BC, the Sybarites were able to reestablish the settlement with the help of Athenians and named it Thurii. The city flourished for a couple centuries but eventually was taken over by Rome in 194 BC and became Copia. Over time, sediment built up in the Crati River, which caused the delta to move further out to sea and deprived Copia of the easy shipping access that had brought its commercial success.

Below sea level, the land became swampy, uninhabitable, leading to abandonment during the early medieval period. A precise date is not known. What remained of the civilization was gradually covered over.

The ancient community remained buried until the Fascist period, when drainage operations began as part of a land reclamation project. During these early excavations, a theater was discovered.

From the 1960s, a determined effort was made to find the lost city with the assistance of modern equipment, such as magnetometers to detect ruins far below the surface and aerial reconnaissance with remote sensing devices. The most extensive archeological dig occurred between 1969 and 1975 when they uncovered the area that can be visited today. The sea is now a kilometer and a half from the archeological site, which is 6 meters (20 feet) below sea level.

The Museo archeologico nazionale della Sibaritide was built in 1992 to house artifacts from the area of Sibari, the Sibaritide.

WHAT IS A SYBARITE?

Sybaris made an incredible impression on the world in a very short period of time. Being a wealthy city, its upper-class inhabitants would certainly have enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle, but in the case of Sybaris, the reputation would seem over the top. Many of the accounts were written by Roman historians long after the events transpired and the fanciful tales of spoiled opulence may have been just that. For example, Seneca, writing in the 1^st century, 500 years after the city’s fall, told of Sybaris’ pampered sensibilities in his philosophical treatise On Anger, with the story of an overindulgent citizen who suffered if his bed of roses had crumpled petals. Certainly not the behavior of a stoic!

Fact and myth have melded in countless anecdotes of decadence. In addition to expressions, we have words themselves. A sybarite is “a person who is self-indulgent in their fondness for sensuous luxury,” as defined by my computer’s dictionary app. And such an individual would naturally engage in sybaritic behavior! In Italian, the person is a sibarite and their comportment would be sibaritico.

Interestingly, the Sybarites weren’t the first peoples to establish a flourishing society in this area. The Piana di Sibari, Calabria’s largest plain, was previously the center of the Enotrian civilization.

VISITING SIBARI

Only a small portion of the ancient cities have been excavated. The most significant remains date to the Roman era and are found in the area nicknamed the Parco del Cavallo, which can be visited. A bronze horse (cavallo) sculpture from the first half of the 1^st century was recovered in this area, thought to be the centerpiece of a semicircular theater monument from the Copia period. The rear hooves, tail and fragments of the rider’s clothing are on display at the museum.

The archeological park is multi-layered. You can walk the stone streets laid by the Greek colonists of Thurii, also used by the Romans.

Archaeologists found archaic blocks that had been part of a Greek temple in the foundation of the Roman theater. There are several examples of Roman flooring superimposed above previous levels.

A small altar dedicated to Isis was found in a Roman townhouse, from which votive offerings are on display at the museum.

A highlight of the museum is the Toro cozzante or bull in a headbutt, found in the Casa Bianca archeological area, which lies across the 106 coastal road from the Parco del Cavallo and is not visitable. The refined bronze, created with the lost wax method, dates from 410-390 BC and has come to be a symbol of Sybaris.

ARTIFACTS FROM THE SYBARIS AREA

Numerous pieces have been found in archeological areas within Sybaris’ sphere of influence, such as the temple dedicated to Athena on a hill in today’s Francavilla Marittima. An interesting artifact from this site is a bronze plaque that dates from 590-560 BC. Its inscription in Achaean Greek is by a young Sybarite athlete and states: “Kleómbrotos, son of Dexilaos, dedicates the votive offering to Athena for his Olympic win in a competition of equals in height and weight, having promised a tenth of the prize to the goddess.”

The British Museum has a bronze ceremonial ax-head on display that was found in a sanctuary area in the foothills of the Pollino Mountains, today, San Sosti. The noteworthy ax was discovered in 1846 and through a mysterious change of hands landed at the venerable London institution in 1884. Made in Sybaris about 520 BC, the decorative ax-head would have been offered to the gods in thanks for their favor. The inscription in Achaean Greek states: “I am the sacred property of Hera-in-the-Plain: Kyniskos the butcher dedicated me, a tithe from his works.”

SYBARIS PLAIN TODAY

While modest excavations and a handful of extant objects have given some insight into ancient Sybaris, imagination still plays an important role with regard to this storied civilization. Pumps must be constantly engaged to keep water out of the archeological site, which floods with heavy rainfalls. Today, seven communities have territory within the Piana di Sibari or Sybaris Plain, the low-lying area between the Pollino Mountains in the very north of Calabria and the central Sila: Cassano all’Ionio, Villapiana, Corigliano-Rossano, Terranova da Sibari, Cerchiara di Calabria, Trebisacce and Castrovillari.

Following the land reclamation of the 1930s, the Piana di Sibari developed into an important agricultural zone for citrus and olive groves as well as rice cultivation. And in the 1970s, a summer tourism village and marina were built in the reclaimed swampland called the Laghi di Sibari (Lakes of Sibari) not far from the archeological site.

We may have to be content with the limited knowledge of Sybaris that has been uncovered thus far and focus on the area’s delicious fruit. The fertile plain is best known for its clementines, but also produces oranges, lemons, mandarins, apricots, peaches, pomegranates and strawberries. And not to forget the Riso di Sibari, especially the Carnaroli variety, which is highly acclaimed by cognoscenti (intenditori or conoscitori in Italian). Hopefully, more of the lost city will be uncovered in the future, giving us a better idea of what constituted a sybaritic lifestyle in ancient times, but until then, I recommend indulging in a risotto made with rice from the new Sibari.

Visit Sibari Archeological Park and Museum on my Castles and Wines of Calabria Tour!

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Join me on one of my small-group Calabria Tours (I have three itineraries) or on my Basilicata Tour of Calabria’s northern neighbor.

Read about the fascinating Calabrian region in my book Calabria: The Other Italy, described by Publisher’s Weekly as “an intoxicating blend of humor, joy, and reverence for this area in Italy’s deep south,” and explore Calabria’s northern neighbor in my book Basilicata: Authentic Italy, “recommended to readers who appreciate all things Italian” by the Library Journal.

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