Herculea was a southern Italian colony of the classical Greek city
Megara
Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken ...
(or The Megarid) which was located on the
isthmus
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthm ...
across to the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge whi ...
, adjacent to
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...
and
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
.
Herculea, though not referred to often in the writings of historians at the time such as
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...
and
Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scient ...
, was a considerable step towards Mediterranean discovery and expansion for the more often than not isolationist
Peloponnesian League
The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of ancient Greek city-states, dominated by Sparta and centred on the Peloponnese, which lasted from c.550 to 366 BC. It is known mainly for being one of the two rivals in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B ...
related city/states.
Phanias of Eresus
Phaenias of Eresus ( grc, Φαινίας ὁ Ἐρέσιος, ''Phainias''; also Phanias (Φανίας)) was a Greek philosopher from Lesbos, important as an immediate follower of and commentator on Aristotle. He came to Athens about 332 BCE, and ...
, who was a student of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...
, mentioned it in his account of an ancient personality called Antileon, who stole a bell from the colony.
A settlement, which became a ''
municipium
In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...
'' during the Roman period, between
Telese Telese Terme, called simply Telese until 1991, is a city, ''comune'' (municipality) and former episcopal seat in the Province of Benevento, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is located in the valley of the Calore, well known for its sulfu ...
and
San Salvatore Telesino
San Salvatore Telesino (Campanian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples and about northwest of Benevento.
San Salvatore Telesino borders the following mun ...
was also referred to as Colonia Herculea Telesina and was settled in the 1st century B.C. It was founded by the Samnites and was particularly noted for its defensive concave walls, some of which are still preserved.
References
Megarian colonies
Colonies of Magna Graecia
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