Liternum was an ancient town of

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

, southern central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, near "Patria Lake", on the low sandy coast between

Cumae Cumae ( or or ; ) was the first ancient Greek colony of Magna Graecia on the mainland of Italy and was founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BCE. It became a rich Roman city, the remains of which lie near the modern village of ...

and the mouth of the

Volturnus In Roman mythology, Volturnus was a god of the Tiber, and may have been the god of all rivers. He had his own minor flamen, a high priest, the '' Flamen Volturnalis''. His festival, '' Volturnalia'', was held on August 27. Culture Although he wa ...

. It was probably once dependent on Cumae. In 194 BC it became a

Roman colony A Roman (: ) was originally a settlement of Roman citizens, establishing a Roman outpost in federated or conquered territory, for the purpose of securing it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It ...

. Although

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

records that the town was unsuccessful, excavation reveals a Roman town existed there until the 4th century AD.Lomas, H. K. 'Liternum' in Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow (eds.) ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (4th ed.) 850

History

The town is mainly famous as the residence of the elder Scipio Africanus, who withdrew from Rome and died there. His tomb and villa are described by

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger ( ; AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, a dramatist, and in one work, a satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca ...

in his'' Moral Letters to Lucilius''. In letter LXXXVI, Seneca describes the villa as being built with squared stone blocks with towers on both sides. In

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'' Liternum is mentioned for its mastic trees: ''lentisciferum... Liternum''.

Augustus Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

is said to have conducted a colony of veterans to Liternum. The construction of the Via Domitiana through Liternum made it a posting station, but the town later had a

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

outbreak and went into decline. In 455, the town was pillaged and destroyed by Genseric, king of the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

. Excavations between 1930 and 1936 brought to light some elements of the city center (a forum with a podium temple from the early years of the town,Wolf, Markus (2023). ''Hellenistische Heiligtümer in Kampanien. Sakralarchitektur im Grenzgebiet zwischen Großgriechenland und Rom'' ellenistic sanctuaries in Campania. Sacred architecture in the border region between Greater Greece and Rome DAI Rom Sonderschriften, vol. 26. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, , pp. 54-57. a basilica and a small theater). Outside the city walls, the remains of the

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

and the

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

have been identified.

References

Sources

* *

Sources and external links

The Hunterian Museum's page on Liternum
with maps and photos. * {{Archaeological sites in Campania Coloniae (Roman) Roman sites of Campania Giugliano in Campania Former populated places in Italy Archaeological sites in Campania Phlegraean Fields