"A Locris Italiae frons incipit,
Magna Graecia appellata"

From Locri starts the front of Italy,
called Magna Graecia

The millenarian history of Locri Epizephyrii begins between the VIII and the VII century B.C. with the arrival, on the shores of southern Calabria, of a group of settlers from Locris, a poor region of the ancient Greece. From that moment onward, the history of the city develops in the course of the ages and it is studded by many meaningful events: from the magnificence of the archaic age and the alliance with Syracuse to the difficult impact with the Roman world; from the new positive dimension of Municipium to the unavoidable decline that will carry the city to drag itself on until the VII and the VIII century a.D., when some environmental problems (lack of resources and spreading of malaria) added to the increasingly violence of Arab raids, pushed the last inhabitants of the zone to take shelter on the near mountains and, from then on, to contribute to the development of a new city: Gerace.

It's probably the largest section of the site, and it's rightly so. As a matter of fact it covers a large space of time: approximately 15 centuries of history, from the VIII century b.C. to the VII-VIII century A.D.: from the arrival of the first Greek settlers until the time when the coastal zone was left due to the spreading of malaria and to the constant and unstoppable Arab raids.

The proper ancient city. The Sanctuaries (with their few ruins), the Theatre, the Walls, the Craftsmen's Neighbourhood (Centocamere); but the greatest part of the city still lies underground and awaits from centuries to be brought to light. Inside this section you will also find a short mention about the history of the archaeological activity in Locri Epizephyrii, from its discovery until nowadays, and also some information regarding the National Archaeological Museum of Locri Epizephyrii.

Thousands and thousands of archaeological finds were unearthed. Many of them can be admired at the National Archaeological Museum Of Locri Epizephyrii, such as the Statue of a Togatus. Others, such as the greater part of the Pinakes, the acroterion group of the Dioscuri or the Bronze Tablets of the archive of the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus, can be found at the National Museum Of Reggio Calabria; yet others, such as the statue of Persephone, lie somewhere else and their origins are misinterpreted.

The Ancient Locri was the birthplace of many renowned and highly regarded people in the antiquity; we can cite as proof Zaleukos, the first western lawgiver, he provided that the laws should have been written to avoid the arbitraries decisions of the judges based upon oral laws. We can also cite the philosopher Timaeus or the poetess Nossis, "The Sappho's competitor", whose few epigrams, that reached our age, show us her undoubted greatness.
But Locri was, also, the birthplace of skilful athletes, winners of the Olympic Games, such as Euthymus and Hagesidamus, and of many other historical figures.

This section wants to be a showcase in which you can admire a little portion of the areas involved by the archaeological explorations of the territory of the ancient Locri and, as all the other sections of the site, it wants to be a further invite to you all to come and visit these places which still today reflect the ancient echoes of the history of the men and of the women which here made possible the thriving of an original and extraordinary culture whose memory thousands of years weren't able to delete.

A list of books and texts connected with Locri Epizephyrii's history consulted during the building of this site and others books whose subject is Magna Graecia's history. There are also references to texts useful for the knowledge of the Greek world as a whole (history, archaeology, arts, etc.)

Links to other interesting sites whose subject is strictly connected to the ancient world, Greek and Roman. There are also links to some universities sites that started research projects upon the ancient world, with, furthermore, the web unabridged edition of the literary works of classical writers with original texts in Latin and Greek.