METAPONTUM (city in Lucania)
Greek colony of Magna Graecia
- Kind of place
- City
- Region
- Lucania
- Landmarks
- Circuit of the walls Pausanias 6.19.11; Statue offering Pausanias 5.22.5
- Where
- 40.38° N, 16.82° E
A brazen laurel was set up in the market-place of Metapontum. Athenaeus 13.83 The people of Metapontum dedicated a statue of Zeus to the rising sun. Pausanias 5.22.5
Described in the sources
The city is located in Italy. Herodotus 4.15.1 The town marks the end of the third region of Italy. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 3.15 ¶2 The city is home to a group of people called the Metapontines. Herodotus 4.15.1 Metapontum is located near the rivers Acalandrus and Casuentum. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 3.15 ¶2 Parmeniscus was a man of high status and wealth from this city. Athenaeus 14.2 The city had a treasury located next to the one belonging to the Selinuntians. Pausanias 6.19.11
Stories and history
The Metapontines were destroyed, though the specific cause is unknown to the author. Pausanias 6.19.11 Only the theater and the surrounding walls remained of the city at the time of writing. Pausanias 6.19.11 The soothsayers of Metapontum tore Pharsalia to pieces in the market-place because she possessed a crown belonging to the god. Athenaeus 13.83