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A city of the Ionian Phokaians on the coast of Lucania, founded 540-535
B.C. Following their mass flight from submission to Persia, the Phokaians first
sought refuge in their colonies of Alalia (on Corsica) and Massalia (Marseilles),
but the sea battle of Alalia, in which they triumphed over a combined force of
Etruscans and Carthaginians, led them to abandon Alalia for a place in Magna Graecia.
After a stop and reinforcement at Rhegion they sailed N along the coast to Elea,
a site in the mountainous country between Cape Palinurus and Poseidonia (Hdt.
1.163-67). The foundation prospered and eventually counted among its ornaments
Parmenides, the 5th c. philosopher and statesman who gave the city its constitution,
and the Eleatic school of philosophy. Like Naples and Tarentum it never fell to
the assault of Italic tribes (Strab. 6.254). In 387 B.C. it was a member of the
Italian league against Dionysios I of Syracuse and subsequently became a faithful
ally of Rome, furnishing her with ships in the Punic wars and affording a stronghold
in S Italy against Hannibal. Cicero tells us that the cult of Ceres, Liber, and
Libera at Rome was Greek, and that Velia was one of two cities that furnished
priestesses for it (Balb. 55). In 88 B.C. it became a municipium and was inscribed
in the tribus Romilia. In the civil war of 44 B.C. Brutus, who had a villa there,
made it one of his bases. Thereafter we know of it only as the native city of
the father of Statius and the grammarian Palamedes and famous for its school of
medicine founded on Parmenides' principles. It was always fiercely independent
and determinedly Greek, as the archaeological record also attests, and persisted
in writing Greek well into the Imperial period. Its decline was due to isolation
from the main routes inland and the silting up of its ports. Its economy had probably
always been fragile, dependent on the sea traffic and fishing; there is little
good agriculture in the vicinity.
The city occupied the end of a spur of the Apennines between two rivers,
the Palistro and the Fiumarella S. Barbara, with an acropolis overlooking a considerable
bay. Landward from this the city spread to either side over the slopes descending
to the plain and the river ports, the S quarter much more important than the N.
The fortifications are extremely complicated and confusing, the walls with a base
in blocks of the local limestone and sandstone and upper parts in two- and three-ribbed
construction bricks that are a characteristic of the city. The walls made at least
two, and probably three, circuits that could be separated from one another in
emergency, the largest circuit embracing the S and E quarters of the city, another
around the N quarter, and probably a third enclosing the acropolis and the slope
SE of it, the heart of the old city. There are some scant remains of polygonal
masonry of "Lesbian" type, presumably of an early fortification, to
be seen at places along the crest of the spur, but most of what can be seen today
is work of the Hellenistic period, with towers protecting the gates and at fairly
regular intervals along vulnerable stretches of the curtain, and a fortress at
the high point inland that pains were taken to include. But the setting of certain
towers still wants explanation; and the function of Porta Rosa, Velia's most conspicuous
monument--both a gate between the N and S quarters and a viaduct connecting the
acropolis with the inland fortifications--needs further clarification.
Excavations have been carried out on the acropolis and its adjacencies,
in an area known as the agora, and in the neighborhood of Porta Marina Sud, as
well as around Porta Rosa and its approaches and at scattered points in the S
and E quarters. On the acropolis the most important remains are those of a large
Ionic temple, now reduced to its foundations (32.50 x 18.35 m) partially covered
by a mediaeval castle. This dominated the view, and around it were later constructed
the terraces and porticos of an extensive sanctuary. The earliest material is
of the 6th c., but the temple building is early 5th. Under it is a stretch of
fine archaic work.
On the S slope of the acropolis, in part buried by a terrace wall
of the early 5th c., are foundations of small buildings in "Lesbian"
polygonal masonry. These seem to be remains of the first settlement, or possibly
(on the evidence of pottery found here) a still more ancient station going back
to the early 6th c. It is interesting that these all seem to have faced E and
were aligned with a regular grid of streets.
Along the crest of the main spur a number of temples and sanctuaries
of a wide range of dates have been explored. The most important are a long, narrow
temenos on the minor acropolis where a stele to Poseidon Asphaleios was found
and a vast terrace (ca. 110 x 100 m) near the summit of the city with a long altar
(25.35 x 7 m) reminiscent of that of Hieron at Syracuse.
The agora area, on the slope S of Porta Rosa, consists of a small
public square surrounded by colonnades under which passes an elaborate channel,
best examined uphill from the square, that drained the surrounding slopes, taking
the water to the sea. To the E are remains of a series of buildings that may be
dependencies of the agora. The terrain here is steep and broken, and the area
was repeatedly rebuilt, but the original plan seems to have been of high antiquity,
though what can be seen today is for the most part Hellenistic and Roman. The
drain is dated to the beginning of the 3d c. B.C.
In the vicinity of Porta Marina Sud a considerable area has been cleared.
Here the most interesting remains are a building with cryptoporticus that fills
a whole insula, apparently headquarters of a medical association, where a number
of sculptures and inscriptions were recovered, and a bothros which was found full
of votive material, possibly dedicated to Eros. A number of small houses belonging
to the Roman period have been found in this area; these are all of peristyle plan,
no atrium house being known on the site.
The excavators believe that the city was devastated by catastrophes
toward the beginning of the 3d c. B.C., toward the middle of the 1st c. A.D.,
and toward the end of the 5th c. After the first two the city was rebuilt along
its original pattern, but after the last no rebuilding was undertaken.
L.Richardson, Jr., ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Velia (Huele or Elea: Eth. Hueletes or Eleates, Veliensis: Castell‘
a Mare della Brucca), one of the principal of the Greek colonies in Southern Italy,
situated on the shores of the Tyrrhenian sea, about midway between Posidonia and
Pyxus. There is some uncertainty respecting the correct form of the name. Strabo
tells us that it was originally called Hyele (Uele), but was in his day called
Elea (Elea), and Diogenes Laertius also says that it was at first called Hyele
and afterwards Elea. (Strab. vi. p. 252; Diog. Laert. ix. 5. § 28; Steph. B. s.
v.) But it is certain from the evidence of its coins, which uniformly bear the
legends HuELE and HuELETON, that the name of Hyele continued in use among the
people themselves as long as the city continued; while,on the other hand, the
name of Elea is already found in Scylax (p. 4. § 12), and seems to have been certainly
that in use among Attic writers from an early period, where the Eleatic school
of philosophy rendered the name familiar. Strabo also tells us that some authors
wrote the name Ele (Ele), from a fountain of that name; and this form, compared
with Huele and the Latin form Velia, seems to show clearly that the diversity
of names arose from the Aeolic Digamma, which was probably originally prefixed
to the name, and was retained in the native usage and in that of the Romans, while
it was altogether dropped by the Attics. (Munter, Velia, p. 21.) It is not improbable
that the name was derived from that of the neighbouring river, the Hales of Cicero
(Alento), of which the name is written Elees by Strabo and Belea by Stephanus
of Byzantium. (Cic. ad Fam. vii. 2. 0; Strab. vi. p. 254.) Others, however, derived
it from the marshes (hele) at the mouth of the same river.
There is no trace of the existence of any town on the site of Velia
before the establishment of the Greek colony there, and it is probable that this,
like most of the Greek colonies in Southern Italy, was founded on a wholly new
site. It was a colony from Phocaea in Ionia, and derived its origin from the voluntary
expatriation of the inhabitants of that city in order to avoid falling under the
Persian yoke, at the time of the conquest of Ionia by Harpagus, B.C. 544. The
Phocaean emigrants proceeded in a body to Corsica, where they had already founded
the colony of Alalia about 20 years before; and in the first instance established
themselves in that island, but, having provoked the enmity of the Tyrrhenians
and Carthaginians by their piracies, they sustained such severe loss in a naval
action with the combined fleets of these two powers, that they found themselves
compelled to abandon the colony. A part of the emigrants then repaired to Massilia
(which was also a Phocaean colony), while the remainder, after a temporary halt
at Rhegium, proceeded to found the new colony of Hyele or Velia on the coast of
Lucania. This is the account given by Herodotus (i. 164-167), with which that
cited by Strabo from Antiochus of Syracuse substantially agrees. (Strab. vi. p.
254.) Later writers have somewhat confused the narrative, and have represented
the foundation of Massilia and Velia as contemporaneous (Hygin. ap. A. Gell. x.
16; Ammian. Marc. xv. 9. § 7); but there is no doubt that the account above given
is the correct one. Scylax alone represents Velia as a colony of Thurii. (Scyl.
p. 4. § 12.) If this be not altogether a mistake it must refer to the admission
at a later period of a body of fresh colonists from that city; but of this we
find no trace in any other author. The exact date of the foundation of Velia cannot
be determined, as we do not know how long the Phocaeans remained in Corsica, but
it may be placed approximately at about 540 B.C.
There is no doubt that the settlers at Velia, like those of the sister
colony of Massilia, followed the example of their parent city, and devoted themselves
assiduously to the cultivation of commerce; nor that the city itself quickly became
a prosperous and flourishing place. The great abundance of the silver coins of
Velia still in existence, and which are found throughout the S. of Italy, is in
itself sufficient evidence of this fact; while the circumstance that it became
the seat of a celebrated school of philosophy, the leaders of which continued
through successive generations to reside at Velia, proves that it must have been
a place of much intellectual refinement and cultivation. But of its history we
may be said to know absolutely nothing. Strabo tells us that it was remarkable
for its good government, an advantage for which it was partly indebted to Parmenides,
who gave his fellow-citizens a code of laws which the magistrates from year to
year took an oath to obey. (Strab. vi. p. 254; Diog. Laert. ix. 3. § 23.) But
the obscure story concerning the death of Zeno, the disciple of Parmenides, who
was put to death by a tyrant named Nearchus or Diomedon, would seem to show that
it was not free from the same kind of violent interruptions by the rise of despotisms
as were common to most of the Greek cities. (Diog. Laert. ix. 5; Cic. Tusc. ii.
2. 2) Strabo also tells us that the Eleans came off victorious in a contest with
the Posidonians, but of the time and circumstances of this we are wholly ignorant;
and he adds that they maintained their ground against the Lucanians also. (Strab.
l. c.) If this is correct they would have been one of the few Greek cities which
preserved their national existence against those barbarians, but their name is
not found in the scanty historical notices that we possess of the wars between
the Lucanians and the cities of Magna Graecia. But the statement of Strabo is
in some degree confirmed by the fact that Velia was certainly admitted at an early
period (though on what occasion we know not) to the alliance of Rome, and appears
to have maintained very friendly relations with that city. It was from thence,
in common with Neapolis, that the Romans habitually derived the priestesses of
Ceres, whose worship was of Greek origin. (Cic. pro Balb. 24; Val. Max. i. 1.
§ 1.) Cicero speaks of Velia as a well-known instance of a foederata civitas,
and we find it mentioned in the Second Punic War as one of those which were bound
by treaty to contribute their quota of ships to the Roman fleet. (Cic. l. c.;
Liv. xxvi. 39.) It eventually received the Roman franchise, apparently in virtue
of the Lex Julia, B.C. 90. (Cic. l. c.) Under the Roman government Velia continued
to be a tolerably flourishing town, and seems to have been from an early period
noted for its mild and salubrious climate. Thus we are told that P. Aemilius was
ordered to go there by his physicians for the benefit of his health, and we find
Horace making inquiries about it as a substitute for Baiae. (Plut. Aemil. 39;
Hor. Ep. i. 15. 1.) Cicero's friend Trebatius had a villa there, and the great
orator himself repeatedly touched there on his voyages along the coast of Italy.
(Cic. Verr. ii. 4. 0, v. 17, ad Fam. vii. 19, 20, ad Att. xvi. 6, 7.) It appears
to have been at this period still a place of some trade, and Strabo tells us that
the poverty of the soil compelled the inhabitants to turn their attention to maritime
affairs and fisheries. (Strab. vi. p. 254.) It is probable that the same cause
had in early times co-operated with the national disposition of the Phocaean settlers
to direct their attention especially to maritime commerce. We hear nothing more
of Velia under the Roman Empire. Its name is found in Pliny and Ptolemy, but not
in the Itineraries, which may, however, probably proceed from its secluded position.
It is mentioned in the Liber Coloniarum (p. 209) among the Praefecturae of Lucania;
and its continued existence as a municipal town is proved by inscriptions. (Mommsen,
Inscrip. R. N. 190, App. p. 2.) It became an episcopal see in the early ages of
Christianity, and still retained that dignity as late as the time of Gregory the
Great (A.D. 599). It is probable that the final decay of Velia, like that of Paestum,
was owing to the ravages of the Saracens in the 8th and 9th centuries. The bishopric
was united with that of Capaccio, which had succeeded to that of Paestum. (Munter,
Velia, pp. 69-73.) During the middle ages there grew up on the spot a fortress
which was called Castell‘ a Mare della Brucca, and which still serves to mark
the site of the ancient city.
The ruins of Velia are situated on a low ridge of hill, which rises
about a mile and a half from the mouth of the river Alento (the ancient Hales),
and half a mile from the coast, which here forms a shallow but spacious bay, between
the headland formed by the Monte della Stella and the rocky point of Porticello
near Ascea. The mediaeval castle and village of Castell‘ a Mare della Brucca occupy
the point of this hill nearest the sea. The outline of the ancient walls may be
traced at intervals round the hill for their whole extent. Their circuit is not
above two miles, and it is most likely that this was the old city or acropolis,
and that in the days of its prosperity it had considerable suburbs, especially
in the direction of its port. It is probable that this was an artificial basin,
like that of Metapontum, and its site is in all probability marked by a marshy
pool which still exists between the ruins of the ancient city and the mouth of
the Alento. This river itself, however, was sufficient to afford a shelter and
place of anchorage for shipping in ancient times (Cic. ad Att. xvi. 7), and is
still resorted to for the same purpose by the light vessels of the country. No
other ruins exist on the site of the ancient city except some masses of buildings,
which, being in the reticulated style, are unquestionably of Roman date: portions
of aqueducts, reservoirs for water, &c. are also visible. (The site and existing
remains of Velia are described by Munter, Velia in Lucanien, 8vo. Altona, 1818,
pp. 15-20, and by the Duc de Luynes, in the Annali dell' Instituto, 1829, pp.
381-386.)
It is certain that as a Greek colony Velia never rose to a par with
the more opulent and flourishing cities of Magna Graecia. Its chief celebrity
in ancient times was derived from its celebrated school of philosophy, which was
universally known as the Eleatic school. Its founder Xenophanes was indeed a native
of Colophon, but had established himself at Velia, and wrote a long poem, in which
he celebrated the foundation of that city. (Diog. Laert. ix. 2. § 20.) His distinguished
successors Parmenides and Zeno were both of them born at Velia, and the same thing
is asserted by some writers of Leucippus, the founder of the atomic theory, though
others represent him as a native of Abdera or Melos. Hence Diogenes Laertius terms
Velia an inconsiderable city, but capable of producing great men (ix. 5. § 28).
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
or Elea (Elea), also called Hyele (Huele). Now Castellamare; a Greek town of Lucania, on the western coast between Paestum and Buxentum, was founded by the Phocaeans, who had abandoned their native city to escape from the Persian sovereignty, about B.C. 543. It was situated about three miles east of the river Hales, and possessed a good harbour. It is celebrated as the birthplace of the philosophers Parmenides and Zeno, who founded a school of philosophy usually known under the name of the Eleatic. The different forms of the name of the town arise from the fact that the Romans preserve the original Aeolic digamma, representing it by their semi-consonantal V.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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