PaestumAncient Greek City

The ancient city in the southern region of Lucania was a colony of the Greek city of Sybaris. The city's original name was Poseidonia and its story has always been shrouded in myth. In the 6th century BC, Paestum and the whole of Magna Grecia flourished.

Unlike Pompeii and Herculaneum, the city was abandoned, and its temples of white marble standing proud against dusky brown hills and deep blue seas are the only surviving ancient Greek ruins in mainland Italy today. It was most likely founded in 650 BC by the Doriani after their expulsion from the exclusive city of Sybaris on the Ionian Sea. They called their new colony Poseidonia. Flourishing rapidly, it soon became the largest city of the Gulf of Salerno. The city of Sybaris was destroyed in 510 BC, resulting in a decline in power and prestige and in 390 BC Poseidonia fell into the hands of the Lucani, a tribe of local barbarians.