magna Graecia

Ancient Greek City in Sicily Yields Rare Mosaics and Early Christian Finds

Archaeologists have completed the 11th excavation season in the Greek-Roman Quarter of Akragas, the ancient Greek city now known as Agrigento in Sicily, uncovering mosaics and early Christian remains that reveal how the city changed over nearly eight centuries. The...

Ancient Greek Honey Offering Found in Paestum Shrine Solves 70-Year Mystery

Archaeologists recently confirmed that a sticky residue inside 2,500-year-old bronze jars from southern Italy is ancient honey, providing direct evidence of ritual practices at one of Magna Graecia’s most important Greek cities. The discovery resolves a decades-long debate that...

The Ancient Roman Trick That Made Pompeii’s Streets Glow After Dark

Walking along the ancient Roman roads of Pompeii today, you can still see the grooves carved into the paving stones by thousands of years of cart wheels. What you cannot see is what ancient pedestrians experienced after sunset: streets...

Ancient Greek Genius Archytas Built a Flying Machine 2,400 Years Before Drones

Without exaggeration, long before the first drone tore through the skies, and centuries before Leonardo da Vinci sketched his flying machines, an ancient Greek thinker, Archytas, built one of the first-ever flying machines. In the ancient city of Tarentum, in...

Timoleon of Corinth: The Most Underrated Ancient Greek General

Everyone knows Alexander the Great and Leonidas, figures familiar not only from ancient history but also from their frequent reinvention in film and popular culture. Ancient history has a small group of names that circulate widely in documentaries, video...

Imposing Statue of Zeus to Adorn City of Crotone, Magna Graecia

The city of Crotone, a historic jewel of Magna Graecia, is embracing its Greek heritage with the addition of a new, imposing statue of Zeus, further enriching its cultural landscape. This tribute to the king of the Olympian gods serves...

The Dazzling Greek Beauty of Sicily’s Valley of the Temples

The Valle Dei Templi, or Valley of the Temples, dominating the hills near the southern coast of Sicily has captivated visitors for centuries. This magnificent site, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the greatest example of Greek presence...

Was Greek Philosopher Gorgias the First True Nihilist?

Gorgias was a Greek man from Sicily who visited Athens in 427 BC. Soon after, he discovered his life's purpose and began telling everyone that reality was not what people thought it was. Understandably, the individual had some serious nerve...

Echoes of Magna Graecia: Persephone Festival Reclaims Taranto’s Greek Soul

Last Sunday, the ancient heart of Taranto, Magna Graecia, beat to a rhythm thousands of years old. The fourth edition of “Il Ritorno di Persephone” (The Return of Persephone) commenced at Piazzetta Monteoliveto, filling the historic center with a...