Locri
Archaeology » Heritage sites» Locri
Location
Calabria

Country
Italy

Year of Research
680 BC

Culture
Epizephyrian Locris was to be founded about 680 BC on the Italian shore of the Ionian Sea, near modern Capo Zefirio, by the Locrians, apparently by Opuntii from the city of Opus, but including Ozolae and daemonians. Strabo suggests that it was the Ozolae who were the main founders.In the early centuries Locris was allied with Sparta, and later with Syracuse. It founded two colonies of its own, Hipponion and Medma. During the Pyrrhic Wars 280-275 BC fought between Pyrrhus of Epirus and Rome, Locris accepted a Roman garrison and fought against the Epirote king. However, the city changed sides numerous times during the war. Bronze tablets from the treasury of its Olympeum, a temple to Zeus, record payments to a king, generally thought to be Pyrrhus.At the end of the war, perhaps to allay fears about its loyalty, Locris minted coins depicting a seated Rome being crowned by Pistis, a goddess personifying good faith and loyalty, and returned to the Roman fold.After 1850 Gerace developed along the coast, forming a new centre Gerace Marina, to house new public buildings and a railway station. In 1934 it changed its name in Locri, which is now the administrative centre of the Locride area.