Scylletium

History

Skylletion may originally have been founded in the 7th c. BC on the Punta di Staletti promontory.

In any case Scylletium was situated from the 6th c. BC on the east coast of Calabria (ancient Bruttium), on the shores of an extensive bay, to which it gave the name of Scylleticus Sinus.

According to a tradition generally received in ancient times, Scylletium (Σκυλλήτιον) was founded by an Athenian colony of Magna Graecia, a part of the followers who had accompanied Menestheus to the Trojan War. Solinus also mention that the Scylaceum was established by Athenians.

Another tradition was, however, extant, which ascribed its foundation to Ulysses. However, it did not display any friendship towards the Athenians.

It appears during this period to have been a minor place and a mere dependency of Crotona until it was wrested from its power by the elder Dionysius, who assigned it with its territory to the Locrians.

It was still a small and unimportant place at the time of the Second Punic War, as no mention is found of its name during the operations of Hannibal in Bruttium, though he appears to have had his headquarters for some time at Castra Hannibalis very near Scylletium.

In 124 BC the Romans, at the instigation of C. Gracchus, sent a colony to Scylletium, which appears to have assumed the name of Minervium or Colonia Minervia. The name is written by Velleius Scolatium; and the form Scolacium is found also in an inscription of the reign of Antoninus Pius, from which it appears that the place must have received a fresh colony under Nerva. Scylletium appears to have become a considerable town after it received the Roman colony, and continued such throughout the Roman Empire.

Towards the close of this period it was distinguished as the birthplace of the Roman statesman Cassiodorus, founder of the Vivarium, a monastery dedicated to the coexistence of coenobitic monks and hermits, who has left us a detailed but rhetorical description of the beauty of its situation dated to around 530 AD, and fertility of its territory. Cassiodorus also mentioned production of highly priced terra cotta. His villa was located at Punta di Staletti.