Today's Passage
This passage forms part of Thucydides' archaeological section in Book 6, where he provides historical background on Sicily before narrating the Athenian expedition of 415-413 BCE.
Crawley Translation (1910)
About the same time Lamis arrived in Sicily with a colony from Megara, and after founding a place called Trotilus beyond the river Pantacyas, and afterwards leaving it and for a short while joining the Chalcidians at Leontini, was driven out by them and founded Thapsus. After his death his companions were driven out of Thapsus, and founded a place called the Hyblaean Megara; Hyblon, a Sicel king, having given up the place and inviting them thither. Here they lived two hundred and forty-five years; after which they were expelled from the city and the country by the Syracusan tyrant Gelo. Before their expulsion, however, a hundred years after they had settled there, they sent out Pamillus and founded Selinus; he having come from their mother country Megara to join them in its foundation. Gela was founded by Antiphemus from Rhodes and Entimus from Crete, who joined in leading a colony thither, in the forty-fifth year after the foundation of Syracuse. The town took its name from the river Gelas, the place where the citadel now stands, and which was first fortified, being called Lindii. The institutions which they adopted were Dorian. Near one hundred and eight years after the foundation of Gela, the Geloans founded Acragas (Agrigentum), so called from the river of that name, and made Aristonous and Pystilus their founders; giving their own institutions to the colony. Zancle was originally founded by pirates from Cuma, the Chalcidian town in the country of the Opicans: afterwards, however, large numbers came from Chalcis and the rest of Euboea, and helped to people the place; the founders being Perieres and Crataemenes from Cuma and Chalcis respectively. It first had the name of Zancle given it by the Sicels, because the place is shaped like a sickle, which the Sicels call zanclon; but upon the original settlers being afterwards expelled by some Samians and other Ionians who landed in Sicily flying from the Medes, and the Samians in their turn not long afterwards by Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, the town was by him colonized with a mixed population, and its name changed to Messina, after his old country.
Modern Translation
Around this same period, Lamis arrived in Sicily leading colonists from Megara. He initially established a settlement called Trotilus beyond the river Pantacyas, but soon abandoned it to briefly join the Chalcidian community at Leontini. When the Chalcidians expelled him, he went on to found Thapsus. Following Lamis's death, his followers were forced out of Thapsus and established what became known as Hyblaean Megara, after Hyblon, a native Sicel king, granted them the territory and invited them to settle there. They inhabited this city for two hundred and forty-five years before the Syracusan tyrant Gelo expelled them from both the city and its surrounding territory. However, a century before their expulsion, they had dispatched Pamillus to establish Selinus, with additional colonists arriving from their original mother-city of Megara to assist in the foundation. Gela was established by joint expedition leaders Antiphemus from Rhodes and Entimus from Crete forty-five years after Syracuse's foundation. The city derived its name from the river Gelas, while the location of the present citadel, which was the first area to be fortified, was called Lindii. The colonists adopted Dorian governmental structures. Approximately one hundred and eight years after Gela's establishment, the Geloans founded Acragas (known as Agrigentum), naming it after the local river. They appointed Aristonous and Pystilus as founding leaders and transmitted their own institutional framework to the new colony. Zancle was initially established by pirates operating from Cuma, the Chalcidian settlement in Opician territory. Subsequently, substantial numbers of settlers arrived from Chalcis and other parts of Euboea to populate the site, with Perieres from Cuma and Crataemenes from Chalcis serving as official founders. The Sicels named it Zancle because the location resembled a sickle, which they called 'zanclon' in their language. Later, when Samians and other Ionians fleeing the Persian advance landed in Sicily, they expelled the original inhabitants. These Samians were themselves soon displaced by Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, who repopulated the city with a diverse group of colonists and renamed it Messina after his homeland.
Historical Context
This passage forms part of Thucydides' archaeological section in Book 6, where he provides historical background on Sicily before narrating the Athenian expedition of 415-413 BCE. Thucydides systematically traces the foundation histories of major Sicilian cities, establishing their Greek origins and interconnections. This information was crucial for his Athenian and Greek audience to understand the complex ethnic and political landscape of Sicily, where Dorian and Ionian Greeks, indigenous Sicels, and later arrivals all competed for territory and influence. The detailed chronology demonstrates how Greek colonization proceeded through waves of settlement, displacement, and resettlement, often involving cooperation or conflict with native populations. This background explains why Sicily contained both potential allies and enemies for Athens, and why local rivalries could be exploited by outside powers.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Greek Colonization
Greek colonization (8th-6th centuries BCE) involved establishing independent city-states across the Mediterranean. Unlike modern colonialism, these were autonomous communities that maintained cultural but not political ties to their mother cities. Sicily became one of the most heavily colonized regions, known as Magna Graecia.
Learn more →Sicels
The Sicels were one of three indigenous peoples of Sicily (along with Sicani and Elymi) encountered by Greek colonists. They occupied eastern Sicily and sometimes cooperated with Greek settlers, as seen with King Hyblon's land grant. Their language influenced Greek place names like Zancle.
Learn more →Tyrants of Syracuse
Gelo (r. 491-478 BCE) established the Deinomenid tyranny in Syracuse, making it Sicily's dominant power. His expulsion of Megara Hyblaea's inhabitants exemplifies how tyrants forcibly relocated populations to concentrate power, a practice that reshaped Sicily's demographic and political landscape.
Learn more →Dorian vs Ionian Greeks
The distinction between Dorian and Ionian Greeks was fundamental to Greek identity and politics. Dorian cities (like Syracuse, Gela) often aligned against Ionian cities (like Leontini, Naxos). This ethnic division influenced alliances during the Peloponnesian War, with Athens (Ionian) and Sparta (Dorian) each appealing to related cities.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Herodotus: Histories (7.153-156)
Herodotus describes Gelo's rise to power in Syracuse and his later dealings with mainland Greece during the Persian Wars, providing background on the tyrant mentioned in Thucydides' account of Megara Hyblaea's destruction.
Read passage →Diodorus Siculus: Library of History (11.72-73)
Diodorus, himself Sicilian, provides additional details about the foundation of Sicilian cities and the interactions between Greek colonists and indigenous peoples, complementing Thucydides' colonial chronology.
Read passage →Strabo: Geography (6.2.4)
Strabo's geographical description of Sicily includes information about Greek colonial foundations and the origins of city names, often citing earlier historians and providing alternative traditions to those in Thucydides.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does the pattern of settlement, displacement, and resettlement in Sicily reflect broader patterns of Greek colonization and its impact on indigenous peoples?
- What role did ethnic identity (Dorian vs. Ionian) play in the foundation and development of Sicilian cities, and how might this have influenced later political alliances?
- Why does Thucydides provide such detailed chronological information about these colonial foundations? What purpose does this serve in his larger narrative?
- How does the relationship between colonists and indigenous peoples (like King Hyblon's cooperation) compare to other colonial encounters in ancient history?