city state · Italy

Megara Hyblaea

728 BCE – 483 BCE (approx.) · capital Megara Hyblaea

Greek colony on Sicily's east coast whose excavated remains are a key source for early Greek town planning, destroyed by Gelon of Syracuse in 483 BCE.

Origins

Settlers from Megara in Greece, after failed attempts elsewhere, were offered land by the Sicel king Hyblon and founded Megara Hyblaea around 728 BCE, on the coast north of Syracuse. The name honoured both their mother city and their native host.

Rule and society

Excavations by French archaeologists have shown that the town was laid out with regular streets and house plots soon after its foundation, among the earliest planned Greek settlements known. An agora with temples and stoas developed in the 7th century BCE. Its territory was limited by Syracuse and Leontini, so around 628 BCE it founded the more distant colony of Selinous in western Sicily.

Decline and legacy

Gelon of Syracuse captured Megara Hyblaea in 483 BCE, moved its wealthy citizens to Syracuse and sold the common people into slavery. A smaller town was refounded in the time of Timoleon in the 340s BCE and destroyed again by the Romans in 214 BCE.

Connections (1)

  • Megara Hyblaea was conquered by Syracuse483 BCE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Megara Hyblaea. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/megara-hyblaea
MLA
“Megara Hyblaea.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/megara-hyblaea. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Megara Hyblaea.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/megara-hyblaea.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Megara Hyblaea’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/megara-hyblaea (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻