city state · Italy

Siris

680 BCE – 530 BCE (approx.) · capital Siris

Short-lived Ionian Greek city on the Gulf of Taranto, proverbial for wealth, destroyed by its Achaean neighbours in the 6th century BCE.

Origins

Ionian Greeks from Colophon in Asia Minor, fleeing Lydian attacks, founded Siris around 680 BCE near the mouth of the Siris (Sinni) river, apparently taking over an existing native settlement. The poet Archilochus praised its land as fair and lovely.

Rule and society

Little is known of its government. Siris was famous for its fertile land and luxury, like its neighbour Sybaris, and became a rival to the Achaean cities of Metapontum, Sybaris and Croton. Some scholars link the hill of Policoro with its main settlement. Herodotus records that Athens later claimed a right to the site.

Decline and legacy

Around 530 BCE an alliance of Metapontum, Sybaris and Croton captured Siris and destroyed it, reportedly killing suppliants at the altar of Athena. In 433 BCE Taras and Thurii founded Heraclea on or near its territory.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻