  sybaris (; ) was an important city of magna graecia. it was situated on the gulf of taranto between two rivers, the crathis (crati) and the sybaris (coscile). the city was founded in 720&nbsp;bc by achaean and troezenian settlers. sybaris amassed great wealth thanks to its fertile land and busy port. its inhabitants became famous among the greeks for their hedonism, feasts, and excesses, to the extent that "sybarite" and "sybaritic" have become bywords for opulent luxury and outrageous pleasure-seeking. in 510/09&nbsp;bc the city was subjugated by its neighbor kroton and its population driven out. sybaris became a dependent ally of kroton, but kroton again besieged the city in 476/5&nbsp;bc, probably resulting in another victory for kroton. two attempts to reoccupy the city failed around 452/1&nbsp;bc and 446/5&nbsp;bc when the remaining sybarites were again expelled by the krotoniates. after a call for help the sybarites reoccupied their city later in 446/5&nbsp;bc with the assistance of new settlers from athens and other cities in the peloponnese. this coexistence did not last long: the sybarites got into a conflict with the new colonists and were ousted for the last time in the summer of 445 bc. in sum, the city saw a total of five periods of occupation separated by expulsion. the new settlers then proceeded to found the city of thurii in 444/3&nbsp;bc, a new colony which was built partially on top of the site of sybaris. the remaining
Achaean_colonies_of_Magna_Graecia Ancient_Greek_cities Archaeological_sites_in_Calabria Former_populated_places_in_Italy Province_of_Cosenza Ruins_in_Italy