Elymoi

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 Attributes: | +20% Brigade Size, +20% Unit Defenses

The **Elymoi** are a small-medium Sicilian faction in western Sicily. It is one of a few factions playable in multiple scenarios, being available in both the Unification of Italy sandbox and the Sicily-only sandbox.

Their neighbours are Himera, Selinous and the Sikeloi. In the Sicily-only sandbox, the Elymoi lose their border with the Sikeloi and gain a border with the Sikanoi instead.

Like all factions on Sicily, the Elymoi are an addition of The Eagle King DLC and do not occur in the basic version of the game.

### In-game Description

"The Elymoi, also called the Elymi or the Elymians, are the westernmost native Sicilian people. Though they adapted a great amount of Greek material culture they maintained closer relations with Carthage, which often brought them into conflict with the Sicilian Greek colonies, especially Selinous."

### Starting Cities

* **Egesta**: Egesta, also known as Segesta, is a city of Greeks and Elymoi frequently at odds with Selinous. Its conflict with Selinous would result in a request to Athens for help, leading to a great defeat of Athens that would weaken them horribly during the Peloponesian War.
* **Eryx**: Eryx is an old city of the Elymoi located in western Sicily. Though never formally a Greek colony, Eryx experienced the same gradual Hellenization as much of Sicily and often fell under the control of the tyrants of Syrakousai. Despite the heavy Greek influence, its great proximity to Carthage would see it often held by the Carthaginians, who would take advantage of its natural defenses and make it into a sizeable fortress until Hamilcar destroyed the city in 260 BCE to found a new city nearby called Drepanum.
* **Ietas**: Originally a fortress of the Sikeloi, Ietas was conquered by a Greek Himeran king as he marched to Syrakousai and later appears as an independent Greek town. It sits on a high hill overlooking Panormos, and has at times been taken with the aim of controlling that greater city from this elevated fortress.
* **Entella\*\*\***: Entella is an ancient Elymoi and Sikanoi city on the banks of the river Hypsas. In 404 BCE, Campanian mercenaries allowed freely into the city would betray Entella, slaughter the entire male population, and make themselves rulers of the city.

**\*\*\***City belongs to the Sikanoi in the Sicily-only sandbox

### Strategy

The Elymoi have good combat bonuses and a relatively defensible territory compared to other Sicilian factions, making them perhaps the easiest faction of that faction group to play as.

Himera and Selinous are both viable targets for your first expansion, as you will be able to expand along the coast in either case, minimizing the amount of new land borders that would be exposed. The best target probably depends on random factors such as AI vs AI conquest and scripted events.

### Trivia & History

* Like with the Sikeloi and Sikanoi, the ethnic origins of the Elymoi remain uncertain. A traditionalist view suggests a relation to the Ligures. More modern assessments of the extremely limited remains of their language have caused some scholars to propose that they were perhaps related to the Hittites, whereas others think they were more likely related to the nearer Italic peoples such as the Latins and Sabellics.
* The Elymoi were noted for their frequent conflicts with nearby Selinous. They would eventually appeal for help from Athens, which led to the disastrous Sicilian Expedition of 415-413 BC, in which Athens' invasion force was annihilated while besieging Syrakousai. This marked a turning point in the Peloponnesian War, as Athens had lost more manpower than it could easily replace and many of its enemies seized the opportunity to take action. The Elymoi next appealed to help from Carthage, which led an invasion into Sicily in 409 BC that captured Selinous and destroyed Himera.
* The Elymoi were mostly within Carthaginian control from 409 BC on, with some brief interruptions due to the Greco-Punic wars and Pyrrhus of Epirus' invasion of Italy and Sicily. The Elymoi defected to Rome during the First Punic War of 264-241 BC, and afterwards became assimilated into the general population of Romanized Sicily.
* The faction's icon depicts a hound in front of 3 ears of grain. The design seems to be taken from ancient coins found in western Sicily.