Kroton

Attributes: | +15% Missile Damage, +15% Melee Damage, +15% Unit Defenses

**Kroton** is a medium-sized Greek faction located along the Ionian coast of eastern Bruttium.

It is the largest Greek faction in the base game without any DLC, and tied with Syrakousai if The Eagle King DLC is enabled.

Kroton's starting neighbours are Locris, Sybaris and the Bruttii.

### In-game Description

"Founded in 710 BCE by Myscellus from Achaea, Kroton is one of the Greek cities of Magna Graecia. It has been said that "the last of the Crotoniates was the first among all other Greeks", as the people of Kroton have an excellent reputation for warfare and athletics, in one Olympic Games the first seven winners in the stadium-race all hailing from Kroton."

### Starting Cities

* **Kroton**: Founded by Greeks from the northern Peloponnese, Kroton was one of the most prosperous and powerful cities of Magna Graecia. Famous both for its science and athletics, Kroton achieved great success at the Olympics and was also the site of the school of Pythagorians.
* **Aprustum**: Also called Abrystum, Aprustum is the only inland city of the Bruttii. Its name could either come from an Oenotrian word for "strong" or Latin word for "wild boar".
* **Terina**: Terina is a city founded by Kroton to maintain a presence near the Tyrrhenian Sea following Epizephyrian Locris' conquest of Kroton's former city Temesa. Despite Kroton's efforts, Terina would soon gain independence and prosper on its own.
* **Scylletium**: Scylletion, also known as Scolacium is a city in Southern Italy traditionally described as a Greek colony founded by Athens or by Ulysses. Despite such traditions, Greek sources with comprehensive lists of colonies in the area and accounts of Athenians establishing colonies make no mention of it, making it likely Scylletion was no independent colony but only a minor subject of Kroton.
* **Kaulonia**: Founded by Achaean Greek colonists, Kaulonia was an important source of timber for Athenian shipbuilding during the Peloponnesian War. In later years, the city was razed multiple times by the tyrants of Syracuse, captured by Campania during the Phyrric War, and completely destroyed by Rome after it sided with Hannibal during the Punic Wars.

### Historic Starting General

When playing this faction in a sandbox setting, the player may choose to start with the following pre-defined historic general instead of a generic one. These characters usually have far better bonuses than can be obtained with the generic starting generals.

### Strategy

Kroton has arguably the strongest military of any faction in the early game, thanks to its combat bonuses and being of the Greek faction group that has immediate access to hoplites without the need for constructing any city upgrades, as well as having a relatively large amount of native cities for a Greek faction.

The nearby Bruttii are stuck with the Sabellic brigade roster and are thus probably your weakest neighbour in the early game and a good candidate for early expansion, but the neighbouring Greeks are a viable target as well.

### Trivia & History

* Kroton became the home of the mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras in the late 6th Century BC, who established a secret society that came to dominate the city's politics. It was during this time that Kroton defeated and destroyed their ancient rival Sybaris around 510 BC, but the Pythagoreans were driven out of Kroton shortly afterwards while unsuccesfully trying to prevent Kroton from adopting a democratic form of goverment.
* Kroton's power began to wane in the 5th Century BC and the city proved unable to maintain its independence during the 4th and 3rd Centuries BC, when it was variously captured by Syrakousai and the Bruttii and became increasingly depopulated in the process.
* The city was conquered by Rome in 277 BC during the Pyrrhic War, but was shortly afterwards captured and ransacked by an army of mutinous Campanian soldiers that had violently made themselves masters of Rhegion, which they were initially tasked with defending. This prompted the Romans to attack the mutineers and restore Rhegion to independence as a Roman ally.
* Kroton was again captured by the Bruttii, who were now allied with Carthage, during the Second Punic War. The area around Kroton was Hannibal's last holdout in Italy before being recalled to the defense of Africa.
* The faction's icon depicts a religious tripod, which is a symbol of the Greek god Apollo. The design features on engraved ancient coins minted by Kroton.