SOUTHERN ITALY BEFORE THE ROMANS: SABELLIANS, SICILIANS AND ITALIAN GREEKS IN LUCANIA AND BRUTTIUM CA. 450-367 B.

This study is a local history. Historical investigations of ancient Italy rarely focus on the peninsula's regions. Rome dominates the standard expositions. Her history is often presented as if it were the equivalent of ancient Italian history. Yet it is necessary to remember that Rome's authority extended over Italy only gradually. She confined herself to Latium for many centuries. Other peoples with their own traditions and practices inhabited the peninsula. The incorporation of these peoples into Rome's dominion did not end their history. Even after Romanization, their own characteristics prevailed.;A Roman perspective alone distorts our understanding of ancient Italy. A different approach is needed to appreciate the reactions of Italic peoples to Rome's advance. Their own history, needs and aspirations dictated the manner in which they confronted Rome and eventually helped to form Roman Italy.;This examination aims to illuminate the history of Italy by seeking an understanding of events in Lucania and Bruttium, the last areas south of the Po to come under Roman suzerainty. Their resistance was, perhaps, the most obstinate and perilous for Rome. Moreover, the anti- and pro-Roman actions of the Italians become intelligible only when their earlier history is understood.;The study's specific aim is to examine events in these regions during a critical period: ca. 450-367 B.C. It presents the background essential for explaining their transformation from areas of southern Italy to districts of Roman Italy. For the first time, the Italian Greeks had to confront formidable invaders: the Lucani and Dionysius I. Their interaction forms the major focal point of this investigation. The circumstances and outcome were pivotal for the future of southern Italy. Some Italian Greeks would view Rome as another threatening power and would react to her advance based on their prior experience with Italic and Sicilian invaders. Others would see the Romans as protectors just as some Italians had earlier been partial toward Dionysius when it suited their advantage. The era analyzed here provides evidence central to understanding the forces that shaped southern Italy and brought it within the orbit of Rome.