Locri

Locri is a town and commune in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy.

Contents

1 History
2 Main sights

2.1 Ionic temple of Marasà
2.2 The theater

History

Locri Epizephyri (epi-Zephyros, under the West wind; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was founded about 680 BC on the Italian shores of the Ionian Sea, near modern Capo Zefirio, by the Locrians, apparently by Opuntii (East Locrians) from the city of Opus, but including Ozolae (West Locrians) and Lacedaemonians. Strabo suggests that it was the Ozolae who were the main founders.

Due to hard winds at the original location of settlement, they moved to the present Locri site, where the city was founded. After a century, a defensive wall was built. Outside the city there are several necropoleis, some of which are very large.

Epizephyrian Locri was one of the cities of the Magna Graecia. It was renowned for its lawgiver Zaleucus, who decreed that anyone who proposed a change in the laws should do so with a noose about their neck, with which they should be hanged if the amendment did not pass. Plato called it "The flower of Italy", due to the local peoples' characteristics.

In the early centuries Locri was allied with Sparta, and later with Syracuse. It founded two colonies of its own, Hipponion and Medma.

It was a substantial town, allied to Rome in the time of Polybius. It was abandoned in the 5th century AD and finally destroyed by the Saracens.

Main sights

Ionic temple of Marasà

In the first half of 5th century BC, the Locrians destroyed the archaic temple and rebuilt a new temple in the Ionic style. The temple was designed by Syracusan architects around 470 BC based on the idea of Hiero I of Syracuse.

The new temple has the same place as the previous one but it has a different orientation. The temple was destroyed in the 11th century. The dimensions of the temple were 45.5 meters x 19.8 meters. The cell is free by supports on the central axes. The pronaos had two columns. The temple has 17 ionic columns on the long side, and 6 on the front. The height of the temple was 12 meters.

The theater

The theatre of Locri.

The theater was built in the 4th century BC not far from the ancient city, in the Contrada Pirettina, taking advantage of the hills. The original structure had space for more than 4,500 people, now it is visible only the central part of the theater.

Part of the Cavea (Koilon in Greek) was cut in the rocks. Each plane was divided in 7 wedges Kerkìdes between 6 scales Klimakes. An horizontal separation Diazoma divided the upper theater Epitheatron from the lower theater.

Calabria · Communes of the province of Reggio Calabria

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