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Greek city of Neapolis in Campania
Silver Didrachm 20mm (6.94 grams) Struck circa 275-250 B.C.
Reference: HN Italy 586; Sambon 526; HGC 1, 454; Bertolami 68, 702 & Künker 280, 3
Wreathed head of nymph to left; kantharos behind.
Man-headed bull walking to right, head facing, crowned by Nike flying to right above; E below, NЄAΠOΛITΩN in exergue.
Originally a Rhodian colony of very early foundation under the name of Parthenope, the city was recolonized by Kymaians circa 600 B.C. and its name finally changed to Neapolis circa 450 B.C. Allied with Rome from 326 B.C.
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The history of Naples is long and varied. The first Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the 2nd millennium BC. During the end of the Greek Dark Ages a larger mainland colony – initially known as Parthenope – developed around the 9-8th century BC, and was refounded as Neapolis in the 6th century BC: it held an important role in Magna Graecia. The Greek culture of Naples was important to later Roman society. When the city became part of the Roman Republic in the central province of the Empire, it was a major cultural center. Virgil is an example of the political and cultural freedom of Naples. Naples is a microcosm of the European history because it saw several civilizations come and go, each leaving traces also in its art and architecture. Naples was the capital of duchies, kingdoms, and one Empire, and it was a primary cultural center (especially during the Renaissance humanism, 17th, 18th, 19th centuries). Naples was an advocate for Italian unification during the Neapolitan War. Today Naples is part of the Italian Republic, and is the third largest municipality (central area) by population, with the second largest metropolitan area (after Milan).
The Naples area has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Settlers from two cities in Euboea, Greece, jointly colonised the nearby Cumae, the earliest Greek city on mainland Italy. The earliest founding of Naples itself is claimed in legend to be the Greek colony Phaleron (Latin: Phalerum), after the hero Phaleros, one of the Argonauts.
However, the first Greek settlements were established on the site during the 2nd millennium BC. At the end of the Greek Dark Ages a larger mainland colony – initially known as Parthenope – developed around the 9-8th century BC. Parthenope was the name of the siren in Greek mythology, said to have washed ashore at Megaride, having throwing herself into the sea after she failed to bewitch Ulysses with her song. Around this time Greeks became locked in a power struggle with the Etruscans, who sought to dominate the area. Etruscans attacked Cumae (524 BC) and, although the attack failed, it signaled a growing Etruscan determination to dominate the area, the pressure of which pushed Parthenope to the commercial margins. There is evidence that the city had slid into decadence and, some argue, had virtually ceased to exist. However, literary evidence shows that the city was destroyed because the hegemony of Cumae was threatened.
Recent archaeological discoveries show that, in the 6th century (not in the 470 BC, after the battle of Cumae), the city was reoccupied and the new urban zone of Neapolis (Νεάπολις) was founded inland, eventually becoming one of the foremost cities of Magna Graecia. The primitive center of Parthenope came to be called simply Palaipolis (Latin: Palaepolis), the “old city”. The two separate centers were more diversified during the Samnite Wars. Neapolis had a powerful line of walls, in front of which the Carthaginian invader Hannibal had to retreat when the city was allied with the Romans. Other features were an odeon and a theatre, and the temple of the city’s patron gods, the Dioscuri, or divine twins (Castor and Pollux). Although conquered by the Samnites during the fifth century BC, and then the Romans, Naples long retained its Greek culture; it is significant that modern Neapolitans still refer to themselves often as Partenopei, “Parthenopeans”.
In the Roman era the city was a flourishing centre of Hellenistic culture that attracted Romans who wished to perfect their knowledge of Greek culture. The pleasant climate made it a renowned resort, as recounted by Virgil and manifested in the numerous luxurious villas that dotted the coast from the Gulf of Pozzuoli to the Sorrentine peninsula. The famous district of Posillipo takes its name from the ruins of Villa Pausílypon, meaning, in Greek, “a pause, or respite, from worry”. Romans connected the city to the rest of Italy with their famous roads, excavated galleries to link Naples to Pozzuoli, enlarged the port, and added public baths and aqueducts to improve the quality of life in Naples. The city was also celebrated for its many feasts and spectacles.
According to legend, the saints Peter and Paul came to the city to preach. Christians had a prominent role in the late years of the Roman Empire, and there are several notable catacombs, especially in the northern part of the city. The first palæo-Christian basilicas were built next to the entrances to the catacombs. The greatly popular patron of the city, San Gennaro (St. Januarius), was decapitated in nearby Pozzuoli in AD 305, and, since the 5th century, he has been commemorated by the basilica of San Gennaro extra Moenia. The Cathedral of Naples is also dedicated to St. Gennaro.
It was in Naples, in Lucullus’ Villa in what is now the Castel dell’Ovo, that Romulus Augustulus, the last nominal western emperor was imprisoned after being deposed in 476. Naples suffered much during the Gothic Wars between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantines during the 6th century. In 536, it decided to resist Belisarius’s invasion.  However, his troops captured the city by entering through its aqueduct. With the changing tide of the war in the 540s, it was starved into surrender by Totila, who treated it leniently. During Narses’s expedition during the 550s, it was captured by the Empire once again. When the Lombards invaded and conquered much of Italy in the following years, Naples remained loyal to the Byzantine Empire.
Campania was colonised by Ancient Greeks and was part of Magna Græcia. During the Roman era, the area maintained a Greco-Roman culture. The capital city of Campania is Naples. Campania is rich in culture, especially in regard to gastronomy, music, architecture, archeological and ancient sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum and Velia. The name of Campania itself is derived from Latin, as the Romans knew the region as Campania felix, which translates into English as “fertile countryside”. The rich natural sights of Campania make it highly important in the tourism industry, especially along the Amalfi Coast, Mount Vesuvius and the island of Capri.
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