Listed 5 sub titles with search on: History for destination: "MESSINA Ancient city SICILY".
Zancle was originally founded by pirates from Cuma, the Chalcidian town in the country of the Opicans: afterwards, however, large numbers came from Chalcis and the rest of Euboea, and helped to people the place; the founders being Perieres and Crataemenes from Cuma and Chalcis respectively. It first had the name of Zancle given it by the Sicels, because the place is shaped like a sickle, which the Sicels call Zanclon; but upon the original settlers being afterwards expelled by some Samians and other Ionians who landed in Sicily flying from the Medes, and the Samians in their turn not long afterwards by Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, the town was by him colonised with a mixed population, and its name changed to Messina, after his old country.
The people of Zancle after admitting settlers from Samos were themselves expelled (Aristotle, Politics: section 1303a).
This Cadmus had previously inherited from his father the tyranny of Cos. Although the tyranny was well established, he nevertheless handed the government over to the whole body of Coans of his own free will. This he did under no constraint of danger, but out of a sense of justice, and he then went to Sicily, where he was given by the Samians the city of Zancle which he colonized and changed its name to Messene.
City of north-eastern Sicily that gave its name to the straight between Italy and Sicily. The original name of the city was Zancle. Founded by pirates from Cumae (a Greek settlement in Italy, in the Naples area), it was successively taken over by new settlers coming from Euboea, then from Samos and Ionia, and eventually by Messenians having fled their country in Peloponnese and first settled in Reggio, who changed its name to that of their former city, Messene.
Bernard Suzanne (page last updated 1998), ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Plato and his dialogues URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
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