bgr_1069581 - LUCANIA - LAUS Statère

LUCANIA - LAUS

(4th century BC)

Laus was located on the river that bears the same name on the Tyrhenian Sea on the border of Lucania and Bruttium. It was a colony of Sybaris which was destroyed in 510 BC by the Crotoniates. The inhabitants of the metropolis found refuge in the colony of Laus. This was still the case during the second destruction of Sybaris in 470 BC. The inhabitants of Laus participated in the foundation of the new Sybaris in 453 BC, then of Thurium, ten years later. The city was occupied by the Lucanians at the end of the 5th century BC. In 389 BC, the Italian allies tried to drive out the Lucanian tribes allied to Dionysius of Syracuse. They suffered a crushing defeat.