What was found at Pithekoussai?
Nestor’s cup is an eighth century BC wine cup discovered in 1954 in Lacco Ameno on Ischia, the ancient Pithekoussai, an island in the Gulf of Naples (Italy). The cup has a three-line inscription, one of the earliest surviving examples of writing in the Greek alphabet.
Who or what was Pithekoussai?
Pithekoussai. Pithekoussai, founded in the early to middle 8th century by the Euboeans, is widely held to be the first Greek colony, though whether or not it was a colony or simply a trading post is debatable (Ridgway).
Who founded Pithekoussai?
According to the ancient geographer Strabo, Pithekoussai was founded jointly by people from Eretria and Chalcis–the two main cities on the island of Euboea. They lived in prosperity until a number of the inhabitants abandoned the island, first because of interior discord and later because of fear of volcanic eruptions.
Where was Nestor’s cup found?
Nestor’s Cup. The Cup of Nestor is an “orientalized” clay drinking cup, also known as a kotyle. It dates to the Geometric Period, around 750-700 B.C. It was found on the island of Ischia in Italy, the region known as Magna Graecia.
Where is cumae in Italy?
Cumae, ancient city about 12 miles (19 km) west of Naples, probably the oldest Greek mainland colony in the west and home of a sibyl (Greek prophetess) whose cavern still exists. Founded about 750 bc by Greeks from Chalcis, Cumae came to control the most fertile portions of the Campanian plain.
What does nestors Cup say?
A brief inscription was added after the 2,800-year-old clay vessel was made. According to Brown University, the text reads, “I am Nestor’s cup, good to drink from. Whoever drinks this cup empty, straightaway Desire for beautiful-crowned Aphrodite will seize him.”
Where was Nestor’s cup made?
The “Cup of Nestor” from Pithekoussai The cup is dated to the Geometric Period (c. 750-700 BC) and is believed to have been originally manufactured in Rhodes. It is now kept in the Villa Arbusto museum in the village of Lacco Ameno on the island of Ischia, Italy.
Why is Nestor’s cup significance?
Nestor’ Cup is the first example of epigraphic (inscriptional) writing. This is the first piece found that uses the Phoenician-influenced Greek alphabet for the very first time. It is believed that since it corresponds closely to the Euboean sphere of trading interests, the region of Euboea first adapted the alphabet.
Where is Latium now?
Italy
Latium, ancient area in west-central Italy, originally limited to the territory around the Alban Hills, but extending by about 500 bc south of the Tiber River as far as the promontory of Mount Circeo.
What is cumae known for?
Cumae is perhaps most famous as the seat of the Cumaean Sibyl. Her sanctuary is now open to the public. In Roman mythology, there is an entrance to the underworld located at Avernus, a crater lake near Cumae, and was the route Aeneas used to descend to the Underworld.
What is the significance of the inscription on nestors Cup?
The text on the cup is written in hexameters. It appears to make an illusion to Homeric poetry, particularly the Illiad (11.632-637) where a cup belonging to Nestor, the king of Pylos, is described. It is believed to be a joke about love or even potentially sex, connected to the idea of drinking.
Is Lazio the same as Latium?
The Italian word Lazio descends from the Latin word Latium, the region of the Latins, Latini in the Latin language spoken by them and passed on to the Latin city-state of Ancient Rome. Much of Lazio is in fact flat or rolling.