STRABONE E NEAPOLIS, NAPOLI E STRABONE. PER RILEGGERE STRAB. V 4, 7

Abstract

According to Strabo, Neapolis is a city that preserves many traces of Greek culture: it is a Greek foundation (Cumans and later Chalcidians with a group from Athens and Pithecusae), it has a Greek name (“New City”), its main cult is that of the siren Parthenope, it has gymnastic games. The Greek inhabitants welcomed the Campanians also into the institutions, which remained Greek (demarchia). Although it was a Roman city, gymnasiums,
gyms, phratries, Greek names resisted and every four years gymnastic and musical games were held, comparable to the greatest games in Greece. Intellectuals from Rome frequented the city and gave continuity to Greek culture. Information on the history of Neapolis is very scarce, both for the Greek and Roman periods. Strabo has at his disposal few and minimal sources on the history of Neapolis. It is common opinion that Strabo visited the city and even wrote his work in Neapolis. On the contrary, the article
proposes that Strabo described Neapolis based on information from Roman intellectuals who loved Greek culture and frequented the city intensively.