Continuity and Change in the Third Century

Abstract

This chapter uses two case studies to explore how identities both changed and stayed the same under the changing conditions of the Hellenistic period. First, in southern Italy, Hellenic identity gained increasing prominence, especially at Taras, which understood the growing presence of non-Greeks (including Rome) as a barbarian invasion and invited Pyrrhus to assist it in support of Greekness. This discourse was not universal, however, since other cities such as Thurii were more concerned with local identities and resisting Tarantine imperialism. Second, Syracusan identity in the age of King Hieron II was articulated by three major factors: its sense of Greekness, emphasizing its role as defender of the Sicilian Greeks against barbarian enemies; the memory of the city’s past greatness, especially under the Deinomenids; and pride in its Dorian, Corinthian, and Peloponnesian origins.