The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal Numismatic Society

THE "HORSEMEN" OF TARENTUM. 137
Tarentine seas, and he had further engaged to supply the
barbarian neighbours of the Tarentines, the Peuketians
and lapygians, with piratical vessels wherewith to plunder
the shipping of the wealthy Republic, stipulating himself
for a share in the loot. 168 In 299 by the capture of Kroton
he obtained a secure footing on the South Italian shore.
But Tarentum was to enjoy a reprieve. Agathokle's was
called off by Brettian and Punic wars and in 288 met
with a violent end.
Meanwhile a more formidable foe was approaching the
very gates of Tarentum. So long as the struggle between
Rome and the Samnites had seemed doubtful the Taren-
tines could afford the part of lookers-on. But with the
defeat of the Samnites the most formidable obstacle to the
progress of the Roman arms towards the Ionian Sea was
removed, and in 292 the great rival of Tarentum for
Italian hegemony founded the military colony of Venusia,
two marches distant from Tarentum itself. Thurioi
only
had concluded an alliance with Rome and the same was
imposed on the Lucanians. In 284 the breach of this
treaty, due to the Lucanian' chieftain Stenius Statilius
attacking Thurioi, brought about a state of hostilities which
was in fact the beginning of the struggle between Rome
and Tarentum. Thurioi now received a Roman garrison
and the casus belli was supplied by the Romans formally
breaking the treaty (when concluded we are not told)
according to which their navigation was confined to the
188 Diod. xxi. 4. In the fragmentary form in which this
notice appears, the name of Tarentum does not occur. But
the expression 6/xopovs, as applied to the lapygians and Peuke-
tians, can only refer to Tarentum. It has certainly no reference
to Kroton, the capture of which is mentioned in the pre-
ceding paragraph.
VOL. IX. THIRD SERIES. T