Editing Cumae (section)

==History==
{{main|Greek colonisation}}

===Early===
[[File:Cumae lower city seen from acropolis AvL.JPG|thumb|The lower city of Cumae seen from the acropolis]]

The oldest archaeological finds by Emil Stevens in 1896 date to 900–850&nbsp;BC<ref>{{cite book |first=Paolo |last=Caputo |year=1996 |title=Cuma e il suo Parco Archeologico. Un territorio e le sue testimonianze |publisher=Bardi |place=Roma, IT}}</ref>{{efn|[[Eusebius of Caesarea]] placed Cumae's Greek foundation at 1050&nbsp;BCE; modern archaeology has not yet found the first settlers' graves, but fragments of Greek pottery {{circa|750-740&nbsp;BCE }} have been excavated near the city wall.<ref name=Fox-2008-Travelling>{{cite book |first=R.L. |last=Fox |author-link=Robin Lane Fox |title=Travelling Heroes in the Epic Age of Homer |year=2008 }}</ref>{{rp|page=140}} }} and more recent excavations have revealed a [[Bronze Age]] settlement of the ‘[[pit-culture]]’ people, and later dwellings of [[Iron Age]] [[Italic people|Italic]] peoples whom the Greeks referred to by the names [[Ausones]] and [[Opici]] (whose land was called [[:it:Opicia|Opicia]]).

The Greek settlement was founded in the 8th century&nbsp;BCE by emigrants from cities of [[Eretria]] and [[Chalcis]] in [[Euboea]], next to an [[Opici|Opician settlement]]. The Greeks were already established at nearby [[Pithecusae]] (modern [[Ischia]])<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Strabo]] |title=[no title cited] |at=v.4}}</ref> and were led to Cumae by the joint ''[[oecist]]s'' (founders): Megasthenes of Chalcis and [[Hippocles of Cyme]].{{efn|Fox (2008)<ref name=Fox-2008-Travelling/>{{rp|page=140}} notes that whether the Euboeans were from the [[Ischia]]n colony or freshly arrived is a moot question.}}

The site chosen was on the hill and later acropolis of Monte di Cuma surrounded on one side by the sea, and on the other by particularly fertile ground on the edge of the Campanian plain. While continuing their maritime and commercial traditions, the settlers of Cumae strengthened their political and economic power by exploitation of the land and extended their territory at the expense of neighbouring peoples.

The colony thrived and in the 8th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE it was already strong enough to send Perieres to found [[Zancle]] in [[Sicily]],<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Thucydides]] |title=[no title cited] |at=4, 4}}</ref> and another group to found [[Tritaea (Achaea)|Tritaea]] in Achaea, Pausanias was told.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] |title=Description of Greece |at=vii.22.6}}</ref> Cuma established its dominance over almost the entire Campanian coast up to [[Punta Campanella]] over the 7th and 6th&nbsp;centuries&nbsp;BCE, gaining sway over [[Puteoli]] and [[Misenum]].

The colony spread Greek culture in Italy and introduced a dialect of Greek, and the [[Euboean alphabet]], a variant of which was adapted and modified by the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscans]] and then re‑adapted by the [[ancient Rome|Romans]] and became the [[Latin alphabet]], still used worldwide today.

According to [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]],<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] |title=Roman Antiquities |at=VII, 2}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Cumae was at that time celebrated throughout all Italy for its riches, power, and all the other advantages, as it possessed the most fertile part of the Campanian plain and was mistress of the most convenient havens round about Misenum.}}

The growing power of the Cumaean Greeks led many indigenous tribes of the region to organise against them, notably the [[Dauni]] and [[Aurunci]] with the leadership of the [[Capua]]n [[Etruscans]]. This coalition was defeated by the Cumaeans in 524&nbsp;BCE<ref>{{cite news |title=The Battle of Cumae, Italy (524&nbsp;BC) |date=4 June 2014 |author=Periklis Deligiannis ({{math|Περικλής Δεληγιάννης}}) |newspaper=Delving into History ® _ Periklis Deligiannis |type=personal website |url=https://periklisdeligiannis.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/the-battle-of-cumae-italy-524-bc/ }}</ref> at the first Battle of Cumae under the direction of [[Aristodemus of Cumae|Aristodemus]]. The glorious victories of the colony increased its prestige, so much so that according to [[Diodorus Siculus]], it was usual to associate the whole region of the [[Phlegraean Fields]] with Cumaean territory.

At this time the [[Roman senate]] sent agents to Cumae to purchase grain in anticipation of a siege of Rome.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Livy]] |title=[[Ab urbe condita (book)|Ab urbe condita]] |at=2.9}}</ref> Then in 505&nbsp;BCE [[Aristodemus of Cumae|Aristodemus]] led a Cumaean contingent to assist the [[Latin League|Latin]] city of [[Ariccia|Aricia]] in defeating the Etruscan forces of [[Clusium]] (see also [[War between Clusium and Aricia]]) and having attained the people's favour he overthrew the aristocratic faction and became a tyrant himself. It was probably at this point that Cumae founded [[Naples|Neapolis]] (“new city”) in the late 6th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE.

Further contact between the Romans and the Cumaeans occurred during the reign of [[Aristodemus of Cumae|Aristodemus]]. [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus|Tarquinius]], the last of the legendary [[Kings of Rome]], lived his life in exile with Aristodemus at Cumae after the [[Battle of Lake Regillus]] and died there in 495&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Livy]] |title=[[Ab Urbe Condita (book)|Ab urbe condita]] |at=ii.21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=[[Cicero]]|title=[[Tusculan Disputations]] |at=iii.27}}</ref> [[Livy]] records that Aristodemus became the heir of [[Lucius Tarquinius Superbus|Tarquinius]], and in 492&nbsp;BCE when Roman envoys travelled to Cumae to purchase grain, Aristodemus seized the envoys' vessels on account of the property of Tarquinius which had been seized at the time of Tarquinius' exile.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Livy]] |title=[[Ab Urbe Condita (book)|Ab urbe condita]] |at=2:34}}</ref>

Eventually, the dispossessed nobles and their sons were able to take over Cumae in 490&nbsp;BCE, and executed [[Aristodemus of Cumae|Aristodemus]].<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] |title=[no title cited] |at=vii.3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=[[Plutarch]] |title=De mulierum virturibus |trans-title=Regarding virtuous women |at=26}} tells the story of Xenocrite, the girl who roused the Cumaeans against [[Aristodemus of Cumae|Aristodemus]].</ref>

The combined fleets of Cumae and [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]] (on Sicily) defeated the [[Etruscans]] at the [[Battle of Cumae]] in 474&nbsp;BCE.

The temple of [[Apollo]] sent the revered [[Sibylline Books]] to Rome in the 5th&nbsp;c.&nbsp;BCE. Also Rome obtained its priestesses who administered the important cult of [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]] from the temple of [[Demeter]] in Cumae.

===Oscan and Roman Cumae===
[[File:Cumae Cave of the Sibyl AvL.JPG|thumb|Entrance to the Cave of the Sibyl]]
[[File:Cumae Temple of Jupiter back AvL.JPG|thumb|The Temple of [[Zeus]] at Cumae was converted into a paleochristian [[basilica]]. The [[baptismal font]] can still be seen in the back of the building.]]
[[File:Grotta di Cocceio - uscita via Arco Felice Vecchio (2018) 02.jpg|thumb|[[Grotta di Cocceio]]]]

The Greek period at Cumae came to an end in 421&nbsp;BC, when the [[Oscans]] allied to the Samnites broke down the walls and took the city, ravaging the countryside.<ref>Livy, iv.44</ref><ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], xii. 76.</ref> Some survivors fled to Neapolis.

The walls on the acropolis were rebuilt from 343 BCE. Cumae came under Roman rule with [[Capua]] and in 338 BCE was granted partial citizenship, a ''[[civitas|civitas sine suffragio]]''. In the [[Second Punic War]], in spite of temptations to revolt from Roman authority,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10907/10907-h/10907-h.htm|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of The History of Rome; Books Nine to Twenty-Six, by Titus Livius|website=www.gutenberg.org}}</ref> Cumae withstood [[Hannibal]]'s siege, under the leadership of [[Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (consul 215 and 213 BC)|Tib. Sempronius Gracchus]].<ref>Livy, xxiii.35-37.</ref>

The city prospered in the Roman period from the 1st c. BCE along with all the cities of Campania and especially the bay of Naples as it became a desirable area for wealthy Romans who built large villas along the coast. The "central baths" and the amphitheatre are built.

During the civil wars Cumae was one of the strongholds that [[Octavian]] used to defend against [[Sextus Pompey]]. Under [[Augustus]] extensive public building works and roads were begun and in or near Cumae several road tunnels were dug: one through the Monte di Cumae linking the forum with the port, the [[Grotta di Cocceio]] 1&nbsp;km long to [[Lake Avernus]] and a third, the "Crypta Romana", 180m long between Lake Lucrino and Lake Averno. The temples of Apollo and Demeter were restored.

The proximity to [[Puteoli]], the commercial port of Rome and to [[Misenum]], the naval fleet base, also helped the region to prosper.

Another very important innovation was the construction of the great Serino aqueduct, the [[Aqua Augusta (Naples)|Aqua Augusta]] supplying many of the cities in the area from about 20 BC. [[Domitian]]'s [[via Domitiana]] provided an important highway to the [[via Appia]] and thence to Rome from 95 AD.

The early presence of Christianity in Cumae is shown by the 2nd-century AD work ''[[The Shepherd of Hermas]]'', in which the author tells of a vision of a woman, identified with the church, who entrusts him with a text to read to the presbyters of the community in Cuma. At the end of the 4th century, the temple of Zeus at Cumae was transformed into a Christian basilica.

The first historically documented bishop of Cumae was Adeodatus, a member of a synod convoked by [[Pope Hilarius]] in Rome in 465. Another was Misenus, who was one of the two legates that [[Pope Felix III]] sent to [[Constantinople]] and who were imprisoned and forced to receive [[Eucharist|Communion]] with [[Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople]] in a celebration of the [[Divine Liturgy]] in which [[Peter Mongus]] and other Miaphysites were named in the [[diptych#Ecclesiastical|diptychs]], an event that led to the [[Acacian Schism]]. Misenus was excommunicated on his return but was later rehabilitated and took part as bishop of Cumae in two synods of [[Pope Symmachus]]. [[Pope Gregory the Great]] entrusted the administration of the diocese of Cumae to the bishop of [[Misenum]]. Later, both Misenum and Cumae ceased to be residential [[episcopal see|sees]] and the territory of Cumae became part of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Aversa|diocese of Aversa]] after the destruction of Cumae in 1207.<ref>Camillo Minieri Riccio, [https://books.google.com/books?id=DpxSAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA37 ''Cenni storici sulla distrutta città di Cuma''], Napoli 1846, pp.&nbsp;37–38</ref><ref>Giuseppe Cappelletti, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JdUCAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA526 ''Le Chiese d'Italia dalla loro origine sino ai nostri giorni''], vol. XIX, Venezia 1864, pp.&nbsp;526–535</ref><ref>Francesco Lanzoni, ''[https://archive.org/stream/MN5017ucmf_0#page/n227/mode/2up Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604)]'', vol. I, Faenza 1927, pp.&nbsp;206–210</ref> Accordingly, Cumae is today listed by the [[Catholic Church]] as a [[titular see]].<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 877</ref>

Under Roman rule, so-called "quiet Cumae"<ref>Juvenal, Satire III</ref> was peaceful until the disasters of the [[Gothic War (535–554)|Gothic Wars]] (535–554), when it was repeatedly attacked, as the only fortified city in Campania aside from Neapolis: [[Belisarius]] took it in 536, [[Totila]] held it, and when [[Narses]] gained possession of Cumae, he found he had won the whole treasury of the Goths.

===Diocese of Cuma(e)===
{{distinguish|text=[[Cuma (Aeolis)]] in Asia Minor}}
A bishopric was established around 450 AD. In 700 it gained territory from the suppressed Diocese of [[Miseno]].

In 1207 it was suppressed when forces from Naples, acting for the boy-[[King of Sicily]], destroyed the city and its walls, as the stronghold of a nest of bandits. Its territory was divided and merged into the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Aversa]] and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Pozzuoli]]. Some of the citizens from Cumae, including the clergy and the cathedral capitular, took shelter in [[Giugliano in Campania|Giugliano]].

====Resident bishops====
* Saint Massenzio (300? – ?)
* Rainaldo (1073? – 1078?)
* Giovanni (1134? – 1141?)
* Gregorio (1187? – ?)
* Leone (1207? – ?)

====Titular see====
In 1970, the diocese was nominally restored as a Latin [[titular see]]. The title has been held by:
* Bishop Louis-Marie-Joseph de Courrèges d’Ustou (1970.09.02 – 1970.12.10)
* Archbishop [[Edoardo Pecoraio]] (1971.12.28 – 1986.08.09)
* Bishop Julio María Elías Montoya, [[Friars Minor|O.F.M.]]