Editing Ancona (section)

===Greek colony===
Before the Greek colonization, the territory was occupied by separated communities of the [[Picentes]] tribes.

Ancona took a more urban shape by Greek settlers from [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]] in about 387 BC, who gave it its name: ''Ancona'' stems from the Greek word {{lang|grc|Ἀνκών}} (''Ankṓn''), meaning "elbow"; the harbour to the east of the town was originally protected only by the promontory on the north, shaped like an elbow. Greek merchants established a [[Tyrian purple]] dye factory here.<ref>Silius Italicus, VIII. 438</ref> In Roman times it kept its own coinage with the punning device of the bent arm holding a [[palm branch]], and the head of [[Aphrodite]] on the reverse, and continued the use of the [[Greek language]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Ancona|volume=1|pages=951–952}}</ref>