The Tyrrhenian Sea, the western part of the Mediterranean Sea ( Mare Nostrum), bordered by the Italian west coast, the Sicilian north coast and by Corsica and Sardinia. The name goes back to the Greek name of the Etruscans (Τυρσανοί/ Tyrsanoí; Τυρσηνικὸν πέλαγος/Tyrsēnikòn pélagòs in Thuc. 4,24). The Romans spoke of the Tuscum mare (Varro, Rust. 3,9,17; Cic. Orat. 3,19,69; Liv. 5,33,8) or, in contrast to the mare superum (Adriatic), of the mare inferum (Cic. Att. 9,5,1). Before Roman rule was established in the Punic Wars, the Mare Tyrrhenum was frequently the sit…
Mare Tyrrhenum(151 words)
Cite this page
Sonnabend, Holger (Stuttgart), “Mare Tyrrhenum”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e723350>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510
▲ Back to top ▲