Velia

Velia was the Roman name of an ancient city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea [1]. It is located near the modern village of Ascea in the Province of Salerno [1]. It was founded by Greeks from Phocaea as Hyele around 538–535 BCE, which one scholar has suggested may be a feminine form of ὕελος "glass" [1]. The city was known for being the home of the philosophers Parmenides and Zeno of Elea, as well as the Eleatic school of which they were a part [1]. Remains of the city walls can be seen, with traces of one gate and several towers, of a total length of over three miles, and belong to three different periods [1]. In 2022, excavations led to the discovery of the archaic temple of Athena on the acropolis of Velia [1]. The oldest temple dates to 540-530 BC, the years following the battle of Alalia [1].