Sybaris was the rival of Croton, until c. 510 BC, Crotona sent an army of 100,000 men, commanded by the athlete Milo, against Sybaris and destroyed it. Dionysius the tyrant of Syracuse aiming at hegemony in Magna Graecia, temporarily held Croton. When Pyrrhus invaded Italy it was still a considerable city. But after the war with Pyrrhus half the city became deserted. Crotona was then occupied by the Brutti, with the exception of the citadel, in which the chief inhabitants had taken refuge; these, being unable to defend the place against a Carthaginian force, soon after surrendered, and were allowed to withdraw to Locri. Crotona eventually fell into the hands of the Romans, in 193 BC, and a colony was established there.
