Early The oldest archaeological finds by Emilio Stevens in 1896 date to 900–850 BC and more recent excavations have revealed a
Bronze Age settlement of the ‘
pit-culture’ people, and later dwellings of
Iron Age Italic peoples whom the Greeks referred to by the names
Ausones and
Opici (whose land was called
Opicia). The Greek settlement was founded in the 8th century BCE by emigrants from cities of
Eretria and
Chalcis in
Euboea, next to an
Opician settlement. The Greeks were already established at nearby
Pithecusae (modern
Ischia) and were led to Cumae by the joint
oecists (founders): Megasthenes of Chalcis and
Hippocles of Cyme. 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 century BCE it was already strong enough to send Perieres to found
Zancle in
Sicily, and another group to found
Tritaea in Achaea, Pausanias was told. Cuma established its dominance over almost the entire Campanian coast up to
Punta Campanella over the 7th and 6th centuries 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
Etruscans and then re‑adapted by the
Romans and became the
Latin alphabet, still used worldwide today. According to
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 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
Capuan
Etruscans. This coalition was defeated by the Cumaeans in 524 BCE at the first Battle of Cumae under the direction of
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. Then in 505 BCE
Aristodemus led a Cumaean contingent to assist the
Latin city of
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
Neapolis (“new city”) in the late 6th century BCE. Further contact between the Romans and the Cumaeans occurred during the reign of
Aristodemus.
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 BCE.
Livy records that Aristodemus became the heir of
Tarquinius, and in 492 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. Eventually, the dispossessed nobles and their sons were able to take over Cumae in 490 BCE, and executed
Aristodemus. The combined fleets of Cumae and
Syracuse (on Sicily) defeated the
Etruscans at the
Battle of Cumae in 474 BCE. The temple of
Apollo sent the revered
Sibylline Books to Rome in the 5th c. BCE. Also Rome obtained its priestesses who administered the important cult of
Ceres from the temple of
Demeter in Cumae.
Oscan and Roman Cumae at Cumae was converted into a paleochristian
basilica. The
baptismal font can still be seen in the back of the building. The Greek period at Cumae came to an end in 421 BC, when the
Oscans allied to the Samnites broke down the walls and took the city, ravaging the countryside. 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 sine suffragio. In the
Second Punic War, in spite of temptations to revolt from Roman authority, Cumae withstood
Hannibal's siege, under the leadership of
Tib. Sempronius Gracchus. 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 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 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
Communion with
Patriarch Acacius of Constantinople in a celebration of the
Divine Liturgy in which
Peter Mongus and other Miaphysites were named in the
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
sees and the territory of Cumae became part of the
diocese of Aversa after the destruction of Cumae in 1207. Accordingly, Cumae is today listed by the
Catholic Church as a
titular see. Under Roman rule, so-called "quiet Cumae" was peaceful until the disasters of the
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) 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.
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,
O.F.M. ==Archaeology==