Encyclopedia of Southern Italy: H
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H
Hackert, Philipp: (b. Prenzlau, 1737; d. Florence, 1807). Painter. In 1782 he came to Naples where he became principal painter to his friend King Ferdinand IV. Among his works was a series of victories of the Russian navy, views of the seaports of Naples and Sicily, and several Italian landscapes.
Hades (Ades): (1)Greek god of the Underworld. He was the equivalent to the Roman god Pluto.
(2) The ancient Greek Underworld or land of the dead.
Hadrian (Publius Aelius [H]adrianus): (b. Rome or Italica, Spain, Jan. 24, AD 76; d. Baiae, July 16, 138). Roman Emperor (rAD 117-138).
Halesa: See Alaesa.
Halesus, River: See Alaesus river.
Halex River: See Alex River.
Haluntium: See Aluntium.
Hamilcar (: Abd-Melqart = “servant of Melqart” ) Barca (1) : (d. (full entry)
Hamilcar: (fl. 2nd half of 4th century BC). Carthaginian general. He was a Carthaginian commander (strategus) who was defeated by Timoleon at the battle of Crimissus in 339 BC. It is unknown whether he survived the battle but a new commander, Gisco, was appointed as the new commander soon after.
Hannibal: ( Hanba’al = “mercy of Baal”) Barca (1) : (d. (full entry)
Hannibal (: Hanba’al = “mercy of Baal”) Barca (2) : Carthaginian general, born in 247 BCE, son of Hamilcar Barca; traveled with his father to conquer Spain when he was nine; from age 18 to 25, Hannibal carried ou… (full entry)
Hatria: Ancient name for Atri (TE).
Hauteville (Altavilla) Dynasty: The first dynasty of the Kingdom of Sicily that ruled from 1130 to 1198. Originally a family of petty nobles from lower Normandy, many attempts have been made to connect them with more ancient and royal roots. These, however, are highly suspect and their origins remain obscure. According to one story, they were descended from a Norman named Hialt, who had founded a small village called Hialtys Villa (= “High Town”), in the Cotentin region of Normandy. It is from this village, whose location remains controversial, that the family derived its name. Many scholars identify it with Hauteville-la-Guishard.
The family’s first member of any note was a minor noble named Tancred, whose children and other descendents played important roles in the formation of the kingdom of Sicily, the Crusades and ever in English history.
Heiponion: A city of ancient Bruttium. Ancient name for Vibo Valentia.
Hellenistic period: Greek chronological term; in Sicily and Southern Italy it lasted from 323 to 241 BC.
Henry VI: (b.1165; d: near Messina, 1197). (full entry)
Henry VII: King of Sicily (nominally king under his father, Frederick II) (r1212-1217).
Hephaestiades: See Aeoliae Insulae.
Heraclea: ancient Greek city, in Lucania, S Italy, not far from the Gulf of Tarentum (Taranto). There Pyrrhus defeated the Romans in 280 B.C. Bronze tablets giving Roman municipal laws were found nearby.
Heraclettus (Heraklettos, Heraclitus): (b. Tarentum; fl. late 4th century BC). Harpist. A member of Alexander the Great’s court, he was one of the performers at the mass-marriage ceremony at Susa in 324 BC.
Heraclia: (fl. 3rd century BC). Syracusan noblewoman. A daughter of Hieron II, she was the wife of Zoippos. In 214 BC, she, along with her sister Damarata, and mother Philitis, were murdered by a mob.
Herculaneum (mod. Ercolano): An ancient city of Campania, destroyed in AD 79 by the same eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that buried Pompeii. The city lay at the W base of the volcano and was buried by the pyroclastic material discharged during the eruption. The site of the city was not rediscovered until 1709.
Herculis promontorium: (mod. Capo Spartivento). A headland of Bruttium, it is the southernmost point on mainland Italy.
Herdonia (mod. Ordona): A town in ancient Apulia. It was destroyed by Hannibal during the Second Punic War, and its inhabitants were dispersed to Thurii and Metapontum. Although it was later rebuilt by the Romans, it remained a place of no consequence.
Hereditagium: A Late Latin term used in Neapolitan and Sicilian law, referring to something that is held by hereditary right.
Herennia Gens: An ancient Roman gens (or clan). Of Samnite origins, the Herennii had established themselves in Campania prior to the Samnite/Roman wars. Immigrating to Rome, they became an influential plebian house whose members distinguished themselves during the Samnite and Punic wars. They were the hereditary patrons of the Marii.
Hermocrates: (fl. late 5 th century BC). (full entry)
Hernici: A people of ancient Italy of Sabine origins who lived in Latium between the Lago di Fucino and River Sacco. They were bounded by the Volsci on the south and by the Aequi and Marsi on the north. They were able to maintain their independence and strength for some time, finally coming into conflict with the Romans in 362 BC. In 306 BC, their chief town Anagria (mod. Anagri) was captured by the Romans who turned it into a prefecture. The other Hernician towns of Ferentinum, Aletrium and Verulae continued to maintain their independence. The Hernici disappear as an independent people by 225 BC and it is assumed that they had been granted full Roman citizenship and had been entirely absorbed by that time.
Herodotus: historian of the Persian Wars.
hetaireia: in ancient Greek term for a club or an association of citizens.
Hiera (mod. Marettimo): The westernmost of the seven principal islands of the Aeoliae Insulae (Aeolian Islands), off the N coast of Sicily.
Hieron I: Tyrant of Syracuse (r478-467 BC). He was victor in the Horse Race at the Olympian Games in 476 BC and 472 BC. In 468 BC, he was victorious there in the Tethrippon.
Hieron II: (b. 305 BC; d. 215 BC). (full entry)
Hilarius, St.: Pope. (rNov 19, 440-Feb 29, 468).
Himera: ancient city on the north coast of Sicily, founded by Greeks in the 7th cent. B.C. Here in 480 B.C. (a traditional date) forces led by Gelon routed the Carthaginians led by Hamilcar. Years later the Carthaginians destroyed (409 B.C.) the city. The citizens moved to nearby Thermae (modern Termini). The poet Stesichorus was born in Himera.
Hipponium (mod Vibo Valentia): A colony in Bruttium founded in c600 BC by Greeks from Locri Epizephyrii. Although little is known of its history, the city attempted to resist Dionysius I of Syracuse in 388 BC but was captured and sacked. It later managed to successfully rebel against Syracuse but, in c356-4 BC, it was captured by the Bruttians.
In 192 BC, the Romans founded the Latin colony of Vibo Valentia on the site of Hipponium. It grew into a flourishing city and attained the status of a municipium.
Hippostratos: An athlete of ancient Kroton. He was victor in the Stadion at the Olympian Games in 564 BC and 560 BC.
Histonium: Ancient name for Vasto.
Historical Periods, Sicilian: Note that certain gaps showing in the chart below were periods where there was no clear dominating culture in Sicily. Certain periods showing overlapping years were times when the island was divided or undergoing transition from one ruling culture to another.
|
Period |
Time Span |
|
Bronze Age |
c2500-c900 BC |
|
Iron Age |
c900-c734 BC |
|
Archaic period |
c734-c480 BC |
|
Hellenistic period |
323-241 BC |
|
Roman period |
241 BC-AD 476 |
|
Byzantine period |
AD 533-902 |
|
Saracen period |
AD 827-1093 |
|
Norman period |
1061-1194 |
|
Swabian period |
1194-1265 |
|
Angevin period |
1265-1288 |
|
Aragonese period |
1288-1458 |
|
Spanish period |
1458-1713 |
|
Savoyard period |
1713-1720 |
|
Austrian period |
1720-1734 |
|
Bourbon period |
1734-1860 |
|
Italian Period |
1860-present |
Hohenstaufen Dynasty: Swabian (German) dynasty which ruled the Regno from 1194 to 1266.
Holy Father: An honorific for the Pope.
Honorius I: Pope. (rOct 27, 625-Oct 12, 638).
Honorius II: Pope. (rDec 15, 1124-Feb 13, 1130).
Honorius III: Pope. (rJuly 18, 1216-Mar 1227).
Honorius IV: Pope. (rApr 2, 1285-Apr. 3, 1287).
Horace: (full name: Quintus Horatius Flaccus). (full entry)
Hormisdas, St.: Pope. (rJuly 20, 514-July 19, 523). He was the father of Pope Silverius (r536-537).
Horta: Etruscan goddess of agriculture.
Humphrey: Count of Apulia (r1051-1057).
Hyele: Original name for the ancient city of Velia (Elea).
Hyginus, St.: Pope. (rAD 136/138 – 140/142).
Hyperbios: an athlete of ancient Syracuse. He was victor in the Stadion at the Olympian Games in 420 BC.
Hyrium (or Uria): A city of ancient Apulia.
This page is part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy. ← Back to the A–Z index