Battle of Cumae

{{unreferenced|date=July 2008}} The '''Battle of Cumae''' was a naval battle in [[474 BC]] between the combined navies of [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]] and [[Cumae]] and the [[Etruscans]]. [[Hiero I of Syracuse]] allied with [[Aristodemus of Cumae|Aristodemus]], the [[tyrant]] of Cumae, to defend against Etruscan expansion into southern [[Italy]]. In 474 they met and defeated the Etruscan fleet at Cumae in the [[Bay of Naples]]. After their defeat, the Etruscans lost much of their political influence in Italy. They lost control of the sea and their territories were eventually taken over by the [[Rome|Romans]], [[Samnites]], and [[Gaul]]s. The Syracusans dedicated a captured Etruscan helmet at the great panhellenic sanctuary at Olympia, a piece of armour found in the German excavations there. The Etruscans would later join the failed [[Athens|Athenian]] [[Sicilian Expedition|expedition]] against Syracuse in [[415 BC]], which contributed even further to their decline. {{coord missing}} {{Etruscans}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cumae}}