Sybaris
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [1]
in Greek mythology, was a monster who occupied a cave on Parnassus and devastated the land around. By the command of the oracle a youth was to be sacrificed to him, and the task fell by lot upon Alcyoneus, son of Diomus, who, adorned with a garland, was brought to the cave; but, charmed with the beauty and youth of the victim, Eurybatus took the garland, went into the cave, fought the monster, and hurled it down a precipice.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [2]
An ancient city of Magna Græcia, on the Gulf of Tarentum, flourished in the 17th century B.C., but in 510 B.C. was captured and totally obliterated by the rival colonists of Crotona; at the height of its prosperity the luxury and voluptuousness of the inhabitants was such as to become a byword throughout the ancient world, and henceforth a Sybaris city is a city of luxurious indulgence, and Sybarite a devotee of pleasure.
