Battle of Cumae

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Cumae
partof=
campaign=


caption=
date=474 BC
place=In the Bay of Naples
casus= Naval control in the Tyrrhenian Sea
territory=Loss of Etruscan territory in Italy to the Romans, Samnites, and Gauls
result=Victory for Syracuse and Cumae
combatant1=Syracuse
Cumae
combatant2=Etruscans
commander1=
commander2=
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=
casualties2=

The Battle of Cumae was a naval battle in 474 BC between the combined navies of Syracuse and Cumae and the Etruscans.

Hiero I of Syracuse allied with 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 Romans, Samnites, and Gauls. 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 Athenian expedition against Syracuse in 415 BC, which contributed even further to their decline.