The city of Policoro ( former name : Polychorion ) was born in the Middle Ages in a facility nearby where once stood the important Greek colony of Heraclea . Heraclea was founded by Taranto and Thurioti in 434 BC. Strategically located on a hill between the rivers Agri and Sinni, on the ruins of the city of Siris, destroyed 100 years earlier by an alliance of Metaponto. In 374 BC Heraclea was Chief Italiota League in opposition to Lucani. Then he witnessed clashes between Pyrrhus and the Romans. In 212 Heraclea was conquered by Hannibal, and then experienced a significant period to the decline in the Roman imperial period.