It was the place of the first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, in the 8th century BC, and was settled by Greeks from the island of Ischia and from the cities of Chalcis and Eretria on the island of Euboea.
It remains famous as the place where the Cumaean Sybil used to prophecy. The Sibyl's cave is now a tourist attraction.
It was also a place where a widely influential early Christian work The Shepherd of Hermas was said to be inspired by visions.
The Etruscans were defeated by the combined fleets of Cumae and Syracuse at the Battle of Cumae in 474 BC.