AKRAGAS in SICILY Genuine Ancient 125BC Greek Coin ZEUS & EAGLE

Description: Agrigento(Italian:[aridnto](listen);Sicilian:Girgenti[ddnd]orGiurgenti[ddnd];Ancient Greek:,romanized:Akrgas;Latin:AgrigentumorAcragas;Arabic:,romanized:Kirkant, orJirjant) is a city on the southern coast ofSicily, Italy and capital of theprovince of Agrigento. It was one of the leading cities ofMagna Graeciaduring thegolden ageofAncient GreeceBC. History Akragas was founded on a plateau overlooking the sea, with two nearby rivers, theHypsasand the Acragas, after which the settlement was originally named. A ridge, which offered a degree of natural fortification, links a hill to the north called Colle di Girgenti with another, called Rupe Atenea, to the east. According toThucydides, it was founded around 582-580BC byGreekcolonists fromGelain eastern Sicily, with further colonists fromCreteandRhodes. The founders (oikistai) of the new city were Aristonous and Pystilus. It was the last of the major Greek colonies in Sicily to be founded. Archaic period The territory under Akragas's control expanded to comprise the whole area between thePlataniand theSalso, and reached deep into the Sicilian interior. Greek literary sources connect this expansion with military campaigns, but archaeological evidence indicates that this was a much longer term process which reached its peak only in the early fifth century BC.Most other Greek settlements in Sicily experienced similar territorial expansion in this period.Excavations at a range of sites in this region inhabited by the indigenousSicanpeople, such asMonte Sabbucina,Gibil-Gabil,Vasallaggi, San Angelo Muxano, andMussomeli, show signs of the adoption of Greek culture.It is disputed how much of this expansion was carried out by violence and how much by commerce and acculturation.The territorial expansion provided land for the Greek settlers to farm, nativeslavesto work these farms,and control of the overland route from Acragas to the city ofHimeraon the northern coast of Sicily.This was the main land route from theStraits of Sicilyto theTyrrhenian Seaand Acragas' control of it was a key factor in its economic prosperity in the sixth and fifth centuries BC, which became proverbial. Famously,Plato, upon seeing the living standard of the inhabitants, was said to have remarked that "they build like they intend to live forever, yet eat like this is their last day."Perhaps as a result of this wealth, Acragas was one of the first communities in Sicily to begin minting its own coinage, around 520 BC. Around 570 BC, the city came under the control ofPhalaris, a semi-legendary figure, who was remembered as the archetypaltyrant, said to have killed his enemies by burning them alive inside a bronze bull. In the ancient literary sources, he is linked with the military campaigns of territorial expansion, but this is probably anachronistic. He ruled until around 550 BC.The political history of Acragas in the second half of the sixth century is unknown, except for the names of two leaders, Alcamenes and Alcander.Acragas also expanded westwards over the course of the sixth century BC, leading to a rivalry withSelinus, the next Greek city to the west. The Selinuntines founded the city ofHeraclea Minoaat the mouth of the Platani river, halfway between the two settlements, in the mid-sixth century BC, but the Acragantines conquered it around 500 BC. Emmenid period Theron, a member of the Emmenid family, made himself tyrant of Acragas around 488 BC. He formed an alliance withGelon, tyrant of Gela and Syracuse. Around 483 BC, Theron invaded and conquered Himera, Acragas neighbour to the north. The tyrant of Himera,Terillusjoined his son-in-law,AnaxilasofRhegium, and the Selinuntines in calling on theCarthaginiansto come and restore Terillus to power. The Carthaginians did invade in 480 BC, the first of theGreco-Punic Wars, but they were defeated by the combined forces of Theron and Gelon at theBattle of Himera. As a result, Acragas was affirmed in its control of the central portion of Sicily, an area of around 3,500 km2.A number of enormous construction projects were carried out in theValle dei Templiat this time, including theTemple of Olympian Zeus, which was one of the largest Greek temples ever built, and the construction of a massive Kolymbethra reservoir. According toDiodorus Siculus, they were built in commemoration of the Battle of Himera, using the prisoners captured in the war as slave labour. Archaeological evidence indicates that the boom in monumental construction actually began before the battle, but continued in the period after it. A major reconstruction of the city walls on a monumental scale also took place in this period. Theron sent teams to compete in theOlympic gamesand other Panhellenic competitions in mainland Greece. Several poems byPindarandSimonidescommemorated victories by Theron and other Acragantines, which provide insights into Acragantine identity and ideology at this time.Greek literary sources generally praise Theron as a good tyrant, but accuse his sonThrasydaeus, who succeeded him in 472 BC, of violence and oppression. Shortly after Theron's death,Hiero I of Syracuse(brother and successor of Gelon) invaded Acragas and overthrew Thrasydaeus. The literary sources say that Acragas then became a democracy, but in practice it seems to have been dominated by the civic aristocracy. Classical and Hellenistic periods Map with gates of Agrigentum Tetradrachmof Acragas, ca. 410 BC. The period after the fall of the Emmenids is not well-known. Anoligarchicgroup called "the thousand" was in power for a few years in the mid-fifth century BC, but was overthrown - the literary tradition gives the philosopherEmpedoclesa decisive role in this revolution, but some modern scholars have doubted this.In 451 BC,Ducetius, leader of aSicelstate opposed to the expansion of Syracuse and other Greeks into the interior of Sicily invaded Acragantine territory, conquering an outpost called Motyum. Ducetius was defeated in 450, but the Syracusan decision to let Ducetius go outraged the Acragantines and they went to war with Syracuse. They were defeated in a battle on the Salso river, which left Syracuse the pre-eminent power in eastern Sicily. The defeat was serious enough that Acragas ceased to mint coinage for a number of years. Ancient sources considered Acragas to be a very large city at this time.Diodorus Siculussays that the population was 200,000 people, of which 20,000 were citizens.Diogenes Laertiusput the population at an incredible 800,000. Some modern scholars have accepted Diodorus' numbers,but they seem to be far too high. Jos de Waele suggests a population of 16,000-18,000 citizens,while Franco de Angelis estimates a total population of around 30,000-40,000. WhenAthensundertook theSicilian Expeditionagainst Syracuse from 415-413 BC, Acragas remained neutral. However, it wassackedby theCarthaginiansin 406BC. Acragas never fully recovered its former status, though it revived following the invasion ofTimoleonin the late fourth century onwards and large-scale construction took place in theHellenistic period. During the early 3rd century BC, a tyrant calledPhintiasdeclared himself king in Akragas, also controlling a variety of other cities. His kingdom was however not long-lived. Roman period The city was disputed between theRomansand the Carthaginians during theFirst Punic War. The Romans laidsiege to the cityin 262BC and captured it after defeating a Carthaginian relief force in 261BC and sold the population into slavery. Although the Carthaginians recaptured the city in 255BC thefinal peace settlementgave Punic Sicily and with it Akragas to Rome. It suffered badly during theSecond Punic War(218201BC) when both Rome and Carthage fought to control it. The Romans eventually captured Akragas in 210BC and renamed itAgrigentum, although it remained a largely Greek-speaking community for centuries thereafter. It became prosperous again under Roman rule and its inhabitants received full Roman citizenship following the death ofJulius Caesarin 44BC. Middle Ages After thefall of the Western Roman Empire, the city successively passed into the hands of theVandalic Kingdom, theOstrogothic Kingdomof Italy and then theByzantine Empire. During this period the inhabitants of Agrigentum largely abandoned the lower parts of the city and moved to the formeracropolis, at the top of the hill. The reasons for this move are unclear but were probably related to the destructive coastal raids of theSaracensand other peoples around this time. In 828AD the Saracens captured the diminished remnant of the city; the Arabic form of its name became(Kirkant) or(Jirjant). Following theNorman conquest of Sicily, the city changed its name to theNormanversionGirgenti.[30]In 1087,NormanCount Roger Iestablished a Latin bishopric in the city.Normansbuilt theCastello di Agrigentoto control the area. The population declined during much of the medieval period but revived somewhat after the 18th century.

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