Agrigento, Sicily

Agrigento is a city on the southern coast of Sicily and is the capital of the province of Agrigento. It is also known as the Greek city of Akragras, Acragas in Greek, Agrigrntum in Latin and Kerkent in Arabic. Agrigento was one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden age of Ancient Greece.

Agrigento was founded on a plateau overlooking the sea, with two nearby rivers, the Hypsas and the Akragas, and a ridge to the north offering a degree of natural fortification. It was established about 582-580 BC and is attributed to Greek colonists from Gela who named it Akragas. The meaning of the word is unclear, though there is a possibility it comes from a legendary founder, an Akragante.

As Akragas, the town grew rapidly and became one of the richest and most famous of the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia. It came to prominence under the sixth centuray tyrants Phalaris and Theron, and became a democracy after the overthrow of Theron's son, Thrasydaeus. The city remained neutral in the conflict between Athens and Syracuse, but its democracy was overthrown when the city was sacked by the Carthaginians in 406 BC. It never fully recovered its former status, although it did revive some under Timoleon at the end of the fourth century.

In 262 BC the city was overthrown by the Romans, and in 255 BC the Carthaginians also overthrew it. It suffered badly during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) when both Rome and Carthage fought to control the city. Eventually in 210 BC the Romans captured Akragas and renamed it Agrigentum, although it remained a largely Greek-speaking community for several centuries afterwards. It again became prosperous under Roman control and at the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC the inhabitants received full Roman citizenship.

After the fall of the Roman Empire the city passed into the hands of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy and then to the Byzantine Empire. During this period the inhabitants abandoned the lower parts of the city and moved up to the former acropolis at the top of the hill. No one is really sure what caused this move, but more than likely the destructive coastal raids of the Saracens, Berbers and others had something to do with it. In 828 CE the Saracens captured the diminished city and pronounced its name as Kerkent in Arabic. It was then Sicilianized as "Girgenti" and retained this name until 1927 when Mussolini's government reintroduced an Italianized version of the Latin name.

Agrigento was also captured in 1087 by the Normans under Count Roger I, who established a Latin bishopric there. The population declined during much of the medieval period but revived after the 18th century. In 1860 the inhabitants supported Giuseppe Garibaldi in his campaign to unify Italy (the Risorgimento). The city also suffered several destructive bombings during World War II.

Agrigento is a major tourist area doe to its archaeological findings, and is also the agricultural center for the surrounding area. Sulphur and potash have been mined for centuries and are exported form the harbor of Porto Empedocle, anmed after the philosopher Empedocles, who lived in the ancient city of Akragas. Given all this, it is one of the poorest towns in Italy and has a long standing problem with organized crime, particularly involving the Maffia and the smuggling of illegal drugs.

Ancient Akragas covers a wide area, much of which is still not excavated today. One site that is very important in Agrigento is the famous Valle dei Templi, or Valley of the Temples. This is a misnomer, as it is actually a ridge rather than a valley. This area comprises a large sacred area on the south side of the ancient city where seven monumental Greek temples in the Doric style were constructed during the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. These have been excavated and partially restored and constitute some of the largest and best preserved Greek buidlings outside of Greece.

The best preserved of the temples are two very similar buildings attributed tot he goddesses Juno Lacinia and Concordia, although archaeologists believe this last attribution to be incorrect. The Temple of Juno Lacinia is remardably intact due to having been converted to a Christian church in 597 CE. Both temples were constructed to a periteral hexastyle design. The area around the Temple of Concordia was later reused by early Christians as a catacomb and tombs were hewn out of the rocky cliffs and outcrops. These two temples are described even more in the narrative further down this page.

The other temples are not as well preserved, having been destroyed by earthquakes long ago and quarried for their stones. The largest of these is the Temple of Olympian Zeus, built to commemorate the Battle of Himera in 480 BCE. It is believed to have been the largest Doric temple ever built. Although it had been used it appears to have never been finished--construction was abandoned after the Carthaginian invasion of 406 BCE. The remains of the temple were quarried in the eighteenth century to build the jetties of Porto Empedocle. This temple is also described later in this post.

There is the Temple of Hephaestus (Vulcan), of which there are only two columns staning on the incomplete base. It was erected about 430 BC on the western-most end of the hill. It was originally surrounded by 34 columns. Hephaestus was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. According to legend Hephaestus had a forge located underneath Mt. Etna, the volcano of Sicily.

The Temple of Asclepius (Esculapius) is dedicated to the Greek god of medicine, who was the son of Apollo. Many people visited this temple because it was believed that Asclepius had the power to heal those who were sick. It was constructed during the 5th century BC and what is left of the temple can be found in the middle of the countryside. It consisted of a cella in antis and a pronaos with two columns. The building, according to Polybius, was eight and a half stadiums away from the city. That would be about 1,480 meters. Cicero asserts that in the temple there was a statue of Apollo, made by Miron, whose name was written with silver letters on one thigh of the statue. It was a rather small building and the decoration was far inferior to that of classical Greek Temples.

The Tomb of Theron was built in 480 BC and was believed to be the tomb of the tyrant Theron, but some studies seem to suggest it was, in fact, built to honor those who courageously fought and lost their lives during the Second Punic War.

The sacred area also includes a sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone, formally known as the Temple of Castor and Pollux. The marks of the fires set by the Carthaginians in 406 BCE can still be seen on the sanctuary's stones.

Theer are many other Hellenistic and Roman sites in Agrigento, including a pre-Hellenic cave sanctuary near the Temple of Demeter, over which the Church of San Biagio was built. A first century CE heroon (heroic shrine) adjoins the thirteenth century Church of San Nicola a short distance away from the Temple of Demeter. A sizeable area of the Greco-Roman city has also been excavated, and several classical necropolises and quarries are still extant.

Much of the present day Agrigento is modern but it still retains a number of medieval and Baroque buildings. These include the fourteenth century cathedral and thirteenth century Church of Maria dei Greci (Our Lady of the Greeks), which stands on the site of an ancient Greek temple. The town also has a notable arhaeological museum displaying finds from the ancient city.

Tow famous people who lived in Agrigento are Empedocles, the Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, and Luigi Pirandello, dramatist, born at Contrada Kaos near Agrigento. Sister cities of Agrigento include Tampa, Florida, Valenciennes, France and Perm, Russia.

I hope you enjoy the history and sites of Agrigento. We spent hours walking through the Valley of the Temples. It is astounding that something built so many centuries ago, that had withstood earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, weather, wars, bombings, and just plain time can still be standing. Look at the size of the stones and realize these temples were built with nothing near modern tools. It is amazing how these huge stones were lifted to sit on top of each other by the sole power of men. It had to have been literally back-breaking work and I'm sure the temples casued the deaths of numberous workers. The scenery around the temples is breath-taking, especially in spring when the hills are filled with wild flowers, some of which can be seen in the video. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions. I will try to answer any and all of them.