Analysis of the burial sites of Himera

In 2019, seven mass graves were discovered in Himera, exposing thousands of skeletons of soldiers who fought in the city’s fierce battles of 480 and 409 BC against the Carthaginians (see: The Battle of Himera, a major confrontation). Their bodies had been neatly arranged with great respect in an orderly fashion. Another thirty burial sites were reserved for the horses, which the experts related to the severe clash of 480 BC (see: Mass Graves discovered in Himera). 

Thanks to modern geochemical evidence, specialists were able to analyze the tooth enamel of 62 soldiers who fought in both battles. The tooth’s chemistry varies based on the region of origin of the men. In the battle of 480 BC, it turned out that only one-third of Himera’s soldiers were locals. In the confrontation of 409 BC, three-quarters of them were locals. This confirms Diodorus’ account that the Himerans received more outside help in their first battle than in the second. 

However, it appears that this account is incomplete because the present geochemical analysis reveals that the outside help was not Greek but came instead from mercenaries hired for the occasion from territories outside the Greek realm.  

This discovery sheds new light on history, as told by Diodorus and Herodotus. They apparently ignored the role of foreign mercenaries in Himera to portray a more appealing true Greek intervention. We should remember that Greeks generally considered it distasteful to hire foreign mercenaries, which may be a good reason for our historians to bend their story to accommodate their pride. Building the Temple of Victory on the very location of the battlefield truly confirms that sense of pride.

Another argument for taking this decision may be the attempt to align the victory at Himera with other Greek victories across the Mediterranean. It transpires that from 480 BC onward, foreign mercenaries influenced the ancient population in the western Mediterranean. Food for thoughts!

The hidden Temple of Artemis in Syracuse

Today’s visitor of Syracuse and more specifically to the island of Ortygia, will stare in awe at the Duomo with its Sicilian-Baroque façade rebuilt in 1728-1754 after several earthquakes had damaged the Norman entrance. The true treasure, however, is hidden inside as the entire church is built in and around the Doric columns of the Temple of Athena from the 5^th century BC (see: Syracuse rivaled with Athens to be the most powerful city).

What few people know it that hidden underneath the adjacent Palazzo Senatorio or City Hall we can find the remains of an older temple dedicated to Artemis. While this Ionian temple was still under construction (no remains of the roof were ever found), it was destroyed after the Battle of Himera in 480 BC (see: The Battle of Himera, a major confrontation). This grand Artemision was only discovered in the 1960s when reinforcement works to the City Hall were carried out.

It appeared that the temple was inspired by the famous Temple of Artemis from Ephesus (see: Alexander’s presence in Ephesus). During the 15^th century a church of San Sebastian arose on the spot and the remains of that church are now mixed with those of the Artemision together with relics from an early Greek Sacred area and from prehistoric and proto-historic times.

Although much of the Artemision was used as construction material for the Temple of Athena, enough was still standing in 70 BC when Cicero visited the place and left us an interesting description of this temple.

Mass Graves discovered in Himera

Himera was situated at the border between the Greek colonies of Sicily and the lands controlled by the Carthaginians. The conflicts that ensued led to bloody battles in 480 BC and 409 BC as I developed in an earlier blog, The Battle of Himera, a major confrontation.

[Picture of one of the mass graves. 

Credit: Archaeological Superintendence Palermo]

In the end, the Carthaginians took Himera and razed the city to the ground. I vividly remember staring at my feet for traces of blood left by the scores of soldiers who lost their lives on this soil.

When modern road works were carried out in the area, the grim contents of seven mass graves were discovered, exposing thousands of skeletons of the brave men aged between 15 and 57.  The high concentration of male skeletons and the deep wounds they incurred also link the graves to both fierce battles. Amazingly the bodies have been neatly arranged in an orderly fashion, a true proof of reverence for the dead.

Another thirty burial sites near the mass graves was reserved for the horses, most probably the soldiers’ mounts that died with them on the battlefield – according to experts they are related to the severe clash of 480 BC.

The battle of 409 BC, on the other hand seems to have affected the entire population of Himera  since hundreds of skeletons both male and female of all ages were piled up chaotically and buried in a hurry by the survivors. Their remains have been found in front of the city walls and in the eastern part of the necropolis.

[Picture of the necropolis of Himera. 

Credit: Archaeological Superintendence Palermo]

The necropolis proper used by the civilians yielded a wide array of graves ranging from mere dug-outs to wooden coffins, stone sarcophagi, and cremations. It is noteworthy that many skeletons of newborn babies were found as they were placed in terracotta amphorae as the rate of infant mortality was high at the time. During close analysis of the remains, one case of cranial surgery performed on a 19-21 year old girl was established. This intervention dates from between the 6^th and 5^th century BC and testifies of advanced medical skill for that era.

Finds from the necropolis of Himera, the largest ever discovered in Sicily, have been in storage for at least ten years and were never shown to the public. The sixteen crates of artifacts have now been transferred to the Real Albergo dei Poveri in Palermo pending the final plan to display them in a fitting museum either in Termini Imerese or at the site of Himera itself. It is indeed so much nicer to have the object exhibited close to their finding place.

Selinunte died tragically not unlike Pompeii

It is common knowledge that Pompeii was razed from the earth's surface following the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Still, the sudden end of Selinunte in Sicily is no less spectacular, yet unknown till now.

Selinunte initially was allied with Carthage, but after the battle of Himera (see: The Battle of Himera, a significant confrontation) in 480 BC, they sought the protection of Syracuse. Yet the situation in Sicily was never stable, and like Selinunte, other cities kept changing sides, at times with the Carthaginians and against them. One such case developed in the late 5^th century BC. After a nine-day siege, Hannibal utterly destroyed Selinunte, slaughtering 16,000 inhabitants and soldiers and enslaving the 5,000 male survivors and thousands of women and children. From one day to the next, the thriving city was entirely deserted.

Recent excavations have shed some light on Selinunte's sudden disappearance. Archaeologists have found half-eaten remains of meals abandoned by the people, as bowls with food residues were unearthed. Besides, they discovered dozens of unfired ceramic tiles and pots abandoned by the terrified workers before they could put them in the kilns. Whereas the city of Pompeii disappeared nearly overnight under a thick layer of volcanic ash, Selinunte was gradually covered beneath a thick coat of dust and earth.

Thanks to the wonders of modern geophysical techniques, it was possible to investigate the terrain. So far, 2,500 of Selinunte's houses have been identified, lining up alongside its streets, around its harbor, and even inside its busy industrial zone. What's more, we are able, for the first time, to have a detailed, comprehensive plan of a Greek city from the classical era, where until now, we only had scant and fragmentary impressions. Thanks to this study, scholars have counted the number of houses in the city, which has led to determining its population. Since even the industrial zone has been preserved, deciding on its interaction with the residential area is now possible.

So far, fewer than eighty kilns have been located, including huge ones with thousands of roof tiles and large ceramic amphorae. Another dozen kilns were dedicated to producing giant ceramic food vessels and ceramic coffins. The smaller kilns were used to make smaller pieces like tableware, loom weights, and statuettes of the gods. Among some of the pottery-making tools, traces of paint were also identified. It has been established that the potters had a place of worship for their own gods like Athena, who protected the workers, Artemis, who assisted in childbirth, Demeter as the goddess of fertility and harvest, and even mighty Zeus.

It is hard to imagine the hustle and bustle of Selinunte's harbor and industrial zone. Special attention will now be turned toward exposing the foundations of the large warehouses that once stood there. Excavations of the shops and the houses around the agora revealed that ships and goods from all over the Mediterranean moored here. So far, pottery, glass, and bronze ware from Egypt, Turkey, southern France, and northern Italy have been found. For instance, Selinunte's production in 409 BC is estimated to have reached 300,000 ceramic artifacts annually. It has been calculated that the citizens used less than 20% of these vessels. The remainder was destined to ship their rich harvests of agricultural produce, like wheat and olives.

In my earlier blog about Selinunte (see: More temples in Sicily to be proud of), I only spoke about the temples, which, since they had not been closely identified, were simply referred to by a letter. These temples were mainly disturbed by successive earthquakes or partially plundered as their building stones were reused for other structures over the centuries. There was indeed a lot of rubble lying around, although a first effort was made to clear the layout of the city and its main street, now revealing several shops (in 2014).

Basically, 15% of the city surface is being exposed, i.e., primarily temples and Selinunte's acropolis. All the rest is still hidden from view. Selinunte has become Europe's most important archaeological park despite this meager percentage!  

The Temple of Zeus in Agrigento in all its glory

When visiting a temple, it is never easy to imagine how it once looked with all the columns and walls intact and all the painted friezes and reliefs. That’s why these short 3D reconstructions come in so handy.

The Temple of Zeus in Agrigento (ancient Akragas) is the largest ever built in Italy – once Magna Graecia – and one of the largest in antiquity after the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus and the Temple of Apollo in Didyma (see: The Valleys of the Temples at Akragas). 

It was built in 480 BC to celebrate the Battle of Himera when the Greek colonists beat the Carthaginians once and for all.

The most remarkable feature of this temple is without doubt the huge Telamone figures (male caryatides) that stood in between the colossal columns of which only a rubble of drums has survived since most remains have been re-used for other constructions like the western pier of nearby Porto Empedocle in the 17^th century.

Thanks to the efforts of a local architect we now have images of what the Temple of Zeus looked like in the fifth century BC, outside and inside. The composition is based on the description left by Diodorus and on studies made by great archaeologists like Pirro Marconi.

The Battle of Himera, a major confrontation

The history of Sicily is a very complicated one. To simplify things, I like to state that the Greeks colonized the island starting as early as the 8th century BC and that their success was such that it raised the envy and jealousy of the Carthaginians, which led to repeated quarrels and battles. Of course, this is a very simplistic explanation because “the Greeks” came from different cities and city-states in the motherland where they fought among themselves: Corinth, Athens, and Sparta; or from the islands of Rhodes and Crete. By the fifth century BC, mainland Greece suffered from two nearly consecutive invasions by the mighty Persian army, the first in 492-490 BC which ended with the Battle of Marathon under Darius I and the second led by King Xerxes I in 480-479 BC that was settled with the Battle of Plataea and the naval Battle of Mycale. At the same time, the Carthaginians had reached an agreement with the Persians to reduce the Greeks in Sicily, meaning that Persia was, although indirectly, attacking simultaneously on two fronts.

The Carthaginians may have seized the opportune moment now that Sicily was divided among their allies (Selinus (Selinunte) and Himera) and their enemies (Syracuse and Akragas (Agrigento)). They had already conquered several cities on the west and north coasts of the island like Motya and Panormos (Palermo) and now saw their chance to extend their power further eastward. Carthage had a powerful general Hamilcar, who led both military and naval forces on his warships across the Lybian Sea.

Terillos of Himera was his ally against Syracuse, a tyrant who lacked popular support. In 483 BC the situation changed as Theron, tyrant of Akragas, deposed Terillos and added Himera to his own realm. Himera was now in the adverse camp and it is not surprising that Terillos asked the Carthaginians for help to fight against his enemies. He had, however, to wait almost three years before Hamilcar decided to organize an expedition against Sicily.

I am being taken to the very heart of this decisive battle by Michael Metcalfe as I am travelling around Sicily on a tour organized by Peter Sommer Travels “Exploring Sicily”. Before arriving at Himera, I was captivated by Michael’s lively re-enactment of entering the Castle of Eurialo; and I took in the reasons for the solid defenses against the Carthaginians at Motya and Gela. As the tour moved on, the rich historical remains of Syracuse and the sacred area around the sanctuaries of Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta have all been mentally reconstructed – even the quarry of Cave di Cusa abandoned since the Carthaginian invasion looked very real. With my fellow-aficionados, we now flock around Michael to hear how this major battle between the Sicilian allies and Carthage evolved.

As so many times before, Michael is quoting from Diodorus Siculus, a Sicilian historian who lived in the first century BC, and he is voicing the full action. We are actually standing opposite Himera inside the remains of a Doric temple, believed to be the Temple of Victory built as a celebration just after the war. On the left was the encampment of the Carthagian navy and on the right the one reserved to their landforces. As always, the figures in antiquity were very much inflated and Diodorus is no exception when he mentions that 300,000 men and 200 warships went underway together with a fleet of 3,000 and more merchantmen to transport the supplies. Modern historians have calculated that 200 ships is a fair amount and since they could never have held 1,500 men each they concluded that 150 men per vessel is about right. This would bring the total number of soldiers to 30,000, i.e. 1/10th of what is being reported. The same logic can be applied to the merchantmen which would reach 300 instead of 3,000.

Holding Diodorus’ account in hand, Michael tells us how the army had suffered badly from a storm during which Hamilcar lost the vessels carrying his horses and chariots. He first made a halt in the harbor of Panormos (modern Palermo) where he spent three days to repair the storm damage and to rest his troops. From here he marched towards Himera, with the fleet escorting him along the way. Here the warships were hauled ashore and the encampments were surrounded by a deep ditch and wooden palisade. After the army supplies were unloaded, the merchants were sent back with orders to bring in more grain and other goods from Libya and Sardinia. Hamilcar then marched on Himera located on the slope ahead of us with the pick of his troops, killing many of the Himerans who had ventured out of the city walls. Hamilcar’s daring action scared Theron, the ruler of Akragas whose role it was to protect Himera, and he decided to send an urgent message to Syracuse for help. Gelon of Syracuse had a huge army in readiness and as soon as he received the call from Theron, he marched from Syracuse with 50,000 infantry and over 5,000 cavalry according to Diodorus, although 10,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry sounds more reasonable – a large force anyway. Watching the arrival of Gelon’s men must have been quite comforting to the Himerans which I picture standing on the roofs of their houses or on a safe spot on the city walls.

While setting up his own encampment outside the city (and Michael points to the plain behind us), Theron sent his cavalry out against the Carthaginians, roaming the countryside in search of easy plunder. At least 1,000 men were rounded up and made prisoners. At this stage, and as strange as it may seem, the inhabitants of Himera came to respect Gelon and despise the Carthaginians.

Gelon, who by now was generally accepted as a man of outstanding generalship and clear insight, started to look for an easy way to outwit his enemy without having to sacrifice the lives of his own men. He knew that Hamilcar was preparing for a lavish sacrifice to the gods and he felt that this was his chance to set the enemy’s fleet afire. Luck was on his side when horsemen reached him with a message that was intercepted from a courier on his way to deliver letters from the people of Selinus to the enemy camp. These letters mentioned that they would send their cavalry on the day Hamilcar had asked for them. A chance opportunity for Gelon since that day was the same as the one planned for the Carthaginian sacrifices. The tyrant of Syracuse sent out a cavalry of his own, ordering them to take a wide loop and making it look as if they were the couriers coming from Selinus. Once inside the Carthaginian stockade, their instructions were to kill Hamilcar and set his ships afire.

From our vantage point inside the temple, it feels as if we can overlook the entire operation, and we hold our breath together with the people of Himera, who are living between hope and fear. Scouts had been posted high up the surrounding hills for they would signal when the horsemen arrived inside the enemy’s camp.

At sunrise, the fake friendly cavalry rode up to the Carthaginian’s and was admitted inside the camp by the guards as their supposed allies. They rode straight up to the place where Hamilcar was holding his sacrifice, killed the general, and set fire to the ships. At this point, the scouts in the hills gave the signal, and Gelon advanced with his entire army in close order. The Carthaginians were entirely taken by surprise, trumpets sounded the alarm, and a fierce battle developed. But when the flames of their burning ships rose high into the sky and the news of Hamilcar’s death started to spread among his men, most Carthaginians got disheartened, and the Greeks took courage. Gelon had given instructions that no one should be taken alive, and the carnage of the fugitives must have been horrendous. Since the heat of the battle was probably fought at the very spot where we are listening to this vivid story, I stare at my feet, realizing the soil must have been soaked in blood – an uneasy feeling to say the least, even after so many centuries. Reasonable figures mention that 30,000 men were killed or wounded, and certainly not all casualties fell in the enemy camp. Wow, what a place to be standing!

The temple that is our vantage point was in fact built by the Carthaginians taken captive on the orders of Gelon of Syracuse. Its dedication to Niké/Victory is uncertain for it may as well have been built in honor of Athena. In any case, it was destroyed and burnt to the ground soon after its completion and most likely in 409 BC when the Carthaginians attacked the city of Himera again.

After his victory, Gelon rewarded the brave cavalry that had killed Hamilcar and gave out decorations to other valorous combatants. The prisoners were shared proportionally among his allies, who employed them as laborers on public works. Akragas got most of the workforce, mainly because many of the Carthaginian soldiers had fled into the interior and inside Akragas’ territory in particular. They were the men who quarried the stones (like at Cave di Cusa) and who worked on the construction of many temples, the biggest being the Temple of Zeus (see: The Valley of the Temples at Akragas, Sicily). They were also forced to dig out the extravagant swimming pool in Akragas, which served as a water reservoir and a pond for fresh fish. This pond did not last long since it was drained approximately one century later to eventually become a garden where the Arabs cultivated their oranges, the Kolymbetra Garden.

Peace had returned to Himera but it was short-lived. The Carthaginians had not forgotten their bitter defeat and they attacked again in 409 BC when Sicily was torn apart by internal conflicts. This time, Himera was rased to the ground and never rebuilt.

So much for the proud city of Himera and so much for this unique experience: Thank you, Michael!

[Click here to see all the pictures of Himera]

The Valley of the Temples at Akragas, Sicily

My first glance at these temples is quite exciting as I discover them on a high ridge above the road, playing hide and seek with the passing trees. According to my map, the string of temples at Akragas (modern Agrigento) is located between two rivers, the Hypsas and the Akragas, but why this place high up the ridge is called “The Valley of the Temples” I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense to me.

Roughly, all these temples were built within a period of one hundred years, somewhere between 500 BC for the Temple of Heracles and 400 BC for the enormous Temple of Zeus. The 6th and 5th centuries BC were definitely the most prosperous times for Akragas, which was founded as a colony of Gela in 580 BC to become one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia, with a population of as many as 100,000 to 200,000 people. The Carthaginians captured the city in 406 BC and burnt it to the ground, selling its inhabitants as slaves. Soon afterwards, Akragas fell victim to the disputes between Rome and Carthage during the First Punic War. After besieging the city and defeating the Carthaginians in 261 BC, the inhabitants were once again sold as slaves, this time by the Romans. Six years later, the Carthaginians recaptured the city, but in the end, they had to surrender it to Rome, ending the Second Punic War. In 210 BC, the Romans took possession of Akragas and renamed it Agrigentum, although Greek was still the common language. Those were hard times for such a proud city!

The temples we see here today do not tell this gruesome story and only testify to Magna Graecia’s grandeur. The best known is the Temple of Concord, simply because this is the best preserved sanctuary of the Greek world after the Temple of Hephaistos in Athens. It was built around 430 BC and suffered only slight damage from the Carthaginian invasion. It is a rather standard construction in Doric style, counting 6x13 columns nearly 7 meters high, that has kept its cella nearly intact thanks to the fact that it was converted into a church. This sounds familiar after seeing what has been done to the Temple of Apollo in Syracuse, with that difference, however, that here, except for the arches in the nave, the building has been entirely stripped of its Christian additions. Its location is absolutely superb as it shines there at the end of the Sacred Road, even without the coat of original white stucco that was enhanced with red, blue, green, and yellow details. It must have been visible from quite a distance!

When I enter ”The Valley of the Temples”, my first stop, however, is at the Temple of Hera, clinging to the edge of the cliff. For security reasons, I am not allowed inside. It is slightly smaller and about 20 years older than the Temple of Concord, although it has as many columns. This temple is in poorer condition, with only parts of the columns and the cella walls still standing, as it suffered from the (still visible) devastating Carthaginian fires in 406 BC. In fact, it is surprising that so much of the temple has survived after all.

As this Temple of Hera lies on higher ground, I have an excellent view over the city walls, which are generally an extension of the steep cliff that has been hollowed out to leave only a wall of some sort. More to the right and parallel to this wall runs the said Via Sacra that leads to the Temple of Concord and beyond that to the Temple of Heracles and across the modern road to the enormous Temple of Zeus. It is a beautiful walk among the blossoming trees and high grasses, overlooking the valley below.

Passing the Temple of Concord, I reach the end of the Via Sacra at the Temple of Heracles, which has only one row of nine columns left to fuel my imagination. This is by far the oldest temple of Akragas, built around 500 BC, and is a little larger than the two previous ones, counting originally 6 by 15 columns. It also has suffered badly from the Carthaginian destruction of 406 BC, and traces of fire are still visible. In its heyday, it contained a painting by the most famous artist of the ancient world, Zeuxis. I wonder what this must have looked like.

Across the modern road are the ruins of the Temple of Olympian Zeus that defy my wildest imagination. It was built in Doric style by the Carthaginians taken prisoners during the battle of Himera in 480 BC and measures as much as 110x53m, i.e., a double square, and for that reason it is unique among the Greek temples. It counted 7x14 columns, rounded on the outside and square on the inside, a staggering 4m across and 16.7m high. In between stood statues of colossal Telamones  (male caryatids), 38 pieces in all. A few of these Telamones or parts of them have been recovered and give an idea of the oversized proportions of the temple. Archaeologists have not yet agreed on the final layout of this temple, which has suffered from repeated earthquakes and from quarrying for several local projects. This Temple of Zeus was not finished in 406 BC when the Carthaginians arrived, and we know that it was converted into a fortress in 255 BC so the inhabitants and the Roman garrison could take shelter here from the Carthaginian attack. Walking among these huge blocks, it is very difficult to mentally reconstruct this sanctuary, and the remains of a few Telamones stretched out in their full length around the temple add to the general confusion about its true proportions. Luckily, the local museum shows a model reconstruction of the temple, at least one of the possibilities, putting things more or less in perspective. The benefit of visiting these remains lies in the details for when you see the shear size of the triglyphs or the large U-shaped incisions on some of the stones that were used to lift the enormous blocks, you can somehow visualize the biblical proportions of this temple that certainly deserves the addition of Olympian to the name of Zeus.

Further to the west are the poor remains of the city of Akragas from the 6th century BC, divided by three five-meter-wide north-south streets. Much of the city was rebuilt in Hellenistic times, but only the base of the walls remains visible. At the far end of this plain dotted with patches of flowers of all colors, one can see the Sanctuary of the Chthonic Divinities (the gods of the earth), in which two temples of the 7th century BC have been erroneously assembled together in 1836. It is easy to recognize the two large altars in front of this reconstruction, belonging to the same period, a round and a square one. There are more remains of other temples, but I can't properly figure them out.

Behind this section of the Chthonic Sanctuary lies a small valley that separates me from the two columns that belong to the Temple of Hephaistos, which I can see among the trees. Down below lies the so-called Kolymbetra Garden, where a pool was dug by the same Carthaginian prisoners mentioned above, taken at Himera in 480 BC. It was meant to serve as a water reservoir and a pond for fresh fish. This pond was rather short-lived as approximately one century later it was drained to become a garden where Arabs cultivated oranges. Unfortunately, there is no time to visit the Garden or the poor remains of the Temple of Hephaistos.

The site of Akragas and its “Valley of the Temple” covers an area of approximately 4.5 x 3 kilometers, and this means that even a full day’s visit is not enough to see it all. But a stop at the local museum is an absolute must, if only to see the one original re-erected Telamon. I feel dwarfed next to this enormous statue, and even next to the three rescued Telamon-heads! Together with the abovementioned reconstruction of the Temple of Zeus, these definitely are the highlights of the museum. Yet several other artifacts deserve attention. For a start, there is a terracotta Dinos with a triangular pattern from Gela belonging to the end of the 7th century BC, a pattern that still stands as a symbol for the triangular shape of Sicily and that is reproduced in colorful copies for tourists. Then there is a lovely marble head of a veiled goddess, probably Demeter from the end of the 5th century BC; a marble statue of a warrior in a style typical for 480-475 BC; a delicate statue of a young athlete, smaller than life-size and thought to be victorious at the Olympic Games dated to 480 BC; a small headless statue of Aphrodite bathing and wringing her hair in late Hellenistic style from Rhodes; fragments of Archaic architectural terracotta elements from the sixth century BC, probably belonging to the Temple of Zeus; a rather static Kouros-head from around 450 BC; and a wide range of terracotta heads, amphorae and craters from the fifth and fourth century BC. Quite a number of showcases are not lit, whether this is for economic reasons or because of some defect, I don’t know.

Strangely enough, this museum is partially built over what once was the Hellenistic ekklesiasterion that could hold 3,000 citizens for assemblies. It looks very much like an eroded semi-circular theatre as it was leveled to accommodate the foundations of a later Roman temple. The 13th-century church of San Nicola, built with materials from nearby Roman constructions, does not help to get a clear view of this area.

I take one last glance back at where I came from. “The Valley of the Temples” with the Temple of Concord is beautifully framed by the trees in the foreground. What a place to truly taste the past!

Syracuse rivaled Athens to be the most powerful city

Syracuse always had a magical sound, tucked away down south of Italy on the island of Sicily that, like no other, was and still is at the crossroads between east and west, north and south. This strategic location not only shows on the map of the Mediterranean but more so when you visit the island. That is precisely what I finally did after dreaming about it since my teenage years. Finding myself in the very heart of Syracuse, it is hard to describe what I feel or expect. I’m totally overwhelmed, as if floating on some imaginary sea, the currents taking me to the core of its great past.

It may come as a surprise to learn that Syracuse once rivaled Athens for its power over the Greek world, but as part of Magna Graecia, this was Greece away from Greece, which we have to approach from a totally different angle. Syracuse was the very first city to be settled in Sicily, and it was the Corinthians who, in 733 BC, disembarked on the small island Ortygia just off the coast. It was soon attached to the mainland by a causeway, creating two practical harbors, one on the southwest and one on the northeast. Syracuse grew quickly and then created its own colonies, like Akrai, Kasmenai, Heloros, and Kamarina.

With its expansion came the need for some form of government. Not being happy with the Corinthian aristocrats who imposed themselves from the onset, Syracuse turned to Gelon, tyrant of neighboring Gela, a colony of Rhodians and Cretans that had settled as early as 688 BC. Gelon took his task seriously and moved the larger part of Gela’s population to Syracuse, which became his capital in 485 BC. The Syracusans must have felt they made the right decision, for Gelon was able to defeat the Carthaginians at nearby Himera five years later. However, it must be said he did so with the help of his father-in-law, Theron of Akragas (modern Agrigento). This at least kept the matter in the family. The victorious Gelon had taken thousands of prisoners of war, which he now enslaved. The finest artisans among them built a temple at the summit of Ortygia dedicated to Athena to thank her for his victory. It probably was finished in 480 BC.

We can still admire this temple in the old town of Syracuse as an integral part of the cathedral (Duomo), whose façade was rebuilt in 1728-1754 in Sicilian-Baroque style after several earthquakes had damaged the Norman entrance. Isn’t it amazing that a place of worship has been used and re-used continuously for 2,500 years? This temple was erected in the Doric style, six columns wide and fourteen deep, with doors inlaid with ivory and gold. The larger-than-life statue of Athena would have ruled over the inside, an imposing figure made of Paros marble with her face, hands, feet, and weapons of pure gold. The tympanum of the temple was enhanced with a golden shield that reflected the sunlight, a landmark to the sailors. A refined statement of the city’s wealth, no doubt, till it was taken down by a too-greedy Roman politician, Caius Verres, some four hundred years later.

In Byzantine times the temple was converted into a church, and the cella-walls were pierced to create open arches while the space between the columns was walled up. Under the Arabs, the church became a mosque. Traces of this period can be seen on the outside walls where the Muslims added crenellations above the Greek triglyphs and metopes. Upon their arrival, the Normans raised the roof and inserted narrow windows. The chestnut ceiling is a later Spanish addition (using the hard chestnut wood from the Etna region). I read all this information but still need to figure out what to expect from this sanctuary that is right around the corner from my hotel.

The Baroque façade flanked by statues of the apostles Peter and Paul carved in pure Carrara marble doesn’t betray what the inside has in store for me. Once I cross the threshold of the Duomo, I am stepping into another world. It literally takes my breath away as I’m immediately confronted with the interior of a Greek temple – or at least as close as one can come to it. I’m standing in the temple’s opisthodomos, looking into the north apse between the outer columns (now walled) and the wall of the cella. The Byzantines have opened that up to let the light flow through the inner sanctuary. The narrow windows the Normans inserted near the capitals of the Doric columns filter the late-afternoon sunlight. There are more windows above the vaulted walls of the inner cella, where stylish chandeliers add to the eerie atmosphere of this church. It is hard to figure out which part is Greek, Byzantine, or Norman, but the result is absolutely superb and harmonious. Along both sides of the modern nave, we can read the Latin inscription “Ecclesia Syracusana prima Divi Petri filia et prima post Antiochenam Christo dicata.” In other words, “The church of Syracuse is the first daughter of divine Peter and the first to be dedicated to Christ after Antioch,” i.e., a confirmation that this is the oldest Christian community in Europe.

Two columns from the original opisthodomos of the cella flank the entrance door. Another twelve columns on the north and nine on the south side are still in situ, sturdy Doric fluted columns almost nine meters high and two meters in diameter! The twelve columns of the north side are also visible from the Via Minerva, around the corner of the piazza. They include their architrave and triglyphs above which the Muslim crenellation has been added.

The floor of the Duomo is covered with colored marble, and I wonder about the dating of the different designs, interrupted by colorful tombstones that carry coats of arms. The main altar is typical 16th century with a painting of the Nativity of the Virgin, which I find somehow out of place, as much as I am absorbed by the antique Greek remains. In the eastern corner is a chapel, the Cappella del Crocifisso, with ceiling frescos that remind me of the Sixteen Chapel at a very early stage. There are two more chapels along the south wall, but these are unfortunately closed at the time of my visit.

Walking back to the entrance, I get an unexpected glimpse of the north aisle and notice three commanding statues optically in the perfect place between the columns and the openings in the cella-wall. They could well be antique gods or goddesses as far as I am concerned but on closer look they are 15th century’s statues of St Lucy, a Madonna with Child, and St Catherine of Alexandria, made in pure white Carrara marble.

                  

Amazing how this amalgam of architectural styles and religions can trick the eye and the mind. A true jewel, though …