Heraclea Minoa
Encyclopedia
Heraclea Minoa in Sicily
, was an ancient Greek
city, situated on the south coast of the island, at the mouth of the river Halycus (modern Platani
), 25 km west of Agrigentum (Acragas, modern Agrigento
), near modern Montallegro
. Archaeological finds suggest that it was founded in the middle of the 6th century BC, and was abandoned around the beginning of the 1st century AD.
It was at first an outpost of the Greek colony of Selinus (modern Selinunte
), then overthrown by Carthage, later a border town of Agrigentum. It passed into Carthaginian
hands by the treaty of 405 BC, was won back in 397 BC by Dionysius
in his first Punic war, but recovered by Carthage in 383 BC. It was here that Dion
landed in 357 BC, when he attacked Syracuse. The Agrigentines won it back in 309 BC, but it soon fell under the power of Agathocles
. It was temporarily recovered for Greece by Pyrrhus
in 277 BC.
, having vanquished the local hero Eryx
in a wrestling match, obtained thereby the right to the whole western portion of Sicily, which he expressly reserved for his descendants. He did not, however, found a town or settlement; but, somewhat later, Minos
, king of Crete
, having come to Sicily in pursuit of Daedalus
, landed at the mouth of the river Halycus, and founded there a city, to which he gave the name of Minoa; or, according to another version of the story, the city was first established by his followers, after the death of Minos himself. Heraclides Ponticus
adds, that there was previously a native city on the spot, the name of which was Macara. The two legends are so distinct that no intimation is given by Diodorus
of their relating to the same spot, and we only learn their connection from the combination in later times of the two names.
, bearing the name of Minoa. It was in this state when (c. 510 BC) Dorieus the Sparta
n (brother of Cleomenes I
) came to Sicily, with a large body of followers, with the intent of reclaiming the territory which had belonged to his ancestor Heracles. But having engaged in hostilities with the Carthaginians
and Segesta
ns, he was defeated and slain in a battle in which almost all his leading companions also perished. Euryleon, the only one of the chiefs who escaped, made himself master of Minoa, which now, in all probability, obtained for the first time the name of Heraclea. This is not, indeed, expressly stated by Herodotus
, who gives the preceding narrative, but is evidently implied in his statement at the beginning of it, that Dorieus set out for the purpose of founding Heraclea, combined with the fact that Diodorus represents him as having been its actual founder. Hence there seems no reason to suppose (as has been suggested) that Heraclea and Minoa were originally distinct cities, and that the name of the one was subsequently transferred to the other. From the period of this new settlement it seems to have commonly borne the name of Heraclea, though coupled with that of Minoa for the sake of distinction.
when it might otherwise be supposed to have occurred.
The absence of all notice of Heraclea during the subsequent century, and the wars of Dionysius I of Syracuse
with the Carthaginians, suggests that either it did not then exist, or must have been in a very reduced condition. However the territory of Heraclea Minoa fell under Carthaginian control as a result of the treaty of 405 BC. The next mention of it (under the name of Minoa), when Dion
landed there in 357 BC, represents it as a small town in the Agrigentine territory, but still subject to Carthage. Hence it is probable that the treaty between Dionysius and the Carthaginians which had fixed the Halycus as the boundary of the latter, had left Heraclea, though on its southeast bank, still in their hands: and, in accordance with this, we find it stipulated by the similar treaty concluded with them by Agathocles
(314 BC), that Heraclea, Selinus, and Himera
should continue subject to Carthage, as they had been before.
In 278 BC, during the expedition of Pyrrhus
, it was once more in the hands of the Carthaginians, and was the first city taken from them by that monarch as he advanced westward from Agrigentum. In like manner, in the First Punic War
, it was occupied by the Carthaginian general Hanno
, when advancing to the relief of Agrigentum, at that time besieged by the Roman armies, 260 BC.
Again, in 256 BC, it was at Heraclea that the Carthaginian fleet of 350 ships was posted for the purpose of preventing the passage of the Roman fleet to Africa, and where it sustained a great defeat from the Roman consul
s Regulus
and Manlius
. It appears, indeed, at this time to have been one of the principal naval stations of the Carthaginians in Sicily; and hence in 249 BC we again find their admiral, Carthalo
, taking his post there to watch for the Roman fleet which was approaching to the relief of Lilybaeum.
At the close of the war Heraclea, of course, passed, with the rest of Sicily, under the Roman dominion; but in the Second Punic War
it again fell into the hands of the Carthaginians, and was one of the last places that still held out against Marcellus
, even after the fall of Syracuse.
(134–132 BC), and in consequence received a body of fresh colonists, who were established there by the praetor Publius Rupilius
; and at the same time the relations of the old and new citizens were regulated by a municipal law, which still subsisted in the time of Cicero
. In the days of the great orator, Heraclea appears to have been still a flourishing place; but it must soon after have fallen into decay, in common with most of the towns on the southern coast of Sicily.
It is not mentioned by Pliny
. However it is one of three south coastal Sicilian cities mentioned by the 1st century AD Roman geographer Mela
and also by the 2nd century AD Greek geographer Ptolemy
. The latter author is the last who mentions the name of Heraclea; it appears to have certainly disappeared before the age of the Roman Itineraries
.
The location of Heraclea Minoa was first identified by the 16th century historian Tommaso Fazello
. It was situated a few hundred yards to the southeast of the mouth of the river Platani (the ancient Halycus), atop the conspicuous promontory now called Capo Bianco, with gently sloping sides down to the Platani valley to the north, and sheer white cliffs to the ocean on the south side. This is evidently the one called by Strabo, in his description of the coasts of Sicily, the Heraclean promontory which he correctly gives as 20 miles distant from the port of Agrigentum.
In Fazello's time, the foundations of the walls could be distinctly traced, and, though no ruins remained standing, the whole site abounded with remains of pottery and brickwork. An aqueduct
was then also still visible between the city and the mouth of the river; but its remains have since disappeared.Fazello, 6.2; William Henry Smyth
Sicily, p. 216; Biscari, Viaggio in Sicilia, p. 188.
In the early 20th century, a mid-6th-early 5th century BC necropolis
was discovered. A large-scale excavation by Professor Ernesto de Miro begun in 1950, uncovered late 4th–late 1st century BC dwellings and a late 4th century BC theater. The absence of Arretine ware at the site, strongly suggests that the city was abandoned by the beginning of the 1st century AD.
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, was an ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
city, situated on the south coast of the island, at the mouth of the river Halycus (modern Platani
Platani
Platani , known in ancient times as Alico is a river in southern Sicily, Italy. It is the fifth longest in the island after Imera Meridionale, Simeto, Belice and Dittaino, with a course of 103 km, and the third for drainage basin with 1,785 km², after the Simeto and Imera Meridionale...
), 25 km west of Agrigentum (Acragas, modern Agrigento
Agrigento
Agrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden...
), near modern Montallegro
Montallegro
Montallegro is a comune in the Province of Agrigento in the Italian region Sicily, located about 80 km south of Palermo and about 25 km northwest of Agrigento....
. Archaeological finds suggest that it was founded in the middle of the 6th century BC, and was abandoned around the beginning of the 1st century AD.
It was at first an outpost of the Greek colony of Selinus (modern Selinunte
Selinunte
Selinunte is an ancient Greek archaeological site on the south coast of Sicily, southern Italy, between the valleys of the rivers Belice and Modione in the province of Trapani. The archaeological site contains five temples centered on an acropolis...
), then overthrown by Carthage, later a border town of Agrigentum. It passed into Carthaginian
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
hands by the treaty of 405 BC, was won back in 397 BC by Dionysius
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in what is now Sicily, southern Italy. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Greek colonies...
in his first Punic war, but recovered by Carthage in 383 BC. It was here that Dion
Dion of Syracuse
Dion , tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily, was the son of Hipparinus, and brother-in-law of Dionysius I of Syracuse.-Family:Dion was the son of the Syracusan statesman Hipparinus, who had assisted the despot Dionysius I, in the Syracusan army. Hipparinus' other children were Megacles and Aristomache...
landed in 357 BC, when he attacked Syracuse. The Agrigentines won it back in 309 BC, but it soon fell under the power of Agathocles
Agathocles
Agathocles , , was tyrant of Syracuse and king of Sicily .-Biography:...
. It was temporarily recovered for Greece by Pyrrhus
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic era. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became king of Epirus and Macedon . He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome...
in 277 BC.
Two legends
Its two names were connected with two separate mythological legends in regard to its origin. The first of these related that HeraclesHeracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
, having vanquished the local hero Eryx
Eryx
In Greek mythology, Eryx was a king of the city of Eryx in Sicily. He was either the son of Poseidon or Aphrodite and King Butes of the Elymian people of Sicily. Eryx was an excellent boxer but died when Heracles beat him in a match....
in a wrestling match, obtained thereby the right to the whole western portion of Sicily, which he expressly reserved for his descendants. He did not, however, found a town or settlement; but, somewhat later, Minos
Minos
In Greek mythology, Minos was a king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every year he made King Aegeus pick seven men and seven women to go to Daedalus' creation, the labyrinth, to be eaten by The Minotaur. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades. The Minoan civilization of Crete...
, king of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, having come to Sicily in pursuit of Daedalus
Daedalus
In Greek mythology, Daedalus was a skillful craftsman and artisan.-Family:...
, landed at the mouth of the river Halycus, and founded there a city, to which he gave the name of Minoa; or, according to another version of the story, the city was first established by his followers, after the death of Minos himself. Heraclides Ponticus
Heraclides Ponticus
Heraclides Ponticus , also known as Herakleides and Heraklides of Pontus, was a Greek philosopher and astronomer who lived and died at Heraclea Pontica, now Karadeniz Ereğli, Turkey. He is best remembered for proposing that the earth rotates on its axis, from west to east, once every 24 hours...
adds, that there was previously a native city on the spot, the name of which was Macara. The two legends are so distinct that no intimation is given by Diodorus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
of their relating to the same spot, and we only learn their connection from the combination in later times of the two names.
6th century BC
There is no account of its founding, but archaeological finds suggest a date in the mid 6th century BC. The first written mention of the city represents it as a small town and a colony of the Greek settlement of SelinusSelinunte
Selinunte is an ancient Greek archaeological site on the south coast of Sicily, southern Italy, between the valleys of the rivers Belice and Modione in the province of Trapani. The archaeological site contains five temples centered on an acropolis...
, bearing the name of Minoa. It was in this state when (c. 510 BC) Dorieus the Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
n (brother of Cleomenes I
Cleomenes I
Cleomenes or Kleomenes was an Agiad King of Sparta in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. During his reign, which started around 520 BC, he pursued an adventurous and at times unscrupulous foreign policy aimed at crushing Argos and extending Sparta's influence both inside and outside the...
) came to Sicily, with a large body of followers, with the intent of reclaiming the territory which had belonged to his ancestor Heracles. But having engaged in hostilities with the Carthaginians
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
and Segesta
Segesta
Segesta was the political center of the Elymian people, located in the northwestern part of Sicily, in what are now the province of Trapani and the comune of Calatafimi-Segesta....
ns, he was defeated and slain in a battle in which almost all his leading companions also perished. Euryleon, the only one of the chiefs who escaped, made himself master of Minoa, which now, in all probability, obtained for the first time the name of Heraclea. This is not, indeed, expressly stated by Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, who gives the preceding narrative, but is evidently implied in his statement at the beginning of it, that Dorieus set out for the purpose of founding Heraclea, combined with the fact that Diodorus represents him as having been its actual founder. Hence there seems no reason to suppose (as has been suggested) that Heraclea and Minoa were originally distinct cities, and that the name of the one was subsequently transferred to the other. From the period of this new settlement it seems to have commonly borne the name of Heraclea, though coupled with that of Minoa for the sake of distinction.
5th–4th century BC
Diodorus tells us that the newly founded city of Heraclea rose rapidly to prosperity, but was destroyed by the Carthaginians, through jealousy of its increasing power. When this took place is uncertain. It was probably related by Diodorus in his 10th book, which is now lost. He makes no mention of any such event during the First Sicilian War (480 BC)Sicilian Wars
The Greek-Punic wars or, less properly, Sicilian Wars, were a series of conflicts fought between Carthaginians and the Greeks headed by Syracusans, over control of Sicily and western Mediterranean between the years 600 to 265 BC....
when it might otherwise be supposed to have occurred.
The absence of all notice of Heraclea during the subsequent century, and the wars of Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in what is now Sicily, southern Italy. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Greek colonies...
with the Carthaginians, suggests that either it did not then exist, or must have been in a very reduced condition. However the territory of Heraclea Minoa fell under Carthaginian control as a result of the treaty of 405 BC. The next mention of it (under the name of Minoa), when Dion
Dion of Syracuse
Dion , tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily, was the son of Hipparinus, and brother-in-law of Dionysius I of Syracuse.-Family:Dion was the son of the Syracusan statesman Hipparinus, who had assisted the despot Dionysius I, in the Syracusan army. Hipparinus' other children were Megacles and Aristomache...
landed there in 357 BC, represents it as a small town in the Agrigentine territory, but still subject to Carthage. Hence it is probable that the treaty between Dionysius and the Carthaginians which had fixed the Halycus as the boundary of the latter, had left Heraclea, though on its southeast bank, still in their hands: and, in accordance with this, we find it stipulated by the similar treaty concluded with them by Agathocles
Agathocles
Agathocles , , was tyrant of Syracuse and king of Sicily .-Biography:...
(314 BC), that Heraclea, Selinus, and Himera
Himera
thumb|250px|Remains of the Temple of Victory.thumb|250px|Ideal reconstruction of the Temple of Victory.Himera , was an important ancient Greek city of Sicily, situated on the north coast of the island, at the mouth of the river of the same name , between Panormus and Cephaloedium...
should continue subject to Carthage, as they had been before.
3rd century BC
From this time Heraclea reappears in history, and assumes the position of an important city; though we have no explanation of the circumstances that had raised it from its previous insignificance. Thus we find it, soon after, joining in the movement originated by Xenodicus of Agrigentum, 309 BC, and declaring itself free both from the Carthaginians and Agathocles; though it was soon recovered by Agathocles, on his return from Africa in 305 BC.In 278 BC, during the expedition of Pyrrhus
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic era. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became king of Epirus and Macedon . He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome...
, it was once more in the hands of the Carthaginians, and was the first city taken from them by that monarch as he advanced westward from Agrigentum. In like manner, in the First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
, it was occupied by the Carthaginian general Hanno
Hanno
Hanno may refer to:* Hanno, Saitama, Honshū, Japan* Hanno , a lunar crater* Hanno , the pet white elephant of Pope Leo XPeople named Hanno:*Several ancient Carthaginians, including:...
, when advancing to the relief of Agrigentum, at that time besieged by the Roman armies, 260 BC.
Again, in 256 BC, it was at Heraclea that the Carthaginian fleet of 350 ships was posted for the purpose of preventing the passage of the Roman fleet to Africa, and where it sustained a great defeat from the Roman consul
Roman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
s Regulus
Marcus Atilius Regulus
Marcus Atilius Regulus , a general and consul in the ninth year of the First Punic War...
and Manlius
Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus
Lucius Manlius Vulso Longus was a patrician who became one of the Roman consuls in both 256 and 250 BC. The term for being consul was one year. Two consuls ruled at a time and one could serve up to two terms. It was the consuls’ job to govern provinces, lead armies in major wars, and run the Senate...
. It appears, indeed, at this time to have been one of the principal naval stations of the Carthaginians in Sicily; and hence in 249 BC we again find their admiral, Carthalo
Carthalo
Carthalo was an officer in Hannibal's army during the Second Punic War. He led the Numidian cavalry in a successful skirmish against Rome. After the Battle of Cannae Hannibal sent Carthalo to Rome. Carthalo's mission was to try to get Rome to consider peace. At the same time he brought a...
, taking his post there to watch for the Roman fleet which was approaching to the relief of Lilybaeum.
At the close of the war Heraclea, of course, passed, with the rest of Sicily, under the Roman dominion; but in the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
it again fell into the hands of the Carthaginians, and was one of the last places that still held out against Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus , five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War...
, even after the fall of Syracuse.
Roman period
We hear but little of it under the Roman dominion; but it appears to have suffered severely in the First Servile WarFirst Servile War
The First Servile War of 135–132 BC was an unsuccessful rebellion of slaves against the Roman Republic. The war was prompted by slave revolts in Enna on the island of Sicily. It was led by Eunus, a former slave claiming to be a prophet, and Cleon, a Cilician who became Eunus's military commander...
(134–132 BC), and in consequence received a body of fresh colonists, who were established there by the praetor Publius Rupilius
Publius Rupilius
Publius Rupilius, Roman statesman, consul in 132 BC. During the inquiry that followed the death of Tiberius Gracchus, conducted by himself and his colleague Popillius Laenas, he proceeded with the utmost severity against the supporters of Gracchus. In the same year he was despatched to Sicily,...
; and at the same time the relations of the old and new citizens were regulated by a municipal law, which still subsisted in the time of Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
. In the days of the great orator, Heraclea appears to have been still a flourishing place; but it must soon after have fallen into decay, in common with most of the towns on the southern coast of Sicily.
It is not mentioned by Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
. However it is one of three south coastal Sicilian cities mentioned by the 1st century AD Roman geographer Mela
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera and died c. AD 45.His short work occupies less than one hundred pages of ordinary print. It is laconic in style and deficient in method, but of pure Latinity, and occasionally relieved by pleasing...
and also by the 2nd century AD Greek geographer Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
. The latter author is the last who mentions the name of Heraclea; it appears to have certainly disappeared before the age of the Roman Itineraries
Itinerarium
An itinerarium was an Ancient Roman road map in the form of a listing of cities, villages and other stops, with the intervening distances. One surviving example is the Peutinger Table; another is the Antonine Itinerary....
.
Archaeology
Tommaso Fazello
Tommaso Fazello was an Italian Dominican friar, historian and antiquarian. He is known as the father of Sicilian history. He is the author of the first printed history of Sicily: De Rebus Siculis Decades Duae, published in Palermo in 1558 in Latin...
. It was situated a few hundred yards to the southeast of the mouth of the river Platani (the ancient Halycus), atop the conspicuous promontory now called Capo Bianco, with gently sloping sides down to the Platani valley to the north, and sheer white cliffs to the ocean on the south side. This is evidently the one called by Strabo, in his description of the coasts of Sicily, the Heraclean promontory which he correctly gives as 20 miles distant from the port of Agrigentum.
In Fazello's time, the foundations of the walls could be distinctly traced, and, though no ruins remained standing, the whole site abounded with remains of pottery and brickwork. An aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
was then also still visible between the city and the mouth of the river; but its remains have since disappeared.Fazello, 6.2; William Henry Smyth
William Henry Smyth
William Henry Smyth was an English sailor, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist.-Private Life:...
Sicily, p. 216; Biscari, Viaggio in Sicilia, p. 188.
In the early 20th century, a mid-6th-early 5th century BC necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
was discovered. A large-scale excavation by Professor Ernesto de Miro begun in 1950, uncovered late 4th–late 1st century BC dwellings and a late 4th century BC theater. The absence of Arretine ware at the site, strongly suggests that the city was abandoned by the beginning of the 1st century AD.