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Himera (
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
: ), was an important
ancient GreekAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
city of
SicilySicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
, situated on the north coast of the island, at the mouth of the river of the same name (the modern
GrandeThe Grande River is a river of Sicily, rising in the heights near Cozzo Levanche, and flowing approximately 35 km, through the comuni of Caltavuturo, Campofelice di Roccella, Cerda, Collesano, Scillato, Sclafani Bagni, Termini Imerese and Valledolmo to the Tyrrhenian Sea at the site of the...
), between Panormus (modern
PalermoPalermo is a historic city in Southern Italy, the capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
) and Cephaloedium (modern
CefalùCefalù is a city and comune in the province of Palermo, located on the northern coast of Sicily, Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea about 75 km east from the provincial capital and 185 km west of Messina...
). Its remains lie within the borders of the modern
comuneIn Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division of both provinces and regions, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.- Importance and function :...
of
Termini ImereseTermini Imerese , Latin: Thermae Himerenses, literally Himera's hot springs), is a town in the province of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily.-Ancient:...
.
Foundation and earliest history
It was the first Greek settlement on this part of the island and was a strategic outpost just outside the eastern boundary of the Carthaginian-controlled west.
ThucydidesThucydides was a Greek historian and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century B.C. war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 B.C...
says it was the only Greek city on this coast of Sicily, which must however be understood with reference only to independent cities; Mylae, which was also on the north coast, and certainly of Greek origin, being a dependency of Zancle (modern Messina). All authorities agree that Himera was a colony of Zancle, but Thucydides tells us that, with the emigrants from Zancle, who were of Chalcidic origin, were mingled a number of
SyracusanSyracuse is a historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is famous for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture and association to Archimedes, playing an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean world;...
exiles, the consequence of which was, that, though the institutions of the new city were Chalcidic, its dialect had a mixture of
DoricDoric or Dorian was a dialect of ancient Greek. Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon. Together with Northwest Greek, it forms the...
.
The foundation of Himera is placed subsequent to that of Mylae (as, from their relative positions, might naturally have been expected) both by
StraboStrabo was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born in a wealthy family from Amaseia in Pontus , which had recently become part of the Roman Empire.. He studied under various geographers and philosophers; first in Nysa, later in Rome...
and
Scymnus ChiusScymnus of Chios was a Greek geographer. He was said to have been the author of a periegesis in prose.An anonymous verse periegesis first published at Augsburg in 1600, originally ascribed to Marcianus of Heraclea, was long thought to be the lost work of Scymnus, but this was shown not to be the...
: its date is not mentioned by Thucydides, but Diodorus tells us that it had existed 240 years at the time of its destruction by the Carthaginians, which would fix its first settlement in 648 BCE. We have very little information as to its early history: an obscure notice in
AristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology.Together with Plato and Socrates , Aristotle is one of...
, from which it appears to have at one time fallen under the dominion of the tyrant
PhalarisPhalaris was the tyrant of Acragas in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC.-History:He was entrusted with the building of the temple of Zeus Atabyrius in the citadel, and took advantage of his position to make himself despot . Under his rule Agrigentum seems to have attained considerable...
, being the only mention we find of it, until about 490 BCE, when it afforded a temporary refuge to
ScythesScythes was tyrant or ruler of Zancle in Sicily, appointed to that post about 494 BC by Hippocrates of Gela.The Zanclaeans had sent to Ionia to invite colonists to join them in founding a new city on the Kale Acte , or north shore of Sicily, and the offer had been accepted by a large body of...
, tyrant of Zancle, after his expulsion from the latter city. Not long after this event, Himera fell itself under the yoke of a despot named
TerillusTerillus son of Crinippus, tyrant of Himera, in Sicily. We know nothing of the means by which he rose to power, or of the duration or events of his reign: it is only from subsequent circumstances that we learn that he had sought to fortify his power by giving his daughter Cydippe in marriage to...
, who sought to fortify his power by contracting a close alliance with
AnaxilasAnaxilas or Anaxilaus , son of Cretines, was a tyrant of Rhegium , and of Messenian origin. He was master of Rhegium in 494 BC, when he instigated the Samians and other Ionian fugitives to seize Zancle, a city across the strait in Sicily that was then under the rule of the tyrant Scythes...
, at that time ruler both of Rhegium (modern Reggio di Calabria) and Zancle. But Terillus was unable to resist the power of
TheronTheron , son of Aenesidamus was a Greek tyrant of the town of Acragas in Sicily from 488 BC. He soon became an ally of Gelo, who at that time controlled Gela, and from 485 BC Syracuse. Gelo later became Theron's son-in-law....
, despot of Agrigentum (modern
AgrigentoAgrigento , 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 age of...
), and, being expelled by him from Himera, had recourse to the assistance of the Carthaginians, a circumstance which became the immediate occasion of the first great expedition of that people to Sicily, 480 BCE.
First interaction with Carthage
The magnitude of the armament sent under
HamilcarHamilcar was a common name in the Punic culture. There are several different transcriptions into Greek and Roman scripts. The ruling families of ancient Carthage often named their members with the traditional name Hamilcar...
, who is said to have landed in Sicily with an army of 300,000 men, in itself sufficiently proves that the conquest of Himera was rather the pretext, than the object, of the war: but it is likely that the growing power of that city, in the immediate neighborhood of the Carthaginian settlements of Panormus and Solus, had already given umbrage to the latter people. Hence it was against Himera that the first efforts of Hamilcar were directed: but Theron, who had thrown himself into the city with all the forces at his command, was able to maintain its defence till the arrival of Gelon of Syracuse, who, notwithstanding the numerical inferiority of his forces, defeated the vast army of the Carthaginians with such slaughter that the
Battle of HimeraThe Battle of Himera , supposedly fought on the same day as the more famous Battle of Salamis, or on the same day as the Battle of Thermopylae, saw the Greek forces of Gelo, King of Syracuse, and Theron, tyrant of Agrigentum, defeat the Carthaginian force of Hamilcar the Magonid, ending a...
was regarded by the Greeks of Sicily as worthy of comparison with the contemporary victory of
SalamisThe Battle of Salamis , was a naval battle fought between an Alliance of Greek city-states and the Achaemenid Empire of Persia in September 480 BC in the straits between the mainland and Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens...
. The same feeling probably gave rise to the tradition or belief, that both triumphs were achieved on the very same day.
After the Battle of Himera
This great victory left Theron in the undisputed possession of the sovereignty of Himera, as well as of that of Agrigentum; but he appears to have bestowed his principal attention upon the latter city, and consigned the government of Himera to his son
ThrasydaeusThrasydaeus, tyrant of Agrigentum, was the son and successor of Theron. Already during his father's lifetime he had been appointed to the government of Himera, where, by his violent and arbitrary conduct, he alienated the citizens, so that they were close to revolt...
. But the young man, by his violent and oppressive rule, soon alienated the minds of the citizens, who in consequence applied for relief to Hieron of Syracuse, at that time on terms of hostility with Theron. The Syracusan despot, however, instead of lending assistance to the discontented party at Himera, betrayed their overtures to Theron, who took signal vengeance on the unfortunate Himeraeans, putting to death a large number of the disaffected citizens, and driving others into exile. Shortly after, seeing that the city had suffered greatly from these severities, and that its population was much diminished, he sought to restore its prosperity by establishing there a new body of citizens, whom he collected from various quarters. The greater part of these new colonists were of Dorian extraction; and though the two bodies of citizens were blended into one, and continued to live harmoniously together, we find that from this period Himera became a Doric city, and both adopted the institutions, and followed the policy, of the other Doric states of Sicily. This settlement seems to have taken place in 476 BCE, and Himera continued subject to Theron till his death, in 472 BCE: but Thrasydaeus retained possession of the sovereignty for a very short time after the death of his father, and his defeat by Hieron of Syracuse was speedily followed by his expulsion both from Agrigentum and Himera. In 466 BCE we find the Himeraeans, in their turn, sending a force to assist the Syracusans in throwing off the yoke of
ThrasybulusThrasybulus was a tyrant who ruled Syracuse for eleven months during 466 and 465 BC. He was a member of the Deinomenid family and the brother of the previous tyrant Hiero, who seized power in Syracuse by convincing Gelon's son to give up his claim to the leadership of Syracuse. A few months...
; and, in the general settlement of affairs which followed soon after, the exiles were allowed to return to Himera, where they appear to have settled quietly together with the new citizens. From this period Diodorus expressly tells us that Himera was fortunate enough to escape from civil dissensions, and this good government must have secured to it no small share of the prosperity which was enjoyed by the Sicilian cities in general during the succeeding half-century.
But though we are told in general terms that the period which elapsed from this re-settlement of Himera till its destruction by the Carthaginians (461–408 BCE), was one of peace and prosperity, the only notices we find of the city during this interval refer to the part it took at the time of the Athenian expedition to Sicily, 415 BCE. On that occasion, the Himeraeans were among the first to promise their support to Syracuse: hence, when
NiciasNicias or Nikias was an Athenian politician and general during the period of the Peloponnesian War. Nicias was a member of the Athenian aristocracy because he had inherited a large fortune from his father, which was invested into the silver mines around Attica's Mt. Laurium...
presented himself before their port with the Athenian fleet, they altogether refused to receive him; and, shortly after, it was at Himera that
GylippusGylippus was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC; he was the son of Cleandridas, who was the adviser of King Pleistoanax and had been expelled from Sparta for accepting Athenian bribes in 446 BC and fled to Thurii, a pan-Hellenic colony then being founded in the instep of Italy with Athenian...
landed, and from whence he marched across the island to Syracuse, at the head of a force composed in great part of Himeraean citizens.
Destruction by Carthage
A few years after this the prosperity of the city was brought to a sudden and abrupt termination by the great Carthaginian expedition to Sicily, 408 BCE. Though the ostensible object of that armament, as it had been of the Athenian, was the support of the
SegestaSegesta was the political center of the Elymian people. It is in the northwestern part of Sicily, in the province of Trapani and in the comune of Calatafimi-Segesta....
ns against their neighbors, the
SelinuntinesSelinunte is an ancient Greek archaeological site situated 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...
, yet there can be no doubt that the Carthaginians, from the first, entertained more extensive designs; and, immediately after the destruction of Selinus,
Hannibal MagoHannibal was a grandson of Hamilcar Mago.He was shofet of Carthage in 410 BC and in 409 BC commanded a Carthaginian army sent to Sicily in response to a request from the city of Segesta. He successfully took the Greek city of Selinus and then Himera...
, who commanded the expedition, hastened to turn his arms against Himera. That city was ill-prepared for defence; its fortifications were of little strength, but the citizens made a desperate resistance, and by a vigorous sally inflicted severe loss on the Carthaginians. They were at first supported by a force of about 4000 auxiliaries from Syracuse, under the command of Diocles; but that general became seized with a panic fear for the safety of Syracuse itself, and precipitately abandoned Himera, leaving the unfortunate citizens to contend singlehanded against the Carthaginian power. The result could not be doubtful, and the city was soon taken by storm: a large part of the citizens were put to the sword, and not less than 3000 of them, who had been taken prisoners, were put to death in cold blood by Hannibal, as a sacrifice to the memory of his grandfather Hamilcar. The city itself was utterly destroyed, its buildings razed to the ground, and even the temples themselves were not spared; the Carthaginian general being evidently desirous to obliterate all trace of a city whose name was associated with the great defeat of his countrymen.
Diodorus, who relates the total destruction of Himera, tells us expressly that it was never rebuilt, and that the site remained uninhabited down to his own times. It seems at first in contradiction with this statement, that he elsewhere includes the Himeraeans, as well as the Selinuntines and Agrigentines, among the exiled citizens that were allowed by the treaty, concluded with Carthage, in 405 BCE, to return to their homes, and inhabit their own cities, on condition of paying tribute to Carthage and not restoring their fortifications. And it seems clear that many of them at least availed themselves of this permission, as we find the Himeraeans subsequently mentioned among the states that declared in favour of
Dionysius I of SyracuseDionysius 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...
, at the commencement of his great war with Carthage in 397 BCE; though they quickly returned to the Carthaginian alliance in the following year. The explanation of this difficulty is furnished by
CiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.Cicero is generally perceived to be one of the most versatile minds of ancient Rome...
, who tells us that, after the destruction of Himera, those citizens who had survived the calamity of the war established themselves at
ThermaeTermini Imerese , Latin: Thermae Himerenses, literally Himera's hot springs), is a town in the province of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily.-Ancient:...
, within the confines of the same territory, and not far from their old town. Diodorus gives a somewhat different account of the foundation of Thermae, which he represents as established by the Carthaginians themselves before the close of the war, in 407 BCE. But it is probable that both statements are substantially correct, and that the Carthaginians founded the new town in the immediate neighbourhood of Himera, in order to prevent the old site being again occupied; while the Himeraean exiles, when they returned thither, though they settled in the new town, naturally regarded themselves as still the same people, and would continue to bear the name of Himeraeans. How completely, even at a much later period, the one city was regarded as the representative of the other, appears from the statement of Cicero, that when
Scipio AfricanusPublius Cornelius Scipio Africanus also known as Scipio Africanus, Scipio the Elder, and Africanus the Elder was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic...
, after the capture of Carthage, restored to the Agrigentines and Gelenses the statues that had been carried off from their respective cities, he at the same time restored to the citizens of Thermae those that had been taken from Himera. Hence we cannot be surprised to find that, not only are the Himeraeans still spoken of as an existing people, but even that the name of Himera itself is sometimes inadvertently used as that of their city. Thus, in 314 BCE, Diodorus tells us that, by the treaty between
AgathoclesAgathocles , , was tyrant of Syracuse and king of Sicily .-Biography:...
and the Carthaginians, it was stipulated that Heracleia, Selinus, and Himera should continue subject to Carthage as they had been before. It is much more strange that we find the name of Himera reappear both in
MelaMela is a Sanskrit word meaning 'gathering' or 'to meet' or a Fair. It is used in the Indian subcontinent for all sizes of gathering and can be religious, commercial, cultural or sports. In rural traditions melas or village fairs were of great importance...
and
PlinyGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, though we know from the distinct statements of Cicero and Strabo, as well as Diodorus, that it had ceased to exist centuries before.
Foundation of Thermae
The new town of Thermae or Therma called for the sake of distinction Thermae Himerenses, which thus took the place of Himera, obviously derived its name from the hot springs for which it was celebrated, and the first discovery of which was connected by legends with the wanderings of
HerculesHercules is the Roman name for the mythical Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena. Early Roman sources suggest that the imported Greek hero supplanted a mythic Italic shepherd called "Recaranus" or "Garanus", famous for his strength, who dedicated the Ara Maxima that became...
. It appears to have early become a considerable town, though it continued, with few and brief exceptions, to be subject to the Carthaginian rule. In the
First Punic WarThe First Punic War was the first of three major wars fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea. Carthage, located in what is today Tunisia, was the dominant Western Mediterranean power at the beginning of...
its name is repeatedly mentioned. Thus, in 260 BCE, a body of
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
troops were encamped in the neighborhood, when they were attacked by
HamilcarHamilcar was a common name in the Punic culture. There are several different transcriptions into Greek and Roman scripts. The ruling families of ancient Carthage often named their members with the traditional name Hamilcar...
, and defeated with heavy loss. Before the close of the war, Thermae itself was besieged and taken by the Romans. Cicero relates that the Roman government restored to the Thermitani their city and territory, with the free use of their own laws, as a reward for their steady fidelity. They were on hostile terms with Rome during the First Punic War, so it can only be to the subsequent period that these expressions apply; but the occasion to which they refer is unknown. In the time of Cicero, Thermae appears to have been a flourishing place, carrying on a considerable amount of trade, though the orator speaks, of it as
oppidum non maximum. It seems to have received a
colonyA Roman colonia was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of Roman city.-History:...
in the time of
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
, whence we find mention in inscriptions of the
Ordo et Populus splendidissimae Coloniae Augustae Himeraeorum Thermitanorum: and there can be little doubt that the Thermae colonia of
PlinyGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
in reality refers to this town, though he evidently understood it to be Thermae Selinuntiae (modern
SciaccaSciacca , also Schiacca, is a town in the province of Agrigento on the southwestern coast of Sicily...
), as he places it on the south coast between Agrigentum and Selinus. There is little subsequent account of Thermae; but, as its name is found in
PtolemyClaudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Greek ancestry. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer and a poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under the Roman Empire, and is believed to have been born in the town of...
and the Itineraries, it appears to have continued in existence throughout the period of the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
, and probably never ceased to be inhabited, as the modern town of
Termini ImereseTermini Imerese , Latin: Thermae Himerenses, literally Himera's hot springs), is a town in the province of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily.-Ancient:...
retains the ancient site as well as name. The magnificence of the ancient city, and the taste of its citizens for the encouragement of art, are attested by Cicero, who calls it
in primis Siciliae clarum et ornatum; and some evidence of it remained, even in the days of that orator, in the statues preserved by the Thermitani, to whom they had been restored by Scipio, after the conquest of Carthage; and which were valuable, not only as relics of the past, but from their high merit as works of art. The numerous examples of coins from Himera testify to the city's wealth in antiquity.
Current situation
Because of extensive remains, no doubt can therefore exist with regard to the site of Thermae, which would be, indeed, sufficiently marked by the hot springs themselves; but the exact position of the more ancient city of Himera was a subject of controversy until recent times. The opinion of Cluverius, which has been followed by almost all subsequent writers into the 19th century, would place it on the left bank of the river which flows by Termini on the west, and is thence commonly known as the Fiume di Termini, though called in the upper part of its course Fiume San Leonardo. On this supposition the inhabitants merely removed from one bank of the river to the other; and this would readily explain the passages in which Himera and Thermae appear to be regarded as identical, and where the river Himera (which unquestionably gave name to the older city) is represented at the same time as flowing by Thermae. On the other hand, there is great difficulty in supposing that the Fiume San Leonardo can be the river Himera; and all our data with regard to the latter would seem to support which the view of Fazello, who identifies it with the Fiume Grande, the mouth of which is distant just 8 miles from Termini. This is the view adopted by most modern scholarship. This distance can hardly be said to be too great to be reconciled with Cicero's expression, that the new settlement was established
non longe ab oppido antique; while the addition that it was in the same territory would seem to imply that it was not very near the old site. It may be added, that, in this case, the new site would have had the recommendation in the eyes of the Carthaginians of being nearer to their own settlements of Solus and Panormus, and, consequently, more within their command. But Fazello's view derives a strong confirmation from the circumstance, stated by him, that the site which he indicates, marked by the Torre di Bonfornello on the seacoast (on the left bank of the Fiume Grande, close to its mouth), though presenting no ruins, abounded in ancient relics, such as vases and bronzes; and numerous sepulchres had also been brought to light. On the other hand, neither Cluverius nor any other writer has noticed the existence of any ancient remains on the west bank of the Himera; nor does it appear that the site so fixed is one adapted for a city of importance.
Archaeology
The only recognizable ruin in this city is the Tempio della Vittoria (Temple of Victory), a
DoricThe Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of Ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian....
structure supposedly built to commemorate the defeat of the Carthaginians (although recently some scholars have come to doubt this hypothesis). To the south of the temple was the town's
necropolisA necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, meaning "city of the dead"...
. Some artifacts recovered from this site are kept in a small antiquarium. However, the more impressive displays are in
PalermoPalermo is a historic city in Southern Italy, the capital of the autonomous region Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its rich history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
's Museo Archeologico Regionale.
Famous people
Himera was celebrated in antiquity as the birth place of the poet
StesichorusStesichorus was a Greek lyric poet from Himera in Sicily, one of the nine lyric poets esteemed by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria as worthy of study....
, who appears, from an anecdote preserved by
AristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology.Together with Plato and Socrates , Aristotle is one of...
, to have taken considerable part in the political affairs of his native city. His statue was still preserved at Thermae in the days of Cicero, and regarded with the utmost veneration. Ergoteles, whose victory at the
Olympic gamesThe Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
is celebrated by
PindarPindar , was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, Pindar is the one whose work is best preserved...
, was a citizen, but not a native, of Himera. On the other hand, Thermae had the honour of being the birthplace of the tyrant
AgathoclesAgathocles , , was tyrant of Syracuse and king of Sicily .-Biography:...
.