Agira, Italy

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here. At the beginning of the fourth century B.C. the town had 20,000 inhabitants and was under the control of Agyris, the most powerful tyrant after Dionysios of Siracuse, with whom he was allied. In 339 B.C. the tyrant Appolloniades was expelled by Timoleon of Siracuse, who settled 10,000 Greeks here. At this time an enormous amount of building took place. The town's shrine of Heracles is world-famous. For this information we have to thank the historian Diodorus Siculus, who was born in Agyrion during the first century B.C. and lived in Alexandria and Rome. His history of the universe, which was written in Greek and is for the greater part preserved, extends from the beginnings of the world to the Roman conquest of Britain in 54 B.C.; his work is the most significant source of the ancient history of Sicily.

Agira is characterized by a throng of picturesque narrow stepped alleys. The main features of the town are the various Baroque churches and palaces from the 17th/18th centuries, among them the Chiesa San Salvatore in the Piazza Roma in the center of the town. The castle, which dominates the town, dates back to the Arab period and was taken over by the Normans when they drove out the Arabs.