Segesta
Local authority: Calatafimi
Events
Alternating with Syracuse, classical theatrical productions are put on every two years in July and August.
Location
In a lonely spot in the hills lie the as yet unexcavated ruins of the ancient town with its uncompleted temple and theater.
History
After Eryx and Entelia Segesta, the Greek Egesta, was the third most important Elymian town in western Sicily.
Events
Alternating with Syracuse, classical theatrical productions are put on every two years in July and August.
Location
In a lonely spot in the hills lie the as yet unexcavated ruins of the ancient town with its uncompleted temple and theater.
History
After Eryx and Entelia Segesta, the Greek Egesta, was the third most important Elymian town in western Sicily.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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According to ancient legend it was founded by Aeneas who had fled from Troy. His son Ascanius is said to have founded Alba Longa (Castel Gandolfo), southeast of Rome, and from Alba Longa - many generations later - Romulus and Remus, who were descended from Aeneas, founded Rome itself. This reflects on the one hand the view of the Elymians, that native tribes intermarried with Trojan refugees, and on the other the feeling of an affinity with the Romans who themselves claim Trojan origins. Segesta resisted Greek expansionist ambitions and was a traditional enemy of the Greek settlement of Selinunte and an ally of Carthage.
In the First Sicilian Expedition by Athens in 427-424 B.C. Segesta allied itself with Athens, and in 416-415 B.C. asked it for help in its struggle with Selinunte. When the Athenians hesitated the Segestans tricked their envoys with borrowed silver of great value, by which means the brash Alkibiades (The Falcon) was able to win the day in the public assembly over the more level-headed Nikias. This was followed by the Second Sicilian Expedition, which was to end disastrously for Athens. The years that followed were marked by a victory by Segesta over Selinunte (410 B.C.), the siege of Syracuse by Dionysius I in 397 B.C., growing dependence on Carthage and the destruction of Syracuse by Agathokles (307 B.C.). In 276 B.C. Segesta sided with the Pyrrhic king of Epirus during his Sicilian campaign. At the beginning of the First Punic war in 263 B.C. it called upon their common Trojan ancestry and joined with Rome and in 260 B.C. became the main Roman base in western Sicily. This was the end of the town's individual history. Its harbor, the present-day Castellammare del Golfo, soon outstripped its parent town in importance. Its real downfall began in 73-71 B.C. when it was plundered by the notorious Roman governor Verres (whom Cicero fought against). In the following centuries attacks by Vandals and Saracens ensured its demise. Segesta became a ghost town and disappeared completely under earthquakes; only the temple and theater have survived the years.
In the First Sicilian Expedition by Athens in 427-424 B.C. Segesta allied itself with Athens, and in 416-415 B.C. asked it for help in its struggle with Selinunte. When the Athenians hesitated the Segestans tricked their envoys with borrowed silver of great value, by which means the brash Alkibiades (The Falcon) was able to win the day in the public assembly over the more level-headed Nikias. This was followed by the Second Sicilian Expedition, which was to end disastrously for Athens. The years that followed were marked by a victory by Segesta over Selinunte (410 B.C.), the siege of Syracuse by Dionysius I in 397 B.C., growing dependence on Carthage and the destruction of Syracuse by Agathokles (307 B.C.). In 276 B.C. Segesta sided with the Pyrrhic king of Epirus during his Sicilian campaign. At the beginning of the First Punic war in 263 B.C. it called upon their common Trojan ancestry and joined with Rome and in 260 B.C. became the main Roman base in western Sicily. This was the end of the town's individual history. Its harbor, the present-day Castellammare del Golfo, soon outstripped its parent town in importance. Its real downfall began in 73-71 B.C. when it was plundered by the notorious Roman governor Verres (whom Cicero fought against). In the following centuries attacks by Vandals and Saracens ensured its demise. Segesta became a ghost town and disappeared completely under earthquakes; only the temple and theater have survived the years.
Related Attractions
Temple
The Greek Temple in Segesta lies outside the boundaries of the ancient town, on a hill surrounded on three sides by the Pispina Gorge. From the parking lot it is a few minutes' walk along a beautifully laid-out stepped path. The temple was probably begun about 426 B.C. by an Attic master builder, but then remained only half complete until there were fresh conflicts with Selinunte in 416 B.C. On a base measuring 23.12m/76ft by 58.35m/192ft there are six columns at each end and 14 along the sides. Two of them were pushed over at some time but re-erected in the 18th century, so that the whole range is preserved, complete with tympana and entablature. As the building was never completed the columns are not fluted, the capitals only roughly carved and the lifting-bosses are still to be seen.
Although far beyond the boundaries of Greece itself, this building still displays one of the refinements of Greek architecture, the curvature; the stylobate is not perfectly horizontal, but in fact rises in a very gentle curve towards the center, by some 4cm/1.5in at the ends and 8cm/3ins or so at the sides.
For a long time experts though this was not actually a temple, rather an edifice open to the skies and surrounding an Elymian shrine.
This theory was based on the observation that on the internal faces of the entablatures there are no incisions to take roof beams nor is there any sign of an interior cella. However, more recent excavations by H. A. Thompson have uncovered the rock foundations of the walls of the (cella). This indicates that the building was indeed a peripteral temple of pure Greek design and also had a cella, the stone blocks of its walls having been stolen by robbers right down to the foundations.
Although far beyond the boundaries of Greece itself, this building still displays one of the refinements of Greek architecture, the curvature; the stylobate is not perfectly horizontal, but in fact rises in a very gentle curve towards the center, by some 4cm/1.5in at the ends and 8cm/3ins or so at the sides.
For a long time experts though this was not actually a temple, rather an edifice open to the skies and surrounding an Elymian shrine.
This theory was based on the observation that on the internal faces of the entablatures there are no incisions to take roof beams nor is there any sign of an interior cella. However, more recent excavations by H. A. Thompson have uncovered the rock foundations of the walls of the (cella). This indicates that the building was indeed a peripteral temple of pure Greek design and also had a cella, the stone blocks of its walls having been stolen by robbers right down to the foundations.
Theater
From the temple parking lot there is a road suitable for cars leading up to the Theater as well as a footpath (30minutes' walk). They lead gently upwards along the western slope of Monte Bárbaro between the minimal and unexcavated remains of the ancient town. The Theater, 415m/1,362ft up, lies in a natural hollow on the hillside. It was laid out in the third or second centuries B.C. and rebuilt by the Romans c. 100 B.C., who mainly made changes to the stage. The semi-circular cavea is cut out of the rock; it has 20 rows of seats in seven wedges separated by steps; its diameter is 63m/207ft. Of the Roman stage only the foundations have survived. As a result visitors today, unlike those of old, can enjoy a magnificent view (albeit spoiled to some extent by the ugly motorway which cuts across the landscape) as far as Monte Erica and Castellammare del Golfo, once the port of Segesta.
Elymian Sanctuary
An Elymian sanctuary, of which parts of its walls dating from the sixth-fifth century remain, stood to the south of the theater on the southeastern slope of Monte Bárbaro.
