Page 37 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sicily

THE HIST OR Y OF SICIL Y  35

Where to See Ancient Sicily
Almost every Sicilian
town of any size
has an archaeological
museum. The most
interesting prehistoric
ruins are to be found in
the islands, parti cularly the
Aeolians (see pp192–5),
4th-century while the few Punic
BC crater remains are on display
in the museums. The
The Roman Villas main Greek sites
Roman dominion in Sicily brought about the spread of include Segesta (see p102), Selinunte (see
latifundia (large feudal estates) and landowners’ villas such pp108–11), Syracuse (see pp140–47), the Valle
as the Villa del Casale (see pp134–5), whose mosaics were dei Templi at Agrigento (see pp120–21) and
preserved thanks to a flood that buried them for centuries. Morgantina (see pp132–3). One of the best
preserved Roman sites is the ancient villa
at Piazza Armerina (see pp134–5).
A trireme drew only about
60 cm (24 in) per oar rowed.
The spur was used to
destroy the oars on
enemy vessels.

The third rank of oars (hence “trireme” or three
oars), was on an external deck jutting out from
the hull. Everything was carefully calculated so
that the 170 oar movements were synchronized.

Prehistoric Village
Remains of settlements dating from the beginning of the first
millennium BC lie all over Sicily. However, the first populations who left
traces in Sicily (Sikanians, Elymians and Sicels) were not native people.

AD 293 The emperor AD 325 AD 535 Sicily
Diocletian makes Sicily Christianization of
Aeschylus, the great becomes part of
Greek tragedian regio suburbicaria, the Syracuse area Justinian’s Eastern
who was also or directly dependent Roman Empire
active in Syracuse on Rome
400 200 AD 1 AD 200 AD 400 AD 600
212 BC Syracuse AD 600 Christianization
conquered AD 440 During the of all of Sicily
by Romans. barbarian invasions of Italy
Sicily loses the Vandals led by AD 491 The Ostrogoths
its autonomy Genseric conquer Sicily under Odoacer take Sicily
Female clay bust from the Vandals

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