The places of Akragas that suffered most from the arrival of the Latin conquerors were those where the city’s political life took place, because of the cultural differences between the ancient Romans and Greeks: the advent of the Romans marked a new era for the politics of Agrigentum; the changes in the use of public buildings for this purpose constitute irrefutable proof.
There were substantially two places of political debate in ancient Akragas, located in the area known as Poggio di San Nicola, where today there is also the Regional Archaeological Museum “Pietro Griffo”: the
ekklesiasterion
, on the south side, and the
bouleuterion
the north terrace.
As for the first building, the seat of the assemblies where Greek citizens with voting rights met, it was immediately abandoned and replaced by a small temple with an altar known as the Oratorio di Falaride (Oratory of Phalaris), although the place has no connection with the terrible tyrant of ancient Akragas. The bouleuterion, on the other hand, a space used for the council of the great thinkers of Greek cities, was reused for city senate meetings.
Cicero wrote that this political body was composed of the most notable citizens of Agrigentum in terms of wealth, authority and power relating to political clientèle, and its composition was regulated by a
law of Publius Scipio
.
