The sun sets on the beautiful city

The sun sets on the beautiful city

In 409 BC the troops of Carthage landed in Sicily, commanded by Hannibal and Himilco.
The people of Agrigento, who were mainly engaged in trade and agriculture, lacked military spirit. In 406 BC, when the Carthaginians’ offensive turned towards Agrigento, they realised they had no chance and abandoned the besieged city, though its walls still stood. Fugitives arrived in Gela and relocated to Lentini. In the meantime the Carthaginians, having entered the city, brutally destroyed it, demolishing the walls and the necropolises. In the end, a terrible fire was set that engulfed the town and the sacred buildings.
The booty collected by the invaders in Agrigento was huge: at the time, Akragas was described as luxurious and colourful and was the richest of all Greek cities in Sicily, not only for its precious metals but for the works of art that crowded the streets.
And so the sun began to set on the beautiful city: it took several decades before Timoleon began to rebuild and repopulate it, but despite his efforts it never returned to the ancient splendour of Akragas.

The lively decorations of the temple

The Sanctuary of Asclepius: a place of welcome for the sick

The walls of Akragas in the fifth century BC

The Temple of Hera Lacinia

The cult of Demeter and Persephone

The Kolymbetra Garden

Akragas in the beginning

Phalaris, the terrible tyrant

The Twelve Labours of Heracles

Reinforcement of natural ramparts

The Temple of Heracles

From pagan cults to Christian worship: the Church of St. Gregory

A monument for the victory over Carthage: the Temple of Olympian Zeus

Sacrifices for the goddesses that made the fields fertile

The most beautiful city of mortals

The Eleusinian mysteries

The Temple of Concordia

Empedocles, the political philosopher

Vegetation in the Gardens

The Temple of Demeter

The Temple of Asclepius

The Akragas building sites

The sanctuary of the chthonic deities

Theron, tyrant of the arts and victories