Agrigento and its surroundings
I pray thee, queen of splendor, city of peerless grace, Persephone's home, o thou, that on thy tower-clad hill dwellest, fair queen, beside the streams of pastoral Acragas! Propitious greet, with favour of heaven and man's goodwill, the crown, at Pytho's festival that glorious Midas won…
Pindar, Pythian XII: For Midas of Acragas Flute-Playing
The polis of Akrágas, which is by the sea, was founded by Greek settlers from Rhodes and Gela in 580 BC. It was one of the most monumental ancient Greek cities in Sicily and Magna Graecia. Its temples, which render the surrounding rocky hills strikingly beautiful, were built in order to create a sacred crown visible from a distance to those who approached the city from the sea or the countryside. Despite having been struck by catastrophic human actions, Agrigento still shows traces of its old splendour. Thus, it is a privileged place for studying the features of Greek architecture.
