02 Oct 2017
0 commenti
Eraclea Minoa : between myth and history
Le legend says that the name Minoa was conceived to honour the death of the king of Crete, Minosse. He had come to Sicily to take revenge towards the athenese architect Dedalo, who had made Minosses wife Pasifae lay with a taurus. From this unnatural union the minotaur was born.
The Heraclea Minoa site, situated on the left of the Platani river (ancient Halikos) is called Capobianco because its placed on a small piece of white rocky land.This piece of land is on the south-west part of the ancient city.
In history, Minoa is mentioned by Erodoto as a selinuntina colony. He talks about this city in reference to che spartan expedition of Dorieo in Sicily. After the failure of this expedition Eurileonte occupies the city.(end of the VI century B.C.).
Shortly after this same time Minoa had to fallen under the power of Akragas for all the V century B.C.. After this, Terone, tyrant of Agrigento (488-473 a.C.), discovered the tomb of Minosse and returned his bones to the Cretians (Diod. IV, 79, 4). During the 465-461, in the wars that came after the fall of the Diomenidi, the city was occupied by merchants from Siracusa. After this occupation the city was liberated from the Agrigentini and Siracusani. At the end of the V century a.C., once the war between cartaginesi e greeks in Sicily burst out, Minoa was taken by the Cartaginesi before the end of the ruling of Akragas in the 406 B.C.
In 227 Minoa was taken from the cartaginesi by Pirro. Thanks to the works of Cicerone we know that Minoa was one of the cities that was in the “group” civitates decumanae. The cities in this group were obliged to give 1/10 of their agricultural products to Rome. Through the years Heraclea managed to mantain it’s great magnificence. New streets and protective walls were created in and around the city to enforce protection. Economy was based on commerce, agriculture, breeding and fishing. The fertile land produced cereals, fruit. wine and oil. The lands were also filled with trees that helped for the wood production. The river was partly navigable and full of fish.
At the end of the I sec. B.C. the city had to be abandoned. One can assume this was due to the lack of written sources and the absence of ceramic production at the time. After the 70 B.C. Heraclea had lost most of his strategic importance and became downsized to a normal urban place with no relevance. This led to no transcripts or sources explaining the mystery regarding it’s sudden change of importance in history.
Later on, in the V sec. B.C., a farm was born in the lands at the north of the city, next to the area of the archaic necropolis. The archeologic site is in the most ancient part of the city, and what is still visible in this site traces back to the hellenistic period,that went from the IV al I century B.C.
In this sites excavations were made periodicly from the beginning of the 1950’s. This digging brought back to light old houses made of clay, some mosaics and also an old theatre. The theatre was built using a very delicate rock, infact it wasnt in a great state of conservation when found. An old antiquarium collects many objects that came from the necropolis.
The city was 3 chilometres of circumference. The walls that surrounded the city belong to four different historical times, the oldest ones go back to the 320-313 B.C.,during this period the city was surrounded from walls and columns and doors. The already exsistent wall was reinforced especially in the oriental part during the first war of the slaves.
The door had two doors, one close to where the theatre was and one was placed more south. Some parts of the bulwork of the tower are still preserved such as one circular tower. A part of the remains of the protective walls is attached to the remains of the tower. The protective walls are along the south side and go on until they reattach to the tower. The wall is built out of molasse ashlars gypsum investments. One is able to notice two doors along all the wall.
The theatre is placed on the highest part of the hill and it traces back to the IV century B.C.. It is partly made out of rocks of tuff and partly made out of pieces of marble. The achitecture used to build it is typical of the I century B.C., with the semicircular cavea facing the sea. It’s diameter is 33 metres and is divided in 9 sections with eight steps and ten seats in each row, all with a back and arm rests. Later on it was enlarged.
On the same hill the remains of an ellenistic sanctuary were discovered along with two necropolis : one archaic ( end of the VI century A.C.) , one ellenistic (IV century B.C.).
The city was full of terraces and parallel streets. The houses can be divided in different phases. Some houses can be collocated in the Ist century B.C built with rocks and sundried bricks. Other buildings are collocated in the III and II century B.C..
The first layer of houses are small buildings with an irregular shape, beneath this layer are the remains of an older layer of house , built during the IV and III century B.C..
The houseplan of this building was regular and presented just one floor, a central and open courtyard, surrounded by eight areas. The access inside the house was from the street through a corridor. The constructions in the second layer presented houses that were accessible from a corridor that was connected to the street, this corridor was surrounded by six areas and a seventh one that was used as a shop.
These kind of houses had a higer level that was a living area , the lower level was used for services and storage. Later buildings had two main rectangular areas , small service areas and an open space.
These later built houses were used in the II and I century B.C..
At the entrance of the acheological site one can find the antiquarium in which are preservered interesting ceramic exhibits, clay, tombs, archaic statues of sicilian goddeses , a beautiful rapresentation of a head of the IV° century B.C., also fragments of iberic ceramics of the periodo neo-eneolithic period and houses of the arcaic and ellenistic city.
The Heraclea Minoa site, situated on the left of the Platani river (ancient Halikos) is called Capobianco because its placed on a small piece of white rocky land.This piece of land is on the south-west part of the ancient city.
In history, Minoa is mentioned by Erodoto as a selinuntina colony. He talks about this city in reference to che spartan expedition of Dorieo in Sicily. After the failure of this expedition Eurileonte occupies the city.(end of the VI century B.C.).
Shortly after this same time Minoa had to fallen under the power of Akragas for all the V century B.C.. After this, Terone, tyrant of Agrigento (488-473 a.C.), discovered the tomb of Minosse and returned his bones to the Cretians (Diod. IV, 79, 4). During the 465-461, in the wars that came after the fall of the Diomenidi, the city was occupied by merchants from Siracusa. After this occupation the city was liberated from the Agrigentini and Siracusani. At the end of the V century a.C., once the war between cartaginesi e greeks in Sicily burst out, Minoa was taken by the Cartaginesi before the end of the ruling of Akragas in the 406 B.C.
In 227 Minoa was taken from the cartaginesi by Pirro. Thanks to the works of Cicerone we know that Minoa was one of the cities that was in the “group” civitates decumanae. The cities in this group were obliged to give 1/10 of their agricultural products to Rome. Through the years Heraclea managed to mantain it’s great magnificence. New streets and protective walls were created in and around the city to enforce protection. Economy was based on commerce, agriculture, breeding and fishing. The fertile land produced cereals, fruit. wine and oil. The lands were also filled with trees that helped for the wood production. The river was partly navigable and full of fish.
At the end of the I sec. B.C. the city had to be abandoned. One can assume this was due to the lack of written sources and the absence of ceramic production at the time. After the 70 B.C. Heraclea had lost most of his strategic importance and became downsized to a normal urban place with no relevance. This led to no transcripts or sources explaining the mystery regarding it’s sudden change of importance in history.
Later on, in the V sec. B.C., a farm was born in the lands at the north of the city, next to the area of the archaic necropolis. The archeologic site is in the most ancient part of the city, and what is still visible in this site traces back to the hellenistic period,that went from the IV al I century B.C.
In this sites excavations were made periodicly from the beginning of the 1950’s. This digging brought back to light old houses made of clay, some mosaics and also an old theatre. The theatre was built using a very delicate rock, infact it wasnt in a great state of conservation when found. An old antiquarium collects many objects that came from the necropolis.
The city was 3 chilometres of circumference. The walls that surrounded the city belong to four different historical times, the oldest ones go back to the 320-313 B.C.,during this period the city was surrounded from walls and columns and doors. The already exsistent wall was reinforced especially in the oriental part during the first war of the slaves.
The door had two doors, one close to where the theatre was and one was placed more south. Some parts of the bulwork of the tower are still preserved such as one circular tower. A part of the remains of the protective walls is attached to the remains of the tower. The protective walls are along the south side and go on until they reattach to the tower. The wall is built out of molasse ashlars gypsum investments. One is able to notice two doors along all the wall.
The theatre is placed on the highest part of the hill and it traces back to the IV century B.C.. It is partly made out of rocks of tuff and partly made out of pieces of marble. The achitecture used to build it is typical of the I century B.C., with the semicircular cavea facing the sea. It’s diameter is 33 metres and is divided in 9 sections with eight steps and ten seats in each row, all with a back and arm rests. Later on it was enlarged.
On the same hill the remains of an ellenistic sanctuary were discovered along with two necropolis : one archaic ( end of the VI century A.C.) , one ellenistic (IV century B.C.).
The city was full of terraces and parallel streets. The houses can be divided in different phases. Some houses can be collocated in the Ist century B.C built with rocks and sundried bricks. Other buildings are collocated in the III and II century B.C..
The first layer of houses are small buildings with an irregular shape, beneath this layer are the remains of an older layer of house , built during the IV and III century B.C..
The houseplan of this building was regular and presented just one floor, a central and open courtyard, surrounded by eight areas. The access inside the house was from the street through a corridor. The constructions in the second layer presented houses that were accessible from a corridor that was connected to the street, this corridor was surrounded by six areas and a seventh one that was used as a shop.
These kind of houses had a higer level that was a living area , the lower level was used for services and storage. Later buildings had two main rectangular areas , small service areas and an open space.
These later built houses were used in the II and I century B.C..
At the entrance of the acheological site one can find the antiquarium in which are preservered interesting ceramic exhibits, clay, tombs, archaic statues of sicilian goddeses , a beautiful rapresentation of a head of the IV° century B.C., also fragments of iberic ceramics of the periodo neo-eneolithic period and houses of the arcaic and ellenistic city.