L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano S elinunte did not exist for long, just o v e r t w o c e n - t u r i e s . Y e t , t h e mark she left in the history of the Mediter- ranean is great and she, just like a beautiful ancient god- dess, keeps of giving and sur- p r i s i n g , a s v e r y r e c e n t archaeological discoveries demonstrate. Selinunte was known to the Greeks, who founded it, a s S e l i n u s , w h i c h c a m e from selinon, "wild parsley," a plant that used to grow - and still does - in the area. It was the year 650 BC when some colons from Megara Hyblaea settled in this large plain in the Belice Valley, creating an important urban and cultural center which, at its apogee between the 6th a n d t h e 5 t h c e n t u r y B C , counted 100,000 citizens, and controlled much of the surrounding areas. Selinunte had a key strate- gic and diplomatic position, because it was the western- most Greek colony, and bor- dered with the Carthaginian c o l o n i e s o n t h e i s l a n d : indeed, the history of the town was to be deeply affect- ed by the people and cultures living and thriving in the sur- rounding areas: they were at once a source of great wealth, both economic and cultural, and a threat to Selinunte's stability and safety. In the early decades of its existence, political balance was at the heart of the Selin- unte's wealth and joys: it had p r o s p e r o u s a n d p e a c e f u l r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e Carthaginians, and struck an alliance with Syracuse, which was the most impor- tant and most prosperous of all the Greek colonies in Sici- ly. These factors led her to attempt expansion towards lands controlled by Segesta: it was 580 BC, and the cam- p a i g n r e s u l t e d i n a b i t t e r loss. Segesta was to become the reason for Selinunte's ulti- mate defeat: the two cities continued to fight, but Seges- t a e n d e d u p g a i n i n g t h e s t r o n g e s t a l l i e s , t h e Carthaginians who, in 409 B C , c o n q u e r e d S e l i n u n t e a f t e r a 9 - d a y - l o n g s i e g e . Despite having asked for help from Syracuse and Akragas (modern Agrigento), their soldiers reached the battle- field too late, and all of Seli- nunte's citizens were either k i l l e d o r d e p o r t e d a n d turned into slaves. Decades later, some sur- vivors guided by Syracusan leader Ermocrates returned t o S e l i n u n t e a n d t r i e d t o e s t a b l i s h a n e w t h r i v i n g community in a place where they had known happiness and prosperity. But it wasn't t o b e : t h e C a r t h a g i n i a n s attacked and won again. In 250 BC, after the First Punic W a r , S e l i n u n t e b e c a m e Roman and turned into a ghost town. In the high Middle Ages, small groups of people tried to create a new community there, but the project was abandoned after a deadly earthquake hit the area dur- ing the Byzantine domina- tion of Sicily (6th-9th centu- ry AD). Another attempt to revive the splendor of Selin- u n t e h a p p e n e d w h e n t h e i s l a n d p a s s e d i n t o A r a b hands between the 9th and 11th century AD, but without success. After it, Selinunte was abandoned for good. The end of her life as an active settlement, however, m a r k e d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a n o t h e r l i f e , t h a t o f a n archaeological wonder. In 1 7 7 9 , K i n g F e r d i n a n d o f N a p l e s , w h o a t t h e t i m e r u l e d i n S i c i l y , i s s u e d a d e c r e e t o p r o t e c t w h a t r e m a i n e d o f i t s a n c i e n t buildings. In 1822, the first archaeological digs were car- ried out by a British team and continued for the rest of t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y a n d t h e early decades of the 20th. Finally, in the 1960s, archae- ologists discovered the urban core of the ancient town, and the whole area became an archaeological park that is, with its 270 hectares of ruins and vegetation, the largest of its kind in Europe, the Parco Archeologico di Selinunte. During the summer, an archaeological project led by Clemente Marconi, who has been working in Selin- unte for decades, and car- ried out with the Institute of Fine Arts of New York Uni- v e r s i t y a n d t h e G e r m a n Archeological Institute, gave us new, incredible discover- i e s , w h i c h M a r c o n i described to ANSA as being "of the highest importance, especially when looking at Selinunte during its archaic and classical periods." Dur- ing an intervention on the park's flora carried out by the German Archaeological Institute, the outline of Seli- n u n t e ' s a g o r a , i t s m a i n "square" where all the social, economic and cultural activ- i t i e s w o u l d t a k e p l a c e , became visible. At the center of the area, which measures twice as much as Piazza del Popolo in Rome, a single tomb, possibly that of Selin- unte's own founder, Pam- m i l u s . H i g h e r u p , o n t h e acropolis, the ruins of what is now considered the first place of worship of the peo- ple of Selinunte have also been unearthed. In it, many objects of Greek manufac- ture were discovered and show the wealth of the town. One of the most interesting findings is, however, half of a scepter's stone matrix, the first half of which had been already found during previ- ous digs. The matrix, which was likely used to make a bronze scepter, had been broken into two pieces after use, each of them buried in a different part of the town: this means, archaeologists say, that the object created with it must have been of enormous symbolic value, to the point that a second one could not be made. The only w a y t o e n s u r e a c o p y wouldn't be fabricated was the destruction of the mold used for its creation. FRANCESCA BEZZONE The ancient ruins of Selinunte, in Sicily (Photo: Ralligeller/Dreamstime) Selinunte, the Italian heart of the ancient Greek world HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS PEOPLE

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