Vestiges de murs anciens au milieu de blocs de pierre déchus près de la porte V, point d'entrée principal sud de la ville Graeco-romaine d'Akragas ou Agrigentum, aujourd'hui conservée comme la Valle dei Templi ou la Vallée des temples site du patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO à Agrigento, dans le sud de la Sicile, en Italie.
4112 x 2736 px | 34,8 x 23,2 cm | 13,7 x 9,1 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
19 août 2011
Lieu:
Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy.
Informations supplémentaires:
Cette image peut avoir des imperfections car il s’agit d’une image historique ou de reportage.
Agrigento, Sicily, Italy: lower courses of ancient walls stand amidst fallen blocks of stone in this view looking south-west from close to Gate V, a main point of access to the Graeco-Roman port city of Akragas, now preserved as the Valle dei Templi or Valley of the Temples archaeological park. An outer wall about 12 km (7.5 miles) long surrounded the city soon after it was founded around 580 BC by Greek colonists. Nine gateways have been identified along it, with Gates III, IV and V on the city’s southern side. Gate V was defended by three towers. Akragas grew rapidly to become a prosperous leading city of Magna Graecia or Great(er) Greece. It was described by the Greek poet Pindar as the “most beautiful city of those inhabited by man”. Plato, on seeing how its people lived, remarked: “they build like they intend to live forever, yet eat like this is their last day.” The city, ruled by tyrants, was sacked by Carthage in 406 BC. It never regained its former status, but rose again after the Greek general, Timolean, invaded Sicily in 344 BC. The Romans captured Akragas in 261 BC, selling its people into slavery. Although Carthage recaptured it in 255 BC, it finally reverted to Rome and was renamed Agrigentum. Most of its people continued to speak Greek, but ultimately became Roman citizens. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Agrigentum was ruled in turn by Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines and Normans. Coastal raids by Saracen pirates led to much of the lower city being abandoned, and the Saracens captured it in 828 AD. After the Normans conquered Sicily, its name changed again, to Girgenti. Akragas covered a vast area, much of it not yet excavated. Its seven monumental Doric temples are among the largest and best-preserved ancient Greek buildings outside of Greece itself. The ruins are now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site D0544.A6500
