It is well known that Acragas, founded in 580 b.c., became one of the most significant cities in the history of Ancient Sicily. Especially under the Emmenids the city expanded its rule to occupy the northern coast of the island with the conquest of Himera. This excellent monograph covers this period, from the foundation to the beginning of the fifth century b.c.
As the title suggests, the aim of the book is to reconstruct the cultural and artistic identity of archaic Acragas, through analysis of the literary tradition and the material culture (architecture, urban planning, coroplastic, ceramics). A critical analysis of the literary and epigraphic sources as well as the archaeological data enables A. to outline the processes of reception of external models from Greece, and especially from Syracuse and the surrounding cities, Gela and Selinus, to define the development of artistic expressions in Acragas.
In the first part (Chapters 1–4) the focus is on the period of the foundation of the city, about which there are two distinct literary traditions. The first source is Thucydides, probably derived from Antiochus, who asserts that Acragas was founded by the Geloans 108 years after the foundation of its mother-city (c. 580 b.c.). On the other hand, Polybius does not mention Gela and says Acragas was a foundation of Rhodes. Proof of this was the presence of the sanctuaries of Athena and Zeus Atabyrius on the Acropolis, as in Rhodes.
A. shows that Polybius refers to a tradition more recent than Thucydides, which links the ancestors of the Emmenids to Rhodes, considered as the founders of the city. The Rhodian identity of Acragas is not supported in the sparse archaeological evidence. The two East-Greek plates (early sixth century b.c., considered Rhodian in previous archaeological works) from the necropolis of Montelusa are proof of trade along the coast of Sicily and not of the presence of Rhodian colonists. The existence of sanctuaries dedicated to Zeus Atabyrius and to Athena Lindia, as in Rhodes, has not yet been confirmed by the archaeological evidence.
In the same way, A. denies the existence of a Cretan influence in Acragas. The literary records dating back to Thucydides and the material culture certify, according to A., the Geloan ethnicity of the neo-foundation. Gela, along with the most powerful cities of Sicily, Syracuse and Selinus, also constituted a filter in passing on construction techniques, patterns and iconography, playing a primary role in establishing an Acragantine repertory. Nevertheless, the exclusion of Rhodians and Cretans from the founding of Acragas does not sufficiently clarify the presence of two oikistai, whose origin is not explained.
Chapters 5 and 6 focus on the reconstruction of the personality of Phalaris and the tyrant's politics understood from the ancient sources. The literary tradition has given great weight to the figure of Phalaris, who came to power just a few years after the founding of the city (570 b.c.). According to tradition, the tyrant contributed to the construction of fortifications and sacred buildings in the city and to the expansion of the territory up to Himera on the north coast of Sicily.
According to A., in the story about Phalaris we can see a retrospective reconstruction of the political activity of the Emmenids, culminating in the occupation of Himera for a decade. The archaeological record indicates that the expansion of Acragas in the territory did not take place during the reign of Phalaris, but only at the end of the century, when the city was well structured internally. The fortifications attributed to Phalaris are now dated to after the mid-sixth century b.c. and only at the end of the century was the first great peripteral temple built (Temple A). A. convincingly attributes this temple to Apollo, correcting the original attribution to Heracles. In addition, the indigenous centres of the hinterland, until then under the control of Gela (Monte Saraceno, Gibil Gabib, Vassallaggi), show no signs of change before the middle of the sixth century b.c.
However, A.'s convincing analysis of the literary texts on Phalaris does not fully take into account the economic and cultural potential of Acragas in the first half of the sixth century b.c. The rapid mid-century urbanistic and architectural development of the polis, documented by archaeological research, must be the result of political activity and prosperity since the first half of the century, that cannot be detached from the direct control of the rich hinterland. In addition, with regards to the influence on indigenous centres of the Sicilian hinterland, it is not easy to establish in the archaeological record of the first half of the sixth century what comes from one city (Gela) and what comes from another (Acragas).
The central and most original part of the book (Chapters 7–10) deals with the formation of the artistic language of Acragas. A. highlights the significant influence of Corinthian artefacts in the first half of the sixth century (statuettes, the head of a sphinx compared to the head of a sphinx from Calydon, the perhaps pedimental group of Medusa with Chrysaor in Copenhagen compared to the slab with Gorgon of Syracuse and an arula from Gela), mediated by Gela and Syracuse, from where artistic models and itinerant craftsmen came. Other artistic stimuli came from Selinus (stone head of a kouros) and Ionia, directly or influenced by Gela (protome type Miletus, clay matrix with Heracles and Eurystheus, pinax with Heracles and Cercopes, male head of marble compared to the Samian kouros of cape Phoneas). A.'s conclusion is that the artistic production of Acragas in the third quarter of the sixth century was homogeneous and strongly affected by Ionic style.
Only at the end of the century was there a significant turning point. The refined stylistic analysis of works such as the head of Athena, the clay statue group in Copenhagen (cult statues of Hades and Persephone?), the arula with Heracles and Ares fighting on the body of Cycnus, and other artefacts show that in the Acragantine production of that period Attic artistic contributions replaced the Ionic influence. A. concludes that a distinct language of Acragas was formalised only at the end of the sixth century b.c. It was in this period that Acragas expressed itself independently of the models of the related cities of Sicily, Gela, Selinus and Syracuse, from which until then it had received strong influences in the fields of art and architecture, but also of Ionia and Athens. The distinctive stylistic and formal characters are defined in the last decades of the sixth century and can also be found outside the territory of Acragas. After this period they crystallise and remain unchanged until the end of the fifth century.
A.'s book considerably expands our knowledge by adding an important corpus of evidence, which shows the permeability of the figurative culture of ancient Acragas and offers innovative solutions and reworking of the artistic and architectural heritage. The presentation of the material is precise and useful, particularly because of its strong contextual approach. Almost all the works mentioned by A. are illustrated with high-quality photographs, in both colour and black and white, allowing the reader an immediate comparison of what is described.
A. provides an original, complete and valuable overview of knowledge on the artistic manifestations of Acragas in the archaic period. The volume is a significant addition to the archaeological literature on Acragas and a useful tool for future research on the whole of Archaic Sicily.
