A highly significant archaeological discovery has come to light in the waters of Santa Maria del Focallo, in the municipality of Ispica, Ragusa province, Sicily. During an underwater excavation campaign, an interdisciplinary team led by the Department of Humanities and Cultural Heritage Studies at the University of Udine and the Soprintendenza del Mare of the […]
Magna Graecia
Posted inAncient Greece
Damo, the Philosopher Daughter of Pythagoras, to Whom He Entrusted All His Writings and Who Never Wanted to Sell Them, Preferring Poverty Over Gold
According to tradition, Damo was born in Croton, a prosperous city of Magna Graecia, around the year 535 BCE. She was the daughter of the renowned philosopher Pythagoras, founder of an influential philosophical and religious sect, and Theano (according to some sources, daughter of the famous athlete Milo of Croton), who was also a prominent […]
Posted inAncient Greece
Aristoxenus of Tarentum, the philosopher who authored the oldest known treatise on music, and healed by playing the flute
What was music like in antiquity? Today, we will explore the story of the man who is our primary source of knowledge about the music of Classical-Hellenistic Greece. He was a Peripatetic philosopher, a student of Aristotle, who was displeased when Aristotle chose someone else as his successor to lead the school. He healed by […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
A votive offering found in Agrigento reveals an ancient ritual of the inhabitants of Akragas in the 5th century BCE
In the heart of the ancient city of Akragas, today known as Agrigento, an extraordinary archaeological discovery has been made, transporting visitors back to the 5th century BCE and offering an intimate and detailed glimpse into the religious and ritual practices of the inhabitants of this historic region of Sicily. In the northern area of […]
Posted inAncient Greece
The Laws of Charondas, the Greek-Sicilian Legislator Who Wrote Them in Verse
Legal language is harsh and convoluted for most people, a sentiment that law students who have to memorize laws would surely agree with. Would it be easier if these laws were written in verse? This was the belief of Charondas, a legislator from Antiquity, who applied it to the legal corpus he created for the […]
Posted inAntiquity
The Sicilian Wars that Pitted Carthage against Magna Graecia were the Longest-Lasting Conflict in Antiquity
The rivalry between Rome and Carthage for control of the western Mediterranean culminated in the three Punic Wars, fought between the two powers from 264 B.C. to 146 B.C., ending in Roman victory. However, this wasn’t the first time the Carthaginians had resorted to arms to contest maritime dominance; they had been doing so since […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Recovery of the 5th-Century BC Greek Ship from the Seabed off Sicily, Where the Mythical Metal “Orichalcum” Was Found Begins
The official recovery operations of the Greek ship from the classical era, known as “Gela II”, have begun. This significant discovery, dating back to the 5th century BC, is located in the seabed near Bulala, close to the port of Gela in Sicily, and has been of interest since it was first identified by a […]
Posted inAncient Rome
Pallantium, the Legendary Greek City the Romans Believed Existed Where Rome Was Later Founded
One of the most fascinating and perhaps lesser-known stories of Rome’s history is that of Pallantium (in ancient Greek Παλλάντιον), a legendary city that, according to various ancient sources, stood on the Palatine Hill, the same hill that centuries later would become the heart of Rome. The legend of Pallantium is mentioned in several works […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
A New Temple Discovered in Selinunte, the Only Greek City of Antiquity to Be Preserved in Its Entirety
Selinunte, one of the most important archaeological sites of the Greek world, is once again in the spotlight due to recent discoveries. The latest excavation work has revealed the existence of a new small temple, located behind the well-known Temple C, in the sacred area of this ancient Sicilian city. This discovery has been described […]
Posted inAncient Greece
The Legendary Tomb of King Minos in Sicily Is the Highest Tholos in the Mediterranean
When discussing the death of the famous King Minos of Crete, who had imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in the Labyrinth of the Minotaur, Diodorus Siculus relates that after their escape (and Icarus’s tragic death), Minos pursued them across all the cities of the Mediterranean. To find Daedalus, he proposed a riddle to the […]
