Greek temples in Sicily

One can visit about eleven Greek temples on a trip around Sicily. These are Doric temples like they were build from the archaic  6th century untill the fith century late classical time. This huge amount of temples is more than what the rest of the entire Classical Greek world has to offer (Greece and present day Turkey).

Selinunte (7) Temples A-O-C-D on the acropolis and temples E-F-G at the eastern side of the city

Agrigento (7) Demeter, Iuno, Lacinia, Concordia & Heracles on the temple hill (valle dei templi) and the temples dedicated to Zeus Olpmpios and teh Dioscuren are located at the agora. The remains of the Athena temple are visible under the 13th century Santa Maria dei Greci church.

Syracuse (3) the temples of Apollo and Athena in Ortygia and the temple of Zeus olympios at the mounth of thge river Anapo, at the opposite side of the porto Grande. Next to the Athena temple in Ortygia actually lay another large Ionic 6th century temple.

Himera (1) halfway between Palermo and Cefalu. This is the temple that was erected in 480 after the victory of the Western Greeks against the Cathaginians.

Segesta (1)
To be complete, these are only the large, visible remains of themples. Large cities like Gela, at the south coast of the island had several temples, among others, on the acropolis. However; of these hardly anything remains recognizable as such. And what about Segesta? Did it really have only one temple? The city spread out from Monte Barbero where the thezatre is located to the vaaley of the temple. Or was it because of the mixed population, mainly Elymi, that only 1 temple got erected?
It is not a surprise that most temples are found in the wealthier cities of Selinunte, Agrigento and Syracuse as a large numbet of Greek artistrocatic families had amassed a fortune and as to Greek customs this had to be spend on public Works like temples.

Sicily: the place of Plato’s Republic

When Plato was about 15 years old the mere mentioning of Syracuse was enough to make most Atheneans shiver of fear. The sicilian campaign of 415BC had turned into a disaster (Thucydides Peloponesian wars), but for Plato itself Syracuse would mean a lot of personal problems. Beside misery on personal and filosophical level, the city caused him slavery for a short period of time and almost costed his life. Plato visited the city 3 times (387, 367 and 361).
Plato was appalled by the brutal way the 30 tyrants ruled Athens with Sparta’s approval in 404 – 403 directly after the Peloponesian war. It did not help that some of his own family members were part of the 30. And when democracy was restored a few years later, his teacher Plato was executed in 399 BC.
All this let Plato to believe that only philosophers could be good rulers, and good rulers had to be philosophers. And it was in the politeia that Plato wrote down his theorie of an ideal state.

The first visit

Plato was already 40 years old when he made his first visit to Southern Italy in 387. He went to Sicily to see Mount Etna and visited Syracuse where Dionysus I was the tyrant for many years already. He got acquinted with Dio, the son in law of the tyrant and they were to remain friends untill Dio’s violent death in 354. Dio agreed with Plato that virtue (άρετή) was more important than luxury (Тρυφή) which did not make him popular in Syracuse.
When Dionysus asked Plato who the happiest man on earth was, he replied Socrates. And when asked if a tyrant was brave Plato replied no, because a tyrant is always afraid that his barber will cut his troath. Some sources mention that these conversation costed his freedom and that he was sold as a slave for a short time.
Upon his return to Athens he founded the academy where Dio also studied.

Second visit

In 367 Dionysus I was succeeded by his son Dionysus II. Dio was sure the son would be open to Plato’s ideas and urged Plato to come over and instruct the Tyrant and thus bring theory into practice by creating the ideal state.
Plato had little choise. He could not disapoint his friend, nor could he show that he was just somebody with nice theories without taking the risk to put it into practice. It was ofcourse destined to fail.
Plato told the young tyrant to restrain (έγκρατής αύτός αύοϋ) himself, as only a person who controls himself can control others. Furthermore he had to surround him with loayal friends with whom he should share the power. If he then would issue fair laws he would slowly have all the Greeks join him and then he would be able to raise a fist against Carthago. By subordinating himself under these just laws he would be far more succesful than by the tyrannical rule of his father.
However, Dionysus II believed his advisors that all this “liberal” talk of Plato was just a trick from Dio to take control of Syracuse himself and he thus he exiled Dio from Syracuse. Plato was to remain in Syracuse as a sort of prisoner staying on the acropolis. He was finally allowed to leave after having promised to return once Dio would be back from exile.

Third visit

In 361 Plato received another invitation from Dionysus II to come to Syracuse. Dio was still in exile, but Dionysus claimed his knowledge of philosophy had greatly increased as he  had taken lessons from Archytas, a person whom Plato admired.
Plato kindly refused using his old age (66) as an excuse, but Dionysus wasn’t taking no for an answer and sent a ship to Athens, informing him things would look ugly for Dio if he did not come. Archytas also urged his friend to come over and also in Athens to pressure to go was increased. He was told to take up his responsiblity and take the opportunity to forge a talented young man to a king-Philospher. Plato had no choise but to board the ship.
Arriving in Syracuse it was soon obvious that Dionysus was just interested in the superficial parts and had no real intension of becoming a philosopher. Also the promises towards Dio were not kept. His properties were sold without giving the proceeds to Dio.
When Plato heard about this he asked to leave, which was again, like six years before, refused. During a rebelion by mercenaries, Plato took on the defence of Heraclides, the person Dionysus held responsible for the uprising. And so Plato lost all goodwill, and he was ordered to live amoung the mercenaries who suspected him to be a spy for Dionysus. He was saved from his predicament by Archytas and allowed to return to Athens
The fight between Dio and Dionysus continued and in 357 Dio arrived with 600 soldiers in Sicily and was able to enter Syracuse without a fight. Dionysus retreated to Ortygia, the fortified part of Syracuse. Dio did not do well and got exiled again in 355 and was finally murdered in 354 by order of Callippus, a student of Plato. A 10 year choas followed, in 347 Dionysus became tyrant again and in 344 he was booted out again.
(Source: Plato’s seventh and eight letter)