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One of Sicily’s most famous historical attractions is without a doubt the Valley of the Temples, just outside Agrigento.

Modern Agrigento used to be the Greek city of Akragas, a colony of settlers mainly from Rhodes and Crete. The city, supposedly founded in 582 BC, soon became prosperous and, in its glory days, was one of the most important and most culturally advanced Greek cities in the Mediterranean.

However, as it grew more and more successful, so did its rivalries with other Greek colonies, especially that of Siracusa. In 406 BC Hannibal and the Carthaginians, working in partnership with Dionysius of Siracusa, laid siege to the city. After holding out for eight months, Akagras finally fell and its citizens were removed to Gela. Later, they were allowed to return but were prohibited from fortifying their town and had to pay taxes to Carthage.

After a relatively peaceful and undistinguished period, Akagras was thrown into the First Punic War (264 BC) on the side of the Carthaginians and was defeated by the Romans in 210 BC.