The Greek Soul of Agrigento
BY CATHERINE TSOUNIS

The Temple of Concordia.

“The Greek genius found all the elements necessary for producing masterpieces and reaching a level of development that no future generation would ever attain,” said Guiseppe Di Giovanni in his guide book, Agrigento: the Valley of the Temples and the Regional Museum Agrigento (Arts Grabeche Arti Grafiche Campo, 2003, 5th edition), “It is doubtful if the world will ever produce a population as harmoniously civilized as the one which moved to the Mediterranean coast twenty six centuries ago.”

Thucydides writes in Book VI of his The History of the Peloponnesian War that Akragas was founded in 580 B.C. by persons from the Greek-Sicilian city of Gela. The city received the name Akragas from the river at its location by the

founders Aristonous and Pystilus in 581 B.C. The

original inhabitants were from Rhodes and Crete who had settled in Gela. The Greek temples always faced the East. The East symbolized life and light. The West was the Kingdom of Pluto, meaning death and night. The temple’s columns were meant to be seen from the sea. Our guide, Michelle Gallo, explained that the city layout was “typical of the original Greek colonies. This city layout was the Greeks’ best contribution to civilization. It is used today in North America.”

A view of the Valley of the Temples in Modern Agrigento. Photos Catherine Tsounis

In 480 B.C., ancient Akragas was part of a Greek coalition that defeated the Carthaginians at Himera. This decisive battle triggered the political expansion and economic prosperity of Akragas. The period was marked by the construction of temples, public and private buildings and fortifications. The city’s amazing wealth was the result of its strategic location, fertile soil and natural resources.

Empedocles, a famous physician, philosopher and one of the greatest men of antiquity, said, “The Agrigentines enjoy the pleasures and luxuries of this world as if they were to die the next day, but make their buildings as if they were to live forever.” Famous doctors included Acrone, who defeated the plague in Athens, and Pausanius who wrote a book on diet. Pindar, the ancient Greek poet, sang the praises of Akragas’ beauty and prosperity. Under the political ruler Theron, who presided over the golden period of 488-472 B.C., poetry, art, philosophy, and science were promoted. Pythagoras, Myron, Simonides and Zeuxis visited the city. Citizens participated in the Olympics, winning medals.

I had the unique opportunity of seeing for myself Ancient Akragas (Agrigento) through the Arba Sicula (Sicilian Dawn) Society’s tour on June 1, 2005. For years, Greek television programs have shown the Valley of the Temples and its Archaeological Museum. Now I was going to see the truth.

The Valley of the Temples is dominated by the Temple of Concord, one of the best preserved in the world. It has perfect architecture, in Doric style. The ratios and proportions are faultless. It was built around 430 B.C. The columns taper to the top, providing an optical illusion of inclining to the center. What astonished me was that such a Greek treasure existed outside of Greece, in Sicily. Dr. Gaetano Cipolla, of St. John’s University, said,

“Sicily was to Greece what Astoria and Flushing is to Modern Greece. The colonists of Sicily were Soul of Agrigento more Greek than the native Greeks. Everything they created had to be in classic Greek form and better than the Mother country.”

The Temple of Olympian Zeus was considered to be the largest Greek temple in the Western world. The style was Doric. Gigantic telamones (stone figures) supported the roof of the structure. A telamon is on the ground for all to see, as well as hanging in the Archaeological Museum. Each telamon was 25 feet tall, representing the Clash of the Titans. This is unique architecture found no place else in the world. The telamones were painted. The enormous size of the walled building offers solid evidence that it was built to celebrate a military victory. This was a part of the Greek way of life. Olympian Zeus commemorated the victory of the Greek cities over the Carthaginians at Himera in 480 B.C.

The Temple of Hera Lacinia in the Valley has 30 columns dedicated to the Mother of the Gods, Hera, on the highest point of the Valley of the Temples. The Temple of Castor and Pollux (Temple of Dioscuri) is always on a postcard of Agrigento. Only four columns stand. It is incredibly beautiful when the sun sets on its columns.

The Temple of Heracles, completely ruined except for columns, still creates an impression to the onlooker. Heracles, or Hercules, was the national hero of Sicily. Agrigento (Akragas) held special Heraklean feats to honor this Mycenean hero of Mythology. Heracles represented bravery and moral strength that was the symbol of Mycene in the Peloponese, Greece.

Catherine Tsounis is an adjunct professor of Modern Greek at St. John’s University and a frequent contributor to this newspaper.