By Paolo Fiorentino

Translated by Deborah Halliday

Akragas was sung as being the most beautiful city of the mortals by the famous Pindar in V century B.C. It rose in 581 B.C. following an expedition from the city of Gela led by Aristino and Pistillo. Very soon, within the space of only a few decades, thanks to its favorable geographic position and the shrewd economic-expansionist policies of its rulers, it was able to rise to the greatness of the most powerful Mediterranean metropolises of the Classic Age, equal to Syracuse and Athens: the eagle (Jupiter’s divine bird) was stamped on its coins symbolizing its strength and splendor.

Of this city with a thousand lights and no fewer shadows, everybody has heard of its wonderful Valley of Temples, its Festival of the Blossoming Almond together with its International Festival of Folklore, of its superb Gothic- Norman Cathedral of Saint Gerlando. Probably very few people in the world have not heard of at least one of the works written by one of its most illustrious citizens, Luigi Pirandello, who from here set out on the road that would lead him to his enormous success in the field of literature. Pirandello was crowned in 1934 when assigned the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Few know, however, of its lovely interconnecting courtyards with  their characteristic Islamic mark, twisting and turning amongst the narrow lanes of the old Rabato district –  an Arabic word meaning quarter –  where the streets of the Cubaitara (those who prepare ‘cubaita’ a typical sweet whose basic ingredient is almonds) are still pulsing with daily life, and there are the nooks where, under the clear starry sky “Raffieli’s donkey” (a historical figure from the past, famous for having said “now that I taught my donkey to go without eating, it died”) found a place to rest. Here and there are steep sinuous stairways on which, without warning, magnificent buildings often arise.

From a long list of almost unknown monuments here are some of the figures with their stories still covered in a layer of dust and the oblivion of the centuries, who for better or worse through their talent or greatness of heart, or their brutal despotism sparked off the history of Agrigento, weaving together its most ancient glories and legendary memories.

Legend would have it that Akragas was a giant born from Jupiter and the nymph Sterope, and by the strength of his arms the building of the first city wall was carried out and thus took his name.

But Akragas was also the name of the river that flowed through the valley chosen by a group of colonizers from Rhodes and Crete who brought about the founding of a new colony. As a matter of fact, Eliano (Var. Hist., II, 33) tells how the Akragantini worshiped the river Akragas likening it to a young blond youth, and to that very same river which had given its name to their city, they dedicated the splendor of their most handsome youths.

Right from the start, using as an incentive the florid emporium which had grown up at the mouth of the river, it became a city dedicated to maritime commerce and as Polibius tells, the worship of the god Neptune.

The first tyrant of Akragas (around 570 BC) was determined and ambitious. He was born on Astifalea, an island in the Carpathian sea between Rhodes and Crete. According to a tale by Eraclide Pontico, also reported by Cicero, the mother of Falaris,  already pregnant with the future tyrant, dreamt of Mercury and the other gods of Olympus pouring boiling blood from a cup, enough blood to flood her home: this was the first warning omen of the cruelty with which the baby in her womb would be capable of some day.

Chased out of the country for his excessive thirst for power, he took refuge in Akragas, which had only recently been founded, having brought with him considerable wealth. But here he made his fortune through his genius in business affairs and by gaining the common admiration for his brilliant handling of contracts for the construction of public buildings. It is said that he became rich enough to lend money to the people of Enna, thus helping them win their war.

 Not long after, he was assigned the magistracy of building and the direction of new works for the construction of a temple to be dedicated to Jupiter Polieo by the Akragasian oligarchy. According to tradition, this was the occasion which brought him with a clear cold opportunism to take over the government of Akragas. He recruited and correupted men and slaves with money to get them to follow his cause, fortifying the rocky spur where the building site had been situated under the pretext of defending from thieves the iron and stone stored there which was to be used for the building projects. It was from here that during the festivities in honor of the goddess Ceres, by taking advantage of the games outside of the city walls, he closed the gates to the city and invaded the homes of private citizens to confiscate their weapons and kill anyone who tried to block his rise to absolute power.

He was a great military leader, and through exceptional stratagems, he managed to undermine many indigenous cities. Through boldness, daring of aim, and the fortunate outcome of his missions he managed to increase the dominion of Akragas, especially at the esxpense of the nearby Sicans, making the city great and powerful. The invention and use of the “falarica” in war was attributed to him, a sort of javelin wrapped with a combustible substance and hurled burning against the enemy.

The event linked to the famous statue of a bull that Falaris acquired to satisfy his cruelty is somewhat curious. It would seem that the sculptor Perillo made (perhaps due to a commission by the tyrant himself) a hollow bronze bull. Flattering himself into believing that he might receive a rich reward, he suggested to Falaris that if he closed a man inside it while red-hot, the cries of pain from the prisoner would have sounded like the bellowing of a bull. Falaris, recognizing in Perillo a cruelty worse than his own, decided to award him by publicly subjecting him to the terrible execution that he himself had suggested in order to demonstrate to his people that even tyrants hate the wicked. Luciano, maybe in an attempt to rehabilitate the figure of Falaris, affirmed that the tyrant gave the notorious bronze bull to the sanctuary at Delphi, while according to Cicero (IV in Verrem), the sculpturewas taken later by the Carthaginians when they plundered Akragas, then it was given back to the Agrigentinians by Scipione after the victory of the Romans over the Carthaginians.

It was also Luciano who said that Falaris was exhorted by Pythagoras and the famous writer of comedies, Epicarmus on several occasions to free his people from the oppression to which they were subject, but he would argue that, “In the same way that if each and everyone of us could decide his birth, nobody would want to come into this world, but seeing that they had been born nobody wants to die. It is in this very same way that if one could foresee the bitterness that tyranny causes, one would avoid it, but after becoming a tyrant it is not possible to go back.”

It is told that Falaris was stoned to death by the people who had had quite enough of his cruel deeds. As a matter of fact the people led by Telemaco of the Emmenidi family, were awakened from their apathy and encouraged by an apologue according to whom Falaris himself, after having seen a flock of frightened doves flee from a hawk, had said that the doves had been stupid because it would have been enough for them to unite and face the enemy that was terrorizing them: the message was received and understood immediately and the tyrant was stoned without pity by the crowd of rebels.

It is also true that there were examples of generous clemency as when he benignly received  Stesicorus whom he had pledged to hate because he had often gone against him by declaring him overly ambitious. Instead of taking revenge, as everyone expected him to, Falaris honored him in his court for a long time, and even after Stesicorus’s death, gave a generous sum to his family. Another event that is well known is the one of the two friends, Menalippus and Caritone; both of them had plotted in vain to assassinate Falaris, then each of them had begged him to vent his revenge on them while sparing the other. As a matter of fact, Menalippus, a young Akragantinian, loved by Caritone, in not being able to bring action against one of Falaris’ relations due to an offence received, decided to kill the tyrant because he had protected his relative from prosecution. He had confided his intentions to the faithful Caritone who fearing for his young friend, had tried secretly to carry out the difficult plan alone. Although discovered and tortured by Falaris’ guards, Caritone refused to reveal the name of his presumed accomplice, until Menalippus gave himself up by presenting himself to the tyrant. Falaris was moved by this demonstration of love and great friendship and decided to spare both their lives.

If the truth be known, many considered the tales of Falaris’ cruelty exaggerated by opposing politicians, who, once they gained power, even forbade to dress in or use in any way the color blue as it was Falaris’ favorite color. This was probably one of the many moves they made to feed their hatred felt for the tyrant and to possibly erase with hate itself the memory of the “adventurer” Falaris, who on one hand had betrayed the Akragantinian oligarchy and usurped the power of the people, but on the other hand, made Akragas powerful and rich.

Gellia was the legendary character who, more than any, embodied and represented the Akragantinian opulence reached and consolidated during the V century a.C. under the tyranny of Terone from the Emmenidi family, the great-grandson of Telemaco who, according to tradition, had guided the revolt against Falaris. Gellia was a very wealthy citizen, but he did not stand out in the political nor the cultural scene, and had never achieved any victories during the Hellenistic games. Physically, he was neither strong nor handsome, quite the opposite, he was short and ugly, but had an acute mind and a noble spirit.

Once he was sent as an ambassador to the city of Centuripe. The inhabitants had been expecting someone who would mirror the power and greatness of Akragas., Upon seeing such a modest person amongst them at the public assembly they started to heckle him. Realizing the circumstances, Gellia turned smiling to the representatives of the town saying: “Do not be surprised, oh citizens, because my city usually sends ambassadors who are powerful and handsome to the great cities, while they reserve the small humble men for lesser cities!”(Diodoru Siculu).

Gellia was as incredibly rich as he was generous, and his acts of magnificence amazed his contemporaries.

The peoples of old testified to his magnanimous generosity through which he lavished help of every kind on the needy and even rich trousseaus to the poorer girls of the city. If famine or a sudden change of weather deprived the farmers of their crops, he would open the doors of his storehouses, unasked, to lighten their difficulties.

It was also Diodoro Siculo who said that being the owner of numerous buildings, Gellia ordered his servants to stop near the gate to the city and invite any strangers who were passing through Akragas to come to his palace; without distinction he would offer them, their servants and horses generous hospitality. In this way, he once hosted 500 horsemen from Gela who surprised by bad weather, sought out shelter in the city. Each of them was washed, perfumed and dressed in a new tunic and cloak.

Gellia had become so famous that people came from far and wide to meet him. The Akragantinians were proud of him and often said that if there were competitions for generosity at the Olympic games nobody would have been able to beat him.

His house was brimming with precious gold and silver plate and beautifully decorated ceramics; every corner of the house was decorated with valuable works of art by Phydias, Praxiteles and Zeusi.

It is said that he died during the sacking of Akragas by the Carthaginians, in 406 BC, after having valiantly incited his compatriots to resist the enemy. Having lost every hope after the invasion of Carthaginians, he and the other survivors closed themselves inside the Temple of Jupiter and set fire to it, burning his treasures and himself rather than fall into the hands of the barbarous invaders.

Acrone was an illustrious physician during the V century B.C. and the initiator of “empirical medicine” which was to inspire the well- known Hippocratic principle still followed today. He went to Egypt and Asia to observe their medical practices and the impetuous vigor with which he sustained his experimental convictions against the philosophic one in the field of medicine provided him with quite a few enemies amongst his contemporary philosophers. In particular, it brought him up against his famous contemporary Empedocles. It was said that when Acrone asked Akraganinians for a place worthy of him to build his tomb, Empedocles tried in a public speech to dissuade the citizens from granting the request.

The citizens, however, in recognition of Acrone’s merits, wanted to grant his request, and so powerless to do otherwise and  to humiliate his rival, Empedocles suggested the following epitaph: “Acrone, the most eminent physician, born of an eminent family in this eminent rock, of his eminent motherland”.

It is also true that  Acrone’s fame had spread so far beyond the boundaries of his country,  that he was called to Athens on several occasions to free the city from terrible epidemics that nobody had been able to conquer.

Whereas Empedocles, more than a great healer, was a great philosopher and founder of a rhetorical school which had famous disciples such as Gorgias of Lentini. He was born to a very rich family who respected knowled to such a degree that after his death one of hiseducated sisters decided to burn (a somewhat questionable decision) an entire poem written by her brother because, in her opinion, it was not perfect.

Due to his generous nature, he oft helped the needy and it was said that he had even received divine honors from inhabitants of Selinunte after one of its ingenious solutions freed the city from the unhealthy waters that surrounded it.

He planned marvelous hydraulic works and invented the famous “taglio della nave” (a ship’s prow shaped cutting), which consisted in cutting the trees and digging a slope in order to funnel the cool refreshing breezes at sunset into the city.

The legend goes that he perished inside the crater of Mt. Etna where he was trying to understand its eruptive system, and his faithful disciples were only able to carry home one of his sandals.

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