Eryx (Sicily)

Eryx (Greek: Ἔρυξ), was an ancient city and a mountain in the west of Sicily, about 10 km from Drepana (modern Trapani), and 3 km from the sea-coast. It was located at the site of modern Erice.

The mountain

The mountain, now called Monte San Giuliano, is a wholly isolated peak, rising in the midst of a low undulating tract, which causes its elevation to appear much more considerable than it really is, so that it was regarded in ancient as well as modern times as the most lofty summit in the whole island next to Aetna, though its real elevation does not exceed 2184 English feet. Hence we find Eryx alluded to by Virgil and other Latin poets as a mountain of the first order of magnitude, and associated with Athos, Aetna, etc. On its summit stood a celebrated temple of Venus or Aphrodite, founded, according to the current legend, by Aeneas, from whence the goddess derived the surname of Venus Erycina, by which she is often mentioned by Latin writers.

Foundation legends

Another legend, followed by Diodorus, ascribed the foundation both of the temple and city to an eponymous hero named Eryx, who was said to have received Hercules on his visit to this part of Sicily, and contended with that hero in a wrestling match, but was vanquished by him. This Eryx was a son of Aphrodite and Butes, a king of the country, and is hence repeatedly alluded to by Virgil as a brother of Aeneas, though that poet does not refer to him the foundation of the city. The legends which connected it with Aeneas and a Trojan chief named Elymus evidently pointed to what we learn from Thucydides as an historical fact, that Eryx as well as Segesta was a city of the Elymi, a Sicilian tribe, which is represented by almost all ancient writers as of Trojan descent.

Sicily

Sicily (/ˈsɪsᵻli/ SISS-i-lee; Italian: Sicilia [siˈtʃiːlja]; Sicilian: Sicilia) is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea; along with surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy officially referred to as Regione Siciliana.

Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean. It extends from the tip of the Apennine peninsula, from which it is separated only by the narrow Strait of Messina, towards the North African coast. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, which, at 3,350 m (10,990 ft), is the tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate.

The earliest archeological evidence of human dwelling on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. At around 750 BC, Sicily had three Phoenician and a dozen Greek colonies, and for the next 600 years, it was the site of the Greek–Punic and Roman–Punic wars, which ended with the Roman destruction of Carthage. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Sicily frequently changed hands, and during the early Middle Ages, it was ruled in turn by the Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Arabs and Normans who created the Kingdom of Sicily subsequently ruled by Hohenstaufen dinasty, for a short period by Angevins, later by Iberians dinasties, by the Austrians for a brief time, and then finally unified under the Bourbons with Naples, as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Following the Expedition of the Thousand, a Giuseppe Garibaldi-led revolt during the Italian Unification process and a plebiscite, it became part of Italy in 1860. After the birth of the Italian Republic in 1946, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region.

Sicily (actress)

Sicily Sewell (born October 1, 1985) is an American actress. She is sometimes credited in film or television as simply with a mononym Sicily.

She made her television appearance on an Emmy Award-winning episode of Sesame Street when she was eight years old.

She played "Young Aisha" in a two-part episode of Season 2 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers called ""Rangers Back In Time"" prior to the season 2 finale, as well as in the 10 part mini series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. She also appeared in archive footage (also as Young Aisha) in the season following MMAR, Power Rangers Zeo.

She starred as young Diana in the hit miniseries, Mama Flora's Family in 1998, and as Angela Bassett's niece in the film How Stella Got Her Groove Back.

For 4 seasons, Sewell portrayed Spirit Jones, the best friend of Breanna Barnes (played by Kyla Pratt) in the sitcom One on One. Citing a decision by UPN to move in a different direction for the fifth season, Sicily was let go from One on One on June 20, 2005. This change came at a time when she was only nine episodes away from syndication.

Sicilia (Roman province)

Sicilia was the first province acquired by the Roman Republic, organized in 241 BC as a proconsular governed territory, in the aftermath of the First Punic War with Carthage. It included Sicily and Malta, but not the city of Syracuse, on the east coast. (Syracuse remained an independent ally of Rome until after the Second Punic War).

History

During the Second Punic War, Syracuse was allied with Hannibal, but was taken by the Roman commander Marcellus in 212, and was absorbed into the already existing province. It was divided into two quaestorships, Syracuse and Lilybaeum. The Latinizing of the island continued, though the Greek element never entirely disappeared.

It was very important during the republican period for its role in supplying grain to the city of Rome, however it started to lose importance with the conquest of Africa and especially with the annexation of the Ptolemaic kingdom. Nevertheless, the province was to regain its importance centuries later, when Rome lost control over these areas and was forced to turn back to Sicily for her needs.