Selinunte

Selinunte (/ˌsɛlᵻˈnuːnteɪ/; Ancient Greek: Σελινοῦς, Selinous; Latin: Selinūs) was an ancient Greek city on the south-western coast of Sicily in Italy. It was situated between the valleys of the Belice and Modione rivers. It now lies in the comune Castelvetrano, between the frazioni of Triscina di Selinunte in the west and Marinella di Selinunte in the east. The archaeological site contains five temples centered on an acropolis. Of the five temples, only the Temple of Hera, also known as "Temple E", has been re-erected. At its peak before 409 BC the city grew to 30,000 people excluding slaves.

History

Selinunte was one of the most important of the Greek colonies in Sicily, situated on the southwest coast of that island, at the mouth of the small river of the same name, and 6.5 km west of that of the Hypsas (the modern Belice River). It was founded, according to the historian Thucydides, by a colony from the Sicilian city of Megara, or Megara Hyblaea, under the conduct of a leader named Pammilus, about 100 years after the settlement of that city, with the addition of a fresh body of colonists from the parent city of Megara in Greece. The date of its foundation cannot be precisely fixed, as Thucydides indicates it only by reference to that of the Sicilian Megara, which is itself not accurately known, but it may be placed about 628 BCE. Diodorus places it 22 years earlier, or 650 BCE, and Hieronymus still further back, 654 BCE. The date from Thucydides, which is probably the most likely, is incompatible with this earlier epoch. The name is supposed to have been derived from quantities of wild celery (Ancient Greek: σέλινον (selinon)) that grew on the spot. For the same reason, they adopted the celery leaf as the symbol on their coins.

Selinus (mythology)

For the ancient river in Greece, see Selinus

Selinus (Greek: Σελινούς, Modern: Σελινούντας Selinountas) was a native mythical king of Aigaleia in Achaea (the modern prefecture). The kingdom which used to exist is located in the present-day Aigio. He married the girl Helike with Ion who succeeded the throne.

References

Gazipaşa

Gazipaşa (Turkish pronunciation: [ɡaˈzipaʃa]) is a town and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey, 180 km east of the city of Antalya. Gazipaşa is a quiet rural district famous for its bananas, oranges and international airport of Gazipaşa Airport (IATA shortkey GZP). Gazipaşa district is adjacent to Alanya to the west, Sarıveliler to the north and Anamur to the east.

Geography

The district of Gazipaşa stands on a narrow strip of coast between the Mediterranean Sea and the high Taurus Mountains rising steeply behind (highest point the 2253m "Deliktaş". You can find prehistoric animal remains (shelled sea animals) at many locations in the mountains. Before these were the Taurus Mountains (Paleozoic Age) these peaks were below the sea. The coast road is winding Alanya, but good with four lanes in places making Gazipaşa easy to access from Antalya and Alanya. From Gazipaşa east the road is two lanes but in the process of being improved to four. It is 80 km to the next town Anamur which takes two hours to drive). The remote rocky hillsides are home to snakes, scorpions and other wildlife such as deer, rabbits, wild boar, wild sheep and badgers. There is 50 km of coastline, half of which is sandy beach and rocky stretches with small coves that can be used for swimming. The beaches of Gazipaşa are used as nesting grounds by loggerhead sea turtles. Construction is forbidden in these sea turtle areas.