Editing Selinunte (section)

===The Acropolis===
[[File:Selinunte-Akropolis-bjs-2.jpg|thumb|270px|Acropolis of Selinus: Rear of Temples A and O in the foreground and row of columns of Temple C in the background]]
[[File:Selionte Acropole.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Street on the acropolis]]

The acropolis is on a limestone massif with a cliff face falling into the sea in the south, while the north end narrows to 140 m wide. The settlement was in the form of a massive trapezoid, extended to the north with a large retaining wall in terraces (about eleven metres high) and surrounded by a wall (repeatedly restored and modified) with an exterior of squared stone blocks and an interior of rough stone (''[[emplecton]]''). It had five towers and four gates. To the north, the acropolis was fortified by a counter wall and towers from the beginning of the fourth century BC.

At the entrance to the acropolis is the so-called Tower of Pollux, constructed in the sixteenth century to deter the [[Barbary pirates]], atop the remains of an ancient tower or lighthouse.

The [[Hippodamian]] urban plan dates to the fourth century BC (i.e. to the period of Punic rule) and is divided in quarters by two main streets (9 metres wide), which cross at right angles (the north–south road is 425 metres long, the east–west is 338 metres long). Every 32 metres they are intersected by other minor roads (5 metres wide).

On the crest of the acropolis are the remains of numerous [[Doric temple]]s.<ref name= Nota2 />

Multiple altars and little sanctuaries may be attributed to the first years of the colony, which were replaced around fifty years later by large, more permanent temples. The first of these is the so-called ''Megaron'' near Temples B & C. In front of Temple O there is a Punic sacrificial area from after the conquest of 409&nbsp;BC, consisting of rooms built of dry masonry within which vases containing ashes were deposited along with amphorae of the Carthaginian “torpedo” type.

[[File:Koldewey-Sicilien-vol2-table15.png|thumb|left|250px|Plan of Temple A (Koldewey, 1899)]]
[[File:Tanit symbol.jpg|thumb|right|130px|Temple A : mosaic with the symbol of [[Tanit]]]]
'''Temple O''' and '''Temple A''' of which little remains except for the rocky basement and the altar which was constructed between 490 and 460&nbsp;BC. They had nearly identical structures, similar to that of Temple E on the East Hill. The [[peristyle]] was 16.2 x 40.2 m with 6 x 14 columns (6.23 metres high). Inside there was a [[pronaos]] [[in antis]], a [[cella|naos]] with an [[adyton]] and an [[opisthodomos]] in antis, separate from the naos. The naos was a step higher than the pronaos and the adyton was a step higher again. In the wall between the pronaos and the naos in Temple A two spiral staircases led to the gallery (or floor) above. The pronaos of Temple A has a mosaic pavement showing symbolic figures of the [[Phoenicia]]n goddess [[Tanit]], a [[caduceus]], the [[Sun]], a [[crown (heraldry)|crown]], and a [[bucranium|bull's head]], which testifies to the reuse of the space as a religious or domestic area in the Punic period. Temple O was dedicated to [[Poseidon]] or perhaps [[Athena]];<ref name = Moscati>[[Sabatino Moscati]], ''Italia archeologica'', Novara, De Agostini, 1973, vol. 1, pp. 120–129</ref> Temple A to the [[Dioscuri]] or perhaps to [[Apollo]].<ref name = Moscati/>

34 metres east of Temple A are the remains of the monumental entrance to the area, which took the form of a [[propylaea]] with a floorplan in the shape of a T, made up of a 13 x 5.6 metre rectangle with a peristyle of 5 x 12 columns and another rectangle of 6.78 x 7.25 metres.

Across the east–west street there is a second sacred area, north of the preceding. There, to the south of Temple C is a '''Shrine''' 17.65 metres long and 5.5 metres wide which dates from 580 to 570&nbsp;BC and has the [[Archaic Greece|archaic]] form of the  ''[[Megaron]]'', perhaps intended to hold votive offerings. Lacking a pronaos, the entrance at the eastern end passed directly into the naos (at the centre of which there are two bases for the wooden columns which held up the roof). At the back there was a square adyton, to which a third space was added in a later period. The Shrine was perhaps dedicated to Demeter Thesmophoros.<ref name = Coarelli-Torelli>[[Filippo Coarelli]]; [[Mario Torelli]], ''Sicilia'' (Guide archeologiche Laterza), Bari, Laterza, 1988, pp. 72–103</ref>

[[File:Koldewey-Sicilien-vol2-table07b.png|thumb|left|220px|Plan of Temple B (at top left) with square altar (Koldewey, 1899)]]
To the right of the shrine is  '''Temple B''' from the Hellenistic period, which is small (8.4 x 4.6 metres) and in bad condition. It is made up of a [[prostyle]] portico of four columns which is reached by a stairway with nine steps, followed by a pronaos and naos. In 1824 clear traces of polychrome stucco were still visible. Probably constructed around 250&nbsp;BC, a short time before Selinus was abandoned for good, it represents the only religious building that attests to the modest revival of the city after its destruction in 409. Its purpose remains obscure; in the past it was believed to be the [[Heroon]] of [[Empedocles]], benefactor of the Selinuntine marshes,<ref>The name “Temple of Empedocles” was given to it in 1824 by the excavator, Hittorf, because he thought it had been dedicated to him for his good deed of draining the watery marshes of the Selinuntine rivers and thereby ending the frequent [[malaria]] epidemics</ref> but this theory is no longer sustainable, given the building's date. Today it is thought more likely to be a strongly Hellenised Punic cult, perhaps to [[Demeter]] or [[Asclepius]]-[[Eshmun]].

[[File:Selinunte-pjt3.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Temple C]]
[[File:Selinunte-TempleC-Plan-bjs.png|thumb|left|180px|Plan of Temple C]]
'''[[Temple C (Selinus)|Temple C]] '''is the oldest in this area, dating from 550&nbsp;BC. In 1925-7 the fourteen of the north side's seventeen columns were re-erected, along with part of the entablature. It had a peristyle (24 x 63.7 metres) of 6 x 17 columns (8.62 metres high). The entrance is reached by eight steps and consists of a portico with a second row of columns and then the pronaos. Behind it is the naos and adyton in a single long narrow structure (an archaic characteristic). It has basically the same floor plan as Temple F on the East Hill. Multiple elements show a certain experimentation and divergence from the pattern of the [[Doric temple]] which later became the standard: the columns are squat and massive (some are even made from a single stone), lack  ''[[entasis]]'', show variation in the number of [[fluting (architecture)|flutes]], the width of the [[intercolumniation]] varies, the corner columns have a larger diameter than the others, etc. Finds in the temple include: some fragments of red, brown, and purple polychrome terracotta from the cornice decoration, a gigantic {{convert|2.5|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} clay gorgon head from the pediment, three metopes representing [[Perseus]] slaying the [[Gorgon]], [[Heracles]] with the [[Cercopes]], and a frontal view of the quadriga of [[Apollo]], all of which are in the Museo Archeologico di Palermo. Temple C probably functioned as an archive, since hundreds of seals have been found here and was dedicated to [[Apollo]], according to epigraphic evidence,<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Inscriptiones Graecae|IG]] XIV 269</ref> or perhaps Heracles.<ref name = Guido>Margaret Guido; [[Vincenzo Tusa]], ''Guida archeologica della Sicilia'', Palermo, Sellerio, 1978, pp. 68–80</ref> British architects [[Samuel Angell]] and William Harris excavated at [[Selinus]] in the course of their tour of [[Sicily]], and came upon the sculptured metopes from the Archaic temple of “Temple C.” Although local Bourbon officials tried to stop them, they continued their work, and attempted to export their finds to England, destined for the British Museum. Now in the echoes of the activities of Lord Elgin in Athens, Angell and Harris's shipments were diverted to Palermo by force of the Bourbon authorities and are now kept in the [[Antonino Salinas Regional Archeological Museum|Palermo archeological museum]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite news |url=http://www.caareviews.org/reviews/1473#.XraXLS97E1I |title=Temple Decoration and Cultural Identity in the Archaic Greek World: The Metopes of Selinus |publisher=New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 370 pp. |date=June 30, 2010 |access-date=24 June 2018}}</ref>

East of Temple C is its rectangular grand altar (20.4 metres long x 8 metres wide) of which the foundations and some steps remain. After that there is the area of the Hellenistic [[agora]]. A little further there are the remains of houses and the terrace is bordered by a Doric portico (57 metres long and 2.8 metres deep) which overlooks part of the wall supporting the acropolis.
[[File:Koldewey-Sicilien-vol2-table13.png|thumb|left|250px|Plan of Temple D (Koldewey, 1899)]]

Next is '''Temple D''' which is dated to 540&nbsp;BC. The west face fronts directly onto the north–south street. The peristyle is 24 metres × 56 metres on a 6 × 13 column pattern (each 7.51 metres high). There is a pronaos in antis, an elongated naos, ending in an adyton. It is more standardized than Temple C (The columns are slightly inclined, more slender, and have ''entasis'', the portico is supported by a [[distyle]] pronaos in antis), but it retains some archaic features, such as variation in the length of the intercolumniation and the diameter of the columns, as well as in the number of flutes per column. As with Temple C, there are many circular and square cavities in the pavement of the peristyle and of the naos, whose function is unknown. Temple D was dedicated to [[Athena]] according to epigraphic evidence<ref name="ReferenceA"/> or perhaps to [[Aphrodite]].<ref name = TCI>[[Touring Club Italiano]], ''Guida d'Italia – Sicilia'', Milano, 1989, pp. 324–330</ref> The large external altar is not oriented to the temple's axis, but placed obliquely near the southwest corner, which suggested that an earlier temple occupied the same site on a different axis.

[[File:Palermo-Museo-Archeologico-bjs-14.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Europe (mythology)|Europa]] on the bull: Metope from Temple Y]]
East of Temple D is a small altar in front of the basement of an archaic shrine: '''Temple Y''', also known as the '''Temple of the Small Metopes'''. The recovered metopes have a height of 84 centimetres and can be dated to 570&nbsp;BC. They depict a crouching [[Sphinx]] in profile, the [[Delphic triad]] ([[Leto]], [[Apollo]], [[Artemis]]) in rigid frontal view, and the [[Rape of Europa]]. Another two metopes can be dated to around 560&nbsp;BC and were recycled in the construction of [[Hermocrates]]’ wall. They show the quadriga of [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone|Kore]] (or [[Helios]] and [[Selene]]? [[Apollo]]?) and an [[Eleusinian Mysteries|Eleusinian ceremony]] with three women holding ears of grain ([[Demeter]], [[Persephone|Kore]], and [[Hecate]]? The [[Moirai]]?). They are kept at the [[Antonino Salinas Regional Archeological Museum]].

Between Temples C and D are the ruins of a '''Byzantine village''' of the fifth century AD, built with recycled stone. The fact that some of the houses were crushed by the collapse of the columns of Temple C shows that the earthquake which caused the collapse of the Selinuntine temples occurred in the [[Medieval period]].

To the north, the acropolis holds two quarters of the city (one west and the other east of the main north-south street), rebuilt by [[Hermocrates]] after 409&nbsp;BC. The houses are modest, built with recycled material. Some of them contain incised crosses, a sign that they were later adapted as Christian buildings or inhabited by Christians.

Further north, before the main area of habitation, there are the grandiose '''fortifications''' for the defense of the acropolis. They are paralleled by a long gallery (originally covered) with numerous vaulted passages, followed by a deep defensive ditch crossed by a bridge, with three semicircular towers at west, north, and east. Around the outside of the north tower (which had a weapons’ store at its base) are the entrances to the east–west trench, with passages in both the walls. Only a small part of the fortifications belong to the old city – they are mostly from [[Hermocrates]]’ reconstruction and successive repairs in the fourth and third centuries. The fact that architectural elements were recycled into it demonstrates that some of the temples were already abandoned in 409&nbsp;BC.