Akragas was founded on a plateau overlooking the sea, with two nearby rivers, the
Hypsas and the Acragas, after which the settlement was originally named. A ridge, which offered a degree of natural fortification, links a hill to the north, called Colle di Girgenti, with another, called Rupe Atenea, to the east. According to
Thucydides, it was founded around 582–580 BC by
Greek colonists from
Gela in eastern Sicily, with further colonists from
Crete and
Rhodes. The founders () of the new city were Aristonous and Pystilus. It was the last of the major Greek colonies in Sicily to be founded.
Archaic period The territory under Akragas's control expanded to comprise the whole area between the
Platani and the
Salso, and reached deep into the Sicilian interior. Greek literary sources connect this expansion with military campaigns. Still, archaeological evidence indicates that this was a much longer-term process which reached its peak only in the early fifth century BC. Most other Greek settlements in Sicily experienced similar territorial expansion in this period. Excavations at a range of sites in this region inhabited by the indigenous
Sican people, such as
Monte Sabbucina,
Gibil-Gabil,
Vasallaggi, San Angelo Muxano, and
Mussomeli, show signs of the adoption of Greek culture. It is disputed how much of this expansion was carried out by violence and how much by commerce and acculturation. The territorial expansion provided land for the Greek settlers to farm, native
enslaved people to work these farms, and control of the overland route from Acragas to the city of
Himera on the northern coast of Sicily. This was the main land route from the
Straits of Sicily to the
Tyrrhenian Sea, and Acragas' control of it was a key factor in its economic prosperity in the sixth and fifth centuries BC, which became proverbial. Famously,
Plato, upon seeing the living standard of the inhabitants, was said to have remarked that "they build like they intend to live forever, yet eat like this is their last day." Perhaps as a result of this wealth, Acragas was one of the first communities in Sicily to begin minting its own coinage, around 520 BC. Around 570 BC, the city came under the control of
Phalaris, a semi-legendary figure, who was remembered as the archetypal
tyrant, said to have killed his enemies by burning them alive inside a bronze bull. In ancient literary sources, he is linked to military campaigns of territorial expansion, but this is probably anachronistic. He ruled until around 550 BC. Many enormous construction projects were carried out in the
Valle dei Templi at this time, including the
Temple of Olympian Zeus, which was one of the largest Greek temples ever built, and the construction of a massive Kolymbethra reservoir. According to
Diodorus Siculus, they were built in commemoration of the Battle of Himera, with prisoners captured in the war used as slave labour. Archaeological evidence indicates that the boom in monumental construction began before the battle and continued afterward. A major reconstruction of the city walls on a monumental scale also took place in this period. Theron sent teams to compete in the
Olympic games and other Panhellenic competitions in mainland Greece. Several poems by
Pindar and
Simonides commemorated victories by Theron and other Acragantines, which provide insights into Acragantine identity and ideology at this time. Greek literary sources generally praise Theron as a good tyrant, but accuse his son
Thrasydaeus, who succeeded him in 472 BC, of violence and oppression. Shortly after Theron's death,
Hiero I of Syracuse (brother and successor of Gelon) invaded Acragas and overthrew Thrasydaeus. The literary sources say that Acragas then became a democracy, but in practice, it seems to have been dominated by the civic aristocracy.
Classical period of Acragas, c. 410 BC. The period after the fall of the Emmenids is not well-known. An
oligarchic group called "the thousand" held power for a few years in the mid-fifth century BC, but was overthrown – the literary tradition attributes a decisive role in this revolution to the philosopher
Empedocles. However, some modern scholars have doubted this. In 451 BC,
Ducetius, leader of a
Sicel state opposed to the expansion of Syracuse and other Greeks into the interior of Sicily, invaded Acragantine territory and conquered an outpost called Motyum. The Syracusans defeated and captured Ducetius in 450, but subsequently allowed him to go into exile. Outraged by this comparatively light punishment, the Acragantines went to war with Syracuse. They were defeated in a battle on the Salso river, which left Syracuse the pre-eminent power in eastern Sicily. The defeat was serious enough that Acragas ceased minting coinage for several years. Ancient sources described Acragas as a very large city at this time.
Diodorus Siculus says the population was 200,000, of whom 20,000 were citizens.
Diogenes Laertius put the population at an incredible 800,000. Some modern scholars have accepted Diodorus' numbers, but they seem to be far too high. Jos de Waele suggests a population of 16,000–18,000 citizens, while Franco de Angelis estimates a total population of around 30,000-40,000. When
Athens undertook the
Sicilian Expedition against Syracuse from 415 to 413 BC, Acragas remained neutral. In 406 BC, however, the city was captured and
sacked by
Carthaginian forces, marking a decisive break in its classical prosperity.
Hellenistic period In the later fourth century BC, conditions in Greek Sicily shifted again as
Timoleon’s intervention (344–337 BC) led to the restoration and repopulation of numerous communities that had been depleted by decades of warfare and stasis. A central problem concerns the interpretation of Plutarch’s account (Timoleon 35.2), which states that settlers from “Elaia” took part in the restoration of Akragas. Earlier scholars commonly identified this Elaia with the Ionian city in southern Italy. They inferred Ionian participation in the refounding of Akragas, but as archaeological excavations revealed no trace of Ionian influence at Akragas in the fourth century BC, this interpretation becomes problematic. Alternative readings, identifying Plutarch’s “Elaia” should be identified with an Epirote city in Thesprotia rather than the Italian
Elia have been put foward, supported by a grant of proxenia by the Molossians to the people of Akragas with uncertain dating. Giacomo Manganaro favored the manuscript reading Elaías (Ἐλαίας) rather than Eleás (Ἐλεᾶς), which he took to support identification with an Epirote
Elaea rather than the Italian Elea. He further suggested that colonists from this Epirote city may have sailed to Sicily following the devastation of their territory by Philip II of Macedon in 342 BC. By the early Hellenistic period, Akragas’ autonomy was increasingly constrained by the re-emergence of Syracusan power under Agathokles. During Agathokles’ wars with Carthage and his African expedition, Diodorus presents Akragas as attempting to capitalize on Syracusan distraction by positioning itself as a leader of anti-Syracusan, "liberation" politics among Sicilian Greek communities. The Akragantines elected Xenodikos as general; he initially achieved successes, bringing many other Sicilian cities, including Gela and Enna, into alignment with Akragas’ coalition. The momentum did not last. Syracusan forces commanded by Leptines and Demophilus repeatedly defeated the Akragantines in the field. Following a Syracusan victory outside Akragas, Leptines pursued Akragantine troops into the city. Xenodikos was indicted and then went into exile. De Lisle concludes that Syracusan battlefield success effectively terminated Akragas’ independent policy, with Xenodikos expelled and the Akragantine exiles previously resident at Syracuse likely reincorporated into the civic body. During the early 3rd century BC, a tyrant named
Phintias declared himself king of Akragas and controlled several other cities. His kingdom was, however, not long-lived.
Roman period The city was disputed between the
Romans and the Carthaginians during the
First Punic War. The Romans laid
siege to the city in 262 BC and captured it after defeating a Carthaginian relief force in 261 BC and sold the population into slavery. Although the Carthaginians recaptured the city in 255 BC, the
final peace settlement ceded Punic Sicily, including Akragas, to Rome. It suffered badly during the
Second Punic War (218–201 BC) when both Rome and Carthage fought to control it. The Romans eventually captured Akragas in 210 BC and renamed it
Agrigentum, although it remained a largely Greek-speaking community for centuries thereafter. It became prosperous again under Roman rule. In the 2nd century BC,
Scipio Africanus Minor bestowed upon the city a statue of
Apollo by
Myron, housed in the Temple of Asclepius as a symbol of their alliance during the
Third Punic War. A resilient Christian community endured into late antiquity, although archaeological evidence suggests a decline in activity after the 7th century, possibly due to disrupted trade routes following the
Arab conquest of Carthage in AD 698. In 1087,
Norman Count Roger I established a Latin bishopric in the city.
Normans built the
Castello di Agrigento to control the area. The population declined during much of the medieval period but revived somewhat after the 18th century.
Jewish history The earliest record of Jews in Agrigento is of their conversion to Christianity under the pontificate of
Gregory the Great. The community is mentioned in the
Cairo Geniza circa 1060. The Jewish presence in Agrigento did not survive the
expulsion of the Jews in 1492, as at the time the territory was under Spanish rule.
Modern period In 1860, as in the rest of Sicily, the inhabitants supported the arrival of
Giuseppe Garibaldi during the
Expedition of the Thousand (one of the most dramatic events of the
Unification of Italy) which marked the end of
Bourbon rule. In 1927, Benito Mussolini through the "Decree Law n. 159, 12 July 1927", introduced the current
Italianized version of the
Latin name. The decision remains controversial as a symbol of Fascism and the eradication of local history. Following the suggestion of
Andrea Camilleri, a Sicilian writer of Agrigentine origin, the historic city centre was renamed to the Sicilian name "Girgenti" in 2016. The city suffered a number of destructive bombing raids during
World War II. == Climate ==