Scale Differences: Akragas and Morgantina

Abstract

Can we discern differences in the way water was managed at larger and smaller Greek cities? Let us take two Greek cities in Sicily as case studies, examining them in some detail as to area, population, date, geological situation, and the water system elements known at each. The aim of this exercise is to begin to understand the impact of scale differences on the clusters of water system elements in ancient cities. Useful examples are Akragas—modern Agrigento—and Morgantina (Figs. 15.1, 15.2). Akragas is located on the south coast of Sicily, approximately in the center, and occupies a dramatic site on a hill between two rivers. The earliest settlement—and later the medieval town—were located on the highest peak of the 280-meter hill (Storia della Sicilia, 1979, map 1), but during classical and Hellenistic times the city spread down the hill to the wide and gentle valley to the south, which then rises again to form a ridge that separates that valley from the plain leading to the sea. In the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. a line of temples was built along the lower ridge, forming today the single largest, best preserved, and most impressive group of Greek temples anywhere. These architectural glories were possible because of the size and wealth of the city, the same factors that necessitated and made possible the extensive water system of the city. In contrast, Morgantina was built inland, on a ridge at the juncture of the Catania plain with the plateaus of the center of Sicily. This ridge stands 578 to 656 meters above sea level, higher by 300 to 350 meters than the valleys to the north and south, but lower than the site of the nearest modern town, Aidone (885 meters), about 3 kilometers away. Morgantina began as a prehistoric settlement of migrant tribes from Italy whose king, Merges, gave his name to the city. The earliest Sikel settlement was on Cittadella, the easternmost wedge of the ridge, during the archaic period, no later than the sixth century.