Akrillai (Ancient Greek:Ἄκριλλαι) andAkrilla (Ancient Greek:Ἄκριλλα),[1]Acrillae (inLatin) was an ancient Greek colony ofMagna Graecia located in the modernprovince of Ragusa,Sicily,Italy, where the town ofChiaramonte Gulfi stands today. The ruins of the old colony can be found in thecontrada (quarter) Piano del Conte-Morana and Piano Grillo. Anecropolis dating from the 6th-5th century BC has been identified in thecontrada Paraspola-Pirruna.
The name appears in different forms among different authors:Akrilla,Akrille; in ancient sources:Akrillaiu; the name is variously written by Latin writersAcrilla andAcrille.
The city was founded by theCorinthian andSyracusan colonists at the same time ofKamarina (598 BC), overlooking theValley of the Hipparis to establish their power against the city ofGela, founded by aCretan-Rhodian effort. Akrillai was also a road-station on the route fromSyracuse to Gela andAkragas. By passing via Akrai andKasmenai, the road avoided the lowHyblaean Mountains andHybla Heraea.
The city based its economy on trade, thanks to its strategic position along theVia Selinuntina. Near to Akrillai was the Hellenistic settlement of Scornavacche, where recent excavations have found several clay ovens. Throughout its existence Akrillai remained under the influence of the mother-city Syracuse, with which it was allied. According to the Roman historianTitus Livius, the city was used as a fortress and military base during theCarthaginians' second Sicilian campaign. In 406 BC, after the fall of Akragas and Gela, the city was destroyed for the first time, as the Carthaginians passed on their way to attack and besiege Syracuse.
Titus Livius also recounts[2][3] the battle fought at Akrillai in 213 BC between Syracusan forces guided by thestrategos Hippokrates, and the Roman army led by the consulMarcus Claudius Marcellus:
One night in 213 BC, whilst the city of Syracuse was under siege by the Romans, the Syracusan army managed to find an unguarded passage between the Roman lines. Epicides, brother of Hippokrates, was left to guard the city, whilst his brother took the army to Akrillai and prepared to counter attack the Romans. The consul Marcello, marching towards Akrillai from Akragas, arrived at the colony to find the Syracusan army busy establishing their camp. The consul, strong from months of preparation against the Carthaginians, ordered the attack and the Syracusan army, disorientated and unarmed, was divided from its cavalry and commanders. Powerless in this situation, Hippokrates was forced to take refuge in Akrai.
With the defeat of Hippokrates’ Syracusans, the city of Akrillai became part of theRoman province ofSicily, its name Latinized asAcrillae.[4]
In 827 AD the town was destroyed again, this time by theArabs ofAsad ibn al-Furat. The name Acrillae disappeared and the rebuilt centre was known by the Arab name ofGulfi, which means "the rose-garden" and "place rich with vegetation". The nearby riverDirillo also takes its name from Acrillae: called Achates (agate) during the Greek-Roman era and said to be where agates were first found,[5][6][7] in Arab times the river was calledWadi Ikrilu (River of Acrille).
Akrillai was discovered by the historianCorrado Melfi and identified by the archaeologist Antonino Di Vita,anacademic of the Lincei, who conducted several campaigns of excavation. The many findings are housedin the Hyblean Archaeological Museum ofRagusa and in the Regional Archeological Museum of Syracuse.
37°01′N14°42′E / 37.017°N 14.700°E /37.017; 14.700
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