Abstract
The chapter presents new studies of a material culture, recently excavated within ancient town Akrai/Acrae, south-eastern (SE) Sicily, and shed light on the rich history of acculturation and assimilation of the local traditions with Eastern Mediterranean cultures (e.g. Greek, Aegean, Cyprus, and Levantine). The Akrai/Acrae, founded by Syracuse and being for centuries a part of Syracusan Kingdom, after the Roman conquest in 212 BC, similarly to many other Sicilian urban centres, became a part of Roman province. From the very beginning, the links with the East in this region are evident, both in the legal rules adopted here (e.g. lex Hieronica) and in the religion (e.g. cult of Cybele), but above all in the iconography and in the material culture. Many finds (e.g. pottery, terracotta figurines, glass, lamps, and jewellery), discovered within the excavations between 2009 and 2020), are an excellent confirmation of these long-distance relations throughout the town’s history. These cultural implications and imports embraced mostly the Eastern Mediterranean producers and suggest strong economic and other contacts of the population of south-eastern Sicily with the centres in the East.
Keywords
- Akrai/Acrae
- Sicily
- material culture
- Eastern Mediterranean
- Greco-Roman world
1. Introduction
Sicily, being the largest island of the Mediterranean, has always been a natural junction point among East, West, South, and North. It was a land where various worlds of Europe, Africa (particularly with Egypt), and Near East linked, just as the Phoenician, Greek, Carthaginian, and Latin cultural circles. It was a melting pot of miscellaneous cultures, a crossroads of trade routes, and a bountiful land rich in desirable goods unavailable elsewhere. Its history made it so multifaceted, as it was first shaped by heritage of the Phoenicians, the Elymians, the Sicani, the Sicels, the Greeks, and the Carthaginians, only to be taken over by the Romans for several centuries, then briefly by the Vandals, the Ostrogoths, and the Byzantines.
Discussing Eastern Mediterranean influences in south-eastern Sicily, it is essential to mention Aegean and Levantine material culture, dated to the middle of 3rd-end of 2nd millenium BC. The Sicani and Sicels were influenced by the Mycenaean culture, whereas the Elymians came to Europe from the lands by the Aegean Sea, from Anatolia, having previously travelled through northern Africa [1]. But genuine eastern influences had begun with the Greeks, who started the colonisation here since the 8th century BC, when
For the reasons above mentioned, and because of its location, the south-eastern part of Sicily, with its cities, is an excellent example to trace the region’s relationship with the Eastern Mediterranean cultures. This region has always had a strong connection to the East, which has manifested itself in both material and nonmaterial culture.
2. Greco-Roman town of Akrai/Acrae , SE Sicily
The ancient town
The first visible trace of Eastern influence in the town is a temple of Aphrodite, built in the second half of the 6th century BC, and interpreted as a symbol of
In the meantime, numerous sanctuaries
Until the 3rd century BC,
The largest category of finds, which allows eastern influences to be captured, is pottery. The vessels were obviously not only produced regionally, but were also imported from various production centres, depending on the time period from eastern parts of the Mediterranean or Africa. Plain tableware, represented by a wide gamut of forms, shows eastern imports, like deep bowls (kraters) with horizontal handles originally from the Eastern Mediterranean (Rhodes?) [20]. The eastern types of thin-walled pottery, present here already in Hellenistic period, continued to appear throughout the 1st century AD and until the early 2nd century AD. The Eastern sigillata A and Knidian ware were noticed in archaeological contexts dated from the 1st century BC until the early 3rd century AD; the Eastern sigillata B, imported from the western coast of Asia Minor (the Meander Valley)—in the contexts dated from the 1st century AD until the early 2nd century AD; while Eastern sigillata C, from Pergamon or Pitane—in the contexts dated from the late 1st century AD through the early 3rd century AD. The similar chronological range represents the Pontic sigillata and Aegean thin-walled pottery, which, however, lasted until the 3rd century AD [21, 22]. In the Late Antiquity, the eastern imports, like the Late Roman C/Phocean Red Slip, substituted the irregular supplies of the African Red Slip pottery during the Vandal occupation of North Africa (Figure 4) [22].
Among the group of amphorae, many fragments were produced in the East and imported at
Kitchen and cooking wares imported from the East should also be mentioned. Vessels and other utensils for the food preparation and cooking were identified as Aegean cooking ware, most probably from Knidos and Knossos [24].
Another category of finds with eastern connotations is glassware. Inter alia (I.a.) shallow bowls made of naturally coloured transparent glass (Isings 97a) dated to the end of the 2nd century AD through the 4th century AD, common in Syro-Palestine and Cyprus; shallow bowls with wide collars (Isings 118) from Syro-Palestinian workshops [25], or mug-like translucent olive lamps with three handles and mouths bent outwards made of light-green glass (Figure 7), and semi-circular mugs with truncated polished mouths with a relief decoration in the form of vertical striae dated to the 4th century AD through the early 5th century AD, which were imported from the Eastern Mediterranean [25].
The olive lamps present a strong connection to the Asia Minor, and Egypt, in both imports and influences. For example, the lamp Ricci type F was inspired by Athenian lamps belonging to Howland type 27, whereas the lamp Ricci type G is an adaptation of Hellenistic from Aegean as well as Asia Minor [26, 27].
The typically eastern connotations have the scarab-shaped objects [28], which are most likely game counters. Several such artefacts made of cobalt, light-green, dark opaque, light olive-green, and yellow-green glass have been found in
It is also worth mentioning about lead seals found in
Furthermore, the presence and inspiration of Byzantine culture in the ancient
These long-distance imports embraced mostly the Eastern Mediterranean producers, instead of the Gaulish or Spanish ones. This suggests much stronger economic and other contacts of the population of south-eastern Sicily and
3. Heritage of Eastern Mediterranean cultures in SE Sicily and Akrai/Acrae
3.1 Eastern Mediterranean culture before the Roman conquest
The eastern part of island, together with its town, among which was also
When the Greeks arrived in Sicily, they transformed and consolidated the economy to the so-called ‘Mediterranean’ type, based on the ‘triad’ of grapes, olives, and grain. Greek colonists introduced standardised farming and before the 6th century BC, the island’s wheat production not only catered to the local needs but also permitted extensive trade. Under Greek influence, Sicily became known for olive oil, grain, and wine [4, 33, 34]. With the newly arrived style in farming and breading, is also associated gastronomy, and describing culinary variety was the favourite form of indicating cultural differences in the Greek world [35]. Already, Epicharmus of Kos (540–450 BC), who certainly lived in Sicily, allegedly mocked at Syracusan scroungers, who never cease eating and drinking [36]. Thanks to the frequent connections within Sicily and Eastern Mediterranean, Sicilian cooks were mentioned in literary works, for example Plato (427–347 BC), who probably has stayed in Syracuse, mentions ‘the Syracusan table’ and ‘the Sicilian elaboration of delicate dishes’, and Cratinus the Younger (4th century BC) praises the Sicilian cooking art. The food products were exported to the Greece. For example, Sicilian cheese, which is attested already by Homer, who mentioned Sicilian cheese made of mixed goat’s and sheep’s milk [37, 38].
A little later, in the Hellenistic period, the very strong relationship of the Syracuse Kingdom, together with
The best example of Eastern influence is the law, the so-called
These relationships allowed Syracuse to strengthen its Greek identity and help the Syracusan Kingdom become a prominent point on the world map of the time.
3.2 Eastern Mediterranean culture after the Roman conquest
Although after 212/211 BC the region was incorporated into the Roman province and gradual Latinisation started, it took place not before the Principate.
But the inflow or even mere presence of newcomers did not always impact local communities, and in a number of cases it could be quite the opposite. The Roman world came here, but mostly only in politic. The local inhabitants probably learnt to call and to consider themselves Romans, but they did not adopt the Roman language or Roman civilisation. Alberto Vàrvaro noted that Latin onomastics acted as a camouflage for the Greek community and actual domination of Latin should be sought only in the villages, as it was where the new settlers bought or were granted land [46]. However, Giacomo Manganaro was of a different opinion and believed that it was the rural population that still spoke Greek [47]. Kalle Korhonen tried to explain the differences by pointing out that Latin might have dominated in towns situated along the western and northern coasts, especially in public epigraphy, whereas in the east, the Greek language still prevailed [48]. In order to decide such discrepancies, archaeological sources also need to be consulted. For instance, in
Religious landscape of the region was equally complicated. We can also notice a mixture of Greek and Roman elements as well as reminiscence of Sicel, Sicani, Punic, and Elymian religions, and the influence of Hellenistic heritage upon the Roman religion. The mutual permeation of religions started after Rome absorbed southern Italy with its Greek towns, but as a result of which the conquering of Sicily intensified. Since the Hellenistic period, due to a close relationship with the Ptolemies, also Egyptian inspirations started to appear. Roman set of beliefs prevailed but it was based upon local Greek traditions. Since the 3rd century AD, and even more intensively since the 4th century AD, local religions were adopting elements of Judaism, which was introduced into the island by numerous incoming Jewish communities from the East [50, 51, 52, 53]. Since the 4th century AD, Christianity developed quickly, represented by both the Latin and the Byzantine churches [32]. Christianity permeated the eastern coast of Sicily along with new landowners [54, 55]. It has generally been accepted that already in the first half of the 5th century AD, the previously dominant sets of beliefs were displaced by Christianity. It seems, however, that the new faith was not adopted all that fast, as Pope Gregory alarmed that heresy and traditional beliefs were still present on the island [32, 56].
Greek towns, already possessing stable municipal infrastructure many centuries before the Romans came to Sicily, left little room for outlandish innovations. In this case, Roman factor occurred within the existing urban structures, usually through foundations by Roman officials residing on the island. Such situation caused much difficulty in introducing Roman architectural elements. An
It should be very strongly emphasised that Eastern Greek influences affected Roman culture. The Romans valued Greek culture much higher than most local cultures they conquered [13, 59]. By gradually conquering first
During the 5th century AD, Sicily found itself again to be strongly influenced by the Eastern, particularly Byzantine, culture and power. This period marked a significant shift in the political and cultural landscape of the island. The Eastern influence on Sicily can be attributed to the expansion of the Byzantine Empire, which sought to establish its dominance over the Mediterranean region. Sicily, with its strategic location in the heart of the Mediterranean, became a crucial territory for Byzantine control and influence. Under Byzantine rule, Sicily experienced a series of transformations. This brought the changes in land ownership and taxation, and also had a profound impact on the island’s culture, art, and architecture. Byzantine artistic styles and techniques permeated Sicilian art, particularly in the creation of mosaics, frescoes, and religious iconography. Byzantine architectural elements, such as the use of domes and intricate decorative motifs, can be seen in the architectural constructions [32, 56, 64]. The Eastern influence on Sicily in this period also extended to trade and commerce. The island became an important hub for maritime trade routes connecting the Eastern Mediterranean with Western Europe. This facilitated the exchange of goods, ideas, and cultural practices between different regions, further enriching Sicily’s cultural landscape [12, 32, 56, 64].
4. Conclusions
Sicily, due to its geographical location and role as a link between naval passageways leading from the east westward and from the south northward, was simultaneously a final destination for transported goods and an intermediary station on long-range trade routes. The eastern Sicilian ports in Syracuse or Catania were important stops for ships sailing from the East, Asia Minor, islands on the Aegean Sea, and the Peloponnese to the west, through the Strait of Messina, to Sicily but also to the ports in Latium, in Sardinia, or in Corsica [65]. With such proximity to naval lanes, Sicily had access to all products (pottery, olive lamps, glass, etc.) circulating in the Mediterranean Sea, which were first available at cities with ports, and then were redistributed inland to places like
Thanks to archaeological research and excavations carried out between 2011 and 2020 in this ancient town, the presence of Eastern Mediterranean influences has been unequivocally confirmed. The location of
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