Palike ( grc, Παλική; it, Palikè) was an ancient city on
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
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, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
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, demographi ...
. Its archeological site is located in Rocchicella on a
spur
A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...
of
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
in the valley of the Margi river. It lies at a distance of two kilometers to the west of the ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' of
Palagonia
Palagonia ( Sicilian: ''Palagunìa'', Latin: ''Palica'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania. Palagonia borders the ...
, but is part of the ''comune'' of
Mineo, both in the
province of Catania
The Province of Catania ( it, Provincia di Catania; scn, Pruvincia di Catania) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1, ...
. The Sicilian Region has recently acquired the area and opened it to the public. An exhibition was created to show the materials found there during excavations.
History
There are no certain origins to this ancient town.
Diodorus Siculus writes that it was founded in 453 BCE by the native Sikel leader
Ducetius
Ducetius ( grc, Δουκέτιος) (died 440 BCE) was a Hellenized leader of the Sicels and founder of a united Sicilian state and numerous cities.LiviusDucetius of Sicily Retrieved on 25 April 2006. It is thought he may have been born around ...
. It was named after the sanctuary of the
Palici
The Palici ( Ancient Greek: , romanized: ), or Palaci, were a pair of indigenous Sicilian chthonic deities in Roman mythology, and to a lesser extent in Greek mythology. They are mentioned in Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' V, 406, and in Virgil's ''Aen ...
nearby.
The city was surrounded by strong walls and grew rapidly because of the fertility of its soil. However, it was soon destroyed and the site remained uninhabited at the time Diodorus wrote the ''
Bibliotheca historica'',
which he finished in approximately 60 BCE.
Palike's destruction most likely happened in 440 BCE, when the city of Trinakie was destroyed by
Syracuse according to Diodorus Siculus. Ducetius had died of an illness earlier in the same year.
Peter Green and several other historians argue that Trinakie was most likely the same city as Palike. The table of contents of the ''Bibliotheca historica'' refers to the Syracusan campaign as being conducted "against the
Picenians", which makes no sense. If the spelling of the Ancient Greek text is slightly altered, this would read "against the men of Palici". Trinakie is an ancient indigenous name for Sicily, which would have been a suitable name for the nationalistic ambitions of the
Sicels. The city might have been renamed to Trinakie or it could have been the name of its
acropolis.
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Official websiteInformation about the site given by the Region of Sicily
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160305200923/http://siciliafotografica.it/gallery/main.php?g2_itemid=13760 Photos of the site
{{Archaeological sites in Sicily
Ancient Sicily
Archaeological sites in Sicily
Former populated places in Italy