Drepana ( grc, Δρέπανα) was an Elymian,

Carthaginian The term Carthaginian ( la, Carthaginiensis ) usually refers to a citizen of Ancient Carthage. It can also refer to: * Carthaginian (ship), a three-masted schooner built in 1921 * Insurgent privateers; nineteenth-century South American privateers, ...

, and Roman port in

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

on the western coast of Sicily. It was the site of a crushing Roman defeat by the Carthaginians in 249BC. It eventually developed into the modern Italian city of Trapani.

Name

Drepana received its name from ''drépanon'' (), the Greek word for " sickle", because of the curving shape of its harbour. This was Latinized as Drepanum before being pluralized to its present form.

History

The town was founded by the Elymians to serve as the port of the nearby city of

Eryx Eryx is a French short-range portable semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) based wire-guided anti-tank missile (ATGM) manufactured by MBDA France and by MKEK under licence. The weapon can also be used against larger bunkers and smal ...

(present-day Erice), which overlooks it from Monte Erice. The city sits on a low-lying promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. The town, north of

Lilybaeum Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. The town is famous for the docking of Giuse ...

, had been fortified by the Carthaginians, who resettled part of the population to

. In 241, it was besieged by G. Lutatius Catulus. and later used as a naval base. The town features in the '' Aeneid'' as the site of the death and funeral games of

Anchises Anchises (; grc-gre, Ἀγχίσης, Ankhísēs) was a member of the royal family of Troy in Greek and Roman legend. He was said to have been the son of King Capys of Dardania and Themiste, daughter of Ilus, who was son of Tros. He is most fam ...

. Carthage seized control of the city in 260BC, subsequently making it an important naval base. The naval battle of Drepanum took place in 249BC and was a major victory for Carthage against the Roman Republic in the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

. After the Battle of the Aegates and Carthage's loss of the war, the town was ceded to Roman control in 241BC. It never achieved the status of a

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...

in Roman times.

References

Ancient cities in Sicily Trapani Elymians Archaeological sites in Sicily Phoenician colonies in Sicily {{AncientRome-stub

Name

History

See also

References