Omphace or Omphake () was an ancient Sicanian town in the Greek territory of

Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the regional autonomy, Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province o ...

, and is one of very few cities we know from literary sources to have been in this territory. Various scholars have identified modern

Butera Butera ( Sicilian: ''Vutera'') is an Italian town and commune in the province of Caltanissetta, in the southern part of the island of Sicily. It is bounded by the communes of Gela, Licata, Mazzarino, Ravanusa and Riesi. It is located from ...

as ancient Omphace. If it was indeed Butera, the site's location is a formidable one: located on a high mountain on the plain of Gela, ideal for the defense of the fertile plain. Other scholars have identified it as Monte Bubbonia. The name of the town presumably comes from the ancient Greek word "ómphax", which means "wild, bitter grape". There exists a story from the ancient geographer Pausanias in which Antiphemus from Gela colonized the city of Omphace and carried off a statue made by the mythological

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin language, Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. H ...

. In a story from the historian Philistus, the city was occupied by mercenaries from Syracuse, the former garrison of

, who after the fall of the Deinomenids retreated to Omphace to continue waging a campaign against Gela. Archaeologically, the city shows

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

influence from the 7th century BCE. There is some evidence that in the 4th century BCE the city benefited from the reconstruction program of Timoleon in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. There was a sanctuary there, and a cult for a deity called "Polystephanos Thea", which was likely a

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

of a character similar to the goddess

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

Notes

{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Sicily Cities and towns in Sicily Gela 7th-century BC establishments in Italy