Builder of the Cities. Dionysius and Sicels
Builder of the Cities. Dionysius and Sicels

Summary/Abstract: In 400 BC, Dionysius the Elder founded a city called Adranos, after an important Sicel sanctuary. This deed marked an important phase in relations between the indigenous people and the Greek population. It can be argued that the tyrant’s decision was dictated by practical reasons, yet his policy of subjecting a Sicel divinity under the Greek city-state structure resulted from previous Greek experiences and practices. On the other hand, after the era of Dionysius, the cult of Adranos not only did not disappear, but also gained a wider recognition and never lost political importance to the Greeks, who by the end of fourth century exerted significant influence over former Sicel lands. In the effect native people did not vanish from the island but were practically absorbed into the Greek world.

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