Abacaenum ( grc, Ἀβάκαινον; ) was an ancient city of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, situated about 6.5 km from the north coast, between Tyndaris (modern Tindari) and Mylae (modern Milazzo), and 13 km from the former city. Remains of the city have been excavated from 2005.

History

Abacaenum was a city of the

Siculi The Sicels (; la, Siculi; grc, Σικελοί ''Sikeloi'') were an Italic tribe who inhabited eastern Sicily during the Iron Age. Their neighbours to the west were the Sicani. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, b ...

and does not appear to have ever been a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

colony, though it was influenced by Greek art and civilisation. Its territory originally included that of Tyndaris, which was separated from it by the elder Dionysius when he founded that city in 395 BC. Dionysius defeated the Carthaginian general Mago in the

battle of Abacaenum The Battle of Abacaenum took place between the Carthaginian forces under Mago and the Greek army under Dionysius in 393 BC near the Sicilian town on Abacaenum in north-eastern Sicily. Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse, had been expanding his influen ...

in 393 BC. From the way in which it is mentioned in the wars of Dionysius,

Agathocles Agathocles ( Greek: ) is a Greek name, the most famous of which is Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from , ''agathos'', i.e. "good" and , ''kleos'', i.e. "glory". Other personalities named Agathocles: *Agathocles ...

, and

Hieron Hiero or hieron (; grc, ἱερόν, "holy place") is a holy shrine, temple, or temple precinct in ancient Greece. Hiero may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Hieron, Caria, an Ancient city and former bishopric in Asia Minor, now ...

, it is clear that it was a place of power and importance: but for a period from the time of Hieron it disappears from history, and no mention is found of it in the Verrine orations of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

. Its name is, however, found in

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

, so that it appears to have still continued to exist in his day. Its decline was probably owing to the increasing prosperity of the neighbouring city of Tyndaris. Abacaenum was allied with

Agathocles of Syracuse Agathocles ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθοκλῆς, ''Agathoklḗs''; 361–289 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse (317–289 BC) and self-styled king of Sicily (304–289 BC). Biography Agathocles was born at Thermae Himeraeae (modern na ...

. There can be little doubt that the ruins visible in the time of Tommaso Fazello, at the foot of the hill on which the modern town of Tripi is situated, were those of Abacaenum. He speaks of fragments of masonry, prostrate columns, and the vestiges of walls, indicating the site of a large city, but which had been destroyed to its foundations. Tommaso Fazello, ''de Rebus Siculis'' ix. 7; Cluverius ''Sicil. Ant.'' p. 386.

Coinage

Abacaenum is famous for its mint and its silver and copper coins that bear the classic symbols of sows, boars and acorns found in museums around the world. The acorns evidently refer to the great forests of oak which still cover the neighbouring mountains and give pasture to large herds of swine.

References

* Archaeological sites in Sicily Ancient cities in Sicily Former populated places in Italy {{AncientRome-stub