Crimisus or Crinisus is an

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 ...

river name 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. ...

. The name was derived from Crinisus and it corresponds either to the modern Freddo or Caltabellota on northwest Sicily. It is formed by two rivers that meet at about from Castellammare del Golfo in the province of Trapani. The western river starts from ''Monte Busecchio'' near Calatafimi and the eastern river from the ''Gola di Sorice'' near

Alcamo Alcamo (; ) is the fourth-largest town and communes of Italy, commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometr ...

. The two rivers are also traditionally called the "hot river" (western) and the "cold river" (eastern) and in Italian language the Crinisus is called Fiume Freddo that means ''cold river''. The Battle of the Crimissus, fought at a crossing of this river, was an important turning point in the ancient world between

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

and the Greek City State of Syracuse in 339 BC.

References

Rivers of Italy Crinisus Rivers of the Province of Trapani {{Italy-river-stub