Segesta

About this place

Segesta was one of the major cities of the Elymians, one of the three indigenous peoples of Sicily. The other major cities of the Elymians were Eryx and Entella. Segesta is located in the northwestern part of Sicily in Italy, near the modern commune of Calatafimi-Segesta in the province of Trapani. The hellenization of Segesta happened very early and had a profound effect on its people. The sixth century geographer Stephanus of Byzantium writes that the city also was called Akeste, named after a certain Akestes. Researchers state that the form Ἀκέστη is an otherwise unattested analogical form to the Latin Acesta. Read the surviving remains as parts of a larger setting rather than isolated objects. Their positions, scale and materials can help you picture the activities that once took place here and distinguish ancient fabric from later reconstruction.