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IMEREES THERMES (Ancient city) SICILY
The ancient settlement lies under the modern town, which is 39 km
E of Palermo on the N shore of Sicily. Few ancient monuments are known, either
because they were destroyed, like the forum, or because they lie under modern
structures.
The Carthaginians, together with some Libyan volunteers, founded the
city in 407 B.C., immediately after the destruction of Himera (Diod. 13.79.8).
The area had been inhabited since the earliest prehistory, as shown by the numerous
prehistoric caves which range from a rather early phase of the Paleolithic period
to the Bronze Age. The best known of these caves is the so-called Riparo del Castello.
The city was presumably founded here because of the hot springs, already
known in earlier times (Pind. Ol. 12). Its history is not easy to trace since
the city shifted frequently from Greek to Carthaginian domination. Agathokles
was born there ca. 361-360 B.C. and at that time the site was under Carthaginian
control. It was conquered by the Romans during the first Punic war in 252 B.C.,
and from that moment, to judge from its monuments, it must have prospered. It
became civitas decumana in 210 B.C. and colony at the time of Augustus. It had
its own mint, both before and after the Roman occupation, and issued silver and
bronze coinage.
We have information on, as well as actual remains of, many monuments
of the Roman period but none for earlier times. The rather large forum (130 x
18.4 m), near the present Duomo and Belvedere, consisted of an open square; remains
of columns and steps of exedrae have been found. In the Palmieri garden are remains
of a large building, perhaps the curia. Other ruins have been found in other parts
of the city, among which a mosaic floor depicting a fishing scene, probably dating
from the Antonine period. The most important monuments known at present are the
amphitheater and the aqueduct. The former is very poorly preserved, but since
it was studied during the 19th c. its main details are known. The amphitheater
(87 x 58 m) had two sections of seats each containing 14 rows of steps; it could
therefore accommodate ca. 4000 spectators. The arena was 51 by 27 m. Impressive
remains of the aqueduct, perhaps the largest in Sicily, lie outside the city,
partly along the road to Caccamo and partly near the Palermo-Catania highway.
These are two branches of a single aqueduct which brought water to Termini from
two different sources; the major spring is that of Brucato, ca. 8 km distant.
Worthy of note are a hexagonal tower which served as a castellum aquae, and a
few arches, some single and some in two superimposed rows, scattered through the
fields. The aqueduct, at least in its initial phase (it remained in use until
1860) dates from the end of the 2d or the beginning of the 1st c. B.C. This date
is suggested by an inscription once in evidence on the hexagonal tower but now
lost.
Most of the finds from the area, including the Fishing Scene mosaic,
various sculptures and numerous inscriptions, are in the Civic Museum of the city;
some items are in the National Museum of Palermo.
V. Tusa, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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