Sicily

Art and Invention Between Greece and Rome

Lyons Claire, Bennett Michael, Marconi Clemente

This is a richly illustrated volume that demonstrates Sicily's essential role in the development of the ancient Mediterranean world. Ancient Sicily, a prosperous island at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, occupied a pivotal place in the region. In the late 8th Century BC, emigres from the Greek mainland founded colonies along the shores of the region now known as Sicily. Over time, the area grew wealthy from its agricultural abundance, and colonial settlements emerged as formidable metropolises. "Sicily" is the only English-language book that focuses on the watershed period between 480 BC and the Roman conquest of Syracuse in 212 BC – a time of great social and political ferment. Essays investigate Sicily not simply as a destination for adventurers and settlers, but as a catalyst that shaped Greek culture at its peak and transmitted Hellenism to Rome. In the opulent courts of the Sicilian city-states, artists, poets, and scientist attained levels of ingenuity rivaling those of "old Greece". Innovation in architecture, engineering, philosophy and literature flourished in mixed cultural communities.

About the Author

Claire Lyons is acting senior curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Michael Bennett is the Cleveland Museum of Art's first curator of Greek & Roman Art.

Clemente Marconi is James R. McCredie Professor in the History of Greek Art and Archaeology at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts.

Reviews

"We know that Sicily was especially wealthy during the Classical and early Hellenistic periods, as demonstrated by literary references and by the extant art, but written sources are fragmentary. Perhaps for that reason, it is often overlooked in studies of Greek art and history... The various authors do an admirable job of bringing 'Sicily' to life and making their ideas available to the English-language reader" – Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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