In 480 BC Theron, tyrant of Agrigento, moved against Himera in order to achieve his dream of an outlet on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
However, the city, located near present-day Termini Imerese, was also coveted by the Carthaginians, with whom Theron fought. The Greeks of Sicily had a crushing victory in the battle and many prisoners who, during their escape, had taken refuge in the territory of Agrigento, were captured and enslaved: the great availability of manpower provided by them allowed for the beginning of the monumentalisation of Agrigento, the ruins of which can still be admired.
