For the ancient Romans, the Lares were the protective gods of the family and household, privately venerated inside the domus together with the Penates, gods of the pantry, and Vesta, goddess of the hearth. According to a legend described by Ovid, the Lares were twins born to the nymph Lara, who wat...

In addition to sculptural finds of statues and bas-reliefs with delicate figures of leaves and bunches of grapes, substantial finds of fine tableware have been identified, including a group of no less than 519 examples of Italic terra sigillata pottery with its characteristic bright red colour that ...

The mosaics found in Agrigentum are clear evidence of the contamination between Italic tradition - characterised by black and white mosaics - and Alexandrian tradition, brought to Italy by artists from North Africa and instead characterised by polychrome tiles. Some refined examples are the Casa de...

Of Greek tradition, the ambitus were the water drainage channels between one house and another. In Agrigentum they also represented a separating element of the buildings, were functional for water regulation but also for the rationality of the orthogonal network of the Hippodamian Plan....

The Greek engravings found on the gymnasium seats are a fundamental key to understanding the atmosphere in Agrigentum where the Greek roots of the city in the Augustan age were still very present. The inscriptions confirm the presence of flamines in the city and the area’s use for sports: they ar...

The Panhellenic games were sporting events involving all the cities of ancient Greece. The most important ones were held in Olympia in honour of Zeus, but there were also the Pythian Games in Delphi, the Nemean Games in Nemea and the Isthmian Games in Corinth, all dedicated to different deities. ...

Through the words of Pindar, a lyrical poet of Theban origin (5th century BC), the deeds of the Akragantine athletes during some editions of the Panhellenic Games have been preserved. Two Olympic odes celebrated the victories of Theron, ancient tyrant of Agrigento, in the quadriga competitions in ...

In ancient Rome, the genius was a deity of domestic worship, private to families, related to the ability of male individuals to generate new life. The genius was usually also attributed with all the abilities judged superior to an individual’s normal abilities, such as intellect or creativity. ...

Unlike the Augustales, the flamines were priests assigned to a specific deity, from whom they took their name. Their task was to light and fan the flame on the altar during sacrificial rites; they could be picked out from the other citizens for the particular way they were dressed: they wore a pur...

The evolution of the figure of Asclepius, god of medicine, in Greek literature is very particular: Homer mentioned him in the 8th century BC for his widespread knowledge in the medical field, but he was still mortal; Pindar, three centuries later, called him the demigod son of Apollo and a mortal ...