Myths and legends: The bull of Phalaris

In the Sicilian province of Agrigento you can visit a place of breathtaking beauty and full of history: the Valley of the Temples, the ancient city. Let’s have a look! Agrigento (Akragas in Greek) was a prosperous city during the Greek domination of Sicily. In the Valley there are a lot of temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History deeply interrelates with myths and legends which are a valuable part of Greek culture. In the Valley there is a building known as the Oratory of Phalaris (1st century BC). It is a Hellenistic in antis temple (it means that it has a portic prolonged at the end of the side-walls in two columns) and in its front there were four Ionic columns, under a Doric trabeation (the architectural horizontal element). So, different styles coexist. Today just the cella remains (the sanctuary, usually in the centre of the building).

The name of the temple recalls a myth. Phalaris was the cruel tyrant of Akragas in the 6th century BC, sadly famous also for his hollowed bronze bull used to torture his enemies, built by Perillo. Phalaris closed people inside the bull and then lighted a fire under it, roasting them. The victims’ screams seemed the roars of a real bull. According to a terrible version of the myth, Phalaris himself was victim of his creation.

Bibliographical reference

Di Giovanni, G., 1998, Agrigento: The head of the Valley and the City of Temples, Edizioni Di Giovanni, Agrigento

Touring Club Italiano, 1997, Guida d’Italia: Siracusa e Agrigento, Touring Editore s.r.l., Milano

Zingarelli, N., 2008, Lo Zingarelli 2008. Vocabolario della Lingua Italiana, Zanichelli, Bologna

Electronic reference

https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/agrigento_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/ [Last accessed 15/04/2021]

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/831 [Last accessed 15/04/2021]

https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/anta1/ [Last accessed 16/04/2021]