We had been warned by the guide book that Agrigento was a large site and involved a lot of walking but Selinunte, ancient Selinus, is much larger. A fifteen minute walk took us to the site and we were greeted at the entrance by a fleet of electric golf buggies with detachable trailers. You could pay to be taken on a tour and then left to explore the far reaches of the site but we wanted to walk. The temples close to the entrance are the most impressive part of the site with Temple E having the most extant remains. It is common practice to identify temples by a letter if the dedication is unknown. That said, Temple E is thought to have been dedicated to Hera (Aphrodite) and is very impressive, measuring 70m by 25m with many of the columns and parts of the cella still in place. Temple F was however our favourite. A complete mess of columns and masonry, it must look much as it did directly after the earthquake that destroyed it long after the city had been abandoned. This is Sicily's second biggest temple, only beaten by the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Akragas (Agrigento) and this is how that temple would have looked like before it was used as a quarry. It was fascinating climbing over the remains with massive columns, Doric capitals, architrave and huge stone blocks. The columns separated into their constituent parts looking like a backbone and giving a whole new view on the problem of slipped discs!
We then took a long walk to the Agora (ancient market place) where there were signs of recent excavations. Only a fraction of the site has been excavated and the work will continue for many generations but everywhere that we walked there was a huge amount of ancient pottery scattered on the ground. We continued walking to the extreme western end of the site, across a small stream to Malophoros and a sacred area devoted to Zeus Meilichios. There was a fascinating collection of small temples and altars and we ate our lunch in one of the temples, not seeing another soul for nearly an hour. The walk from the eastern temples provided excellent views of flora and fauna – we saw an eagle, kestrels and other birds of prey, a flock of goldfinches, dragonflies, butterflies, a weird-looking giant grasshopper and lizards galore. I even managed to pick some blackberries but the flavour was not as good as those at home. Down by the river a multitude of SBBs (Small Brown Birds) flitted in and out of the tall reeds and bamboo.
We walked back to the Acropolis overlooking the sea and close to the ancient harbour (now buried). This was the high-status part of the city with more temples, posh houses and shop-lined streets. It was here that we met an American who complained that there weren't enough extant ruins and “did we know of any more?”. I thought of suggesting that she could re-erect some but decided against it.
Jane got the prize for spotting the first snake of the trip – a medium-sized (any size is too big for Jane) black number that was sunning itself on a fallen column. It was as scared as Jane so it took off quickly, as did Jane. There were wonderful views east and west from the Acropolis and it was easy to see why the site had been chosen. Not only is the land fertile but there are also natural deposits of salt and sulphur, both much sought after in ancient times.
We left the site and walked down to the sea and the town of Marinella di Selinute, sitting and enjoying the view of the harbour. On the way back, the campsite owner stopped and offered us a lift but we were now in walking mode and politely declined.
Photos: Selinus – Temple F's giant columns; Slipped discs in Temple F; Can anyone identify this bug?; The campsite accepted all types of campervan.
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