Place · island

Ortygia

Ortygia is a small island forming the historic centre of Syracuse in Sicily, joined to the mainland by bridges. Corinthian colonists settled it in 734 or 733 BCE, drawn by its two harbours and the freshwater spring of Arethusa. It held the city's acropolis and temples, including the Temple of Apollo and the temple of Athena now incorporated into Syracuse Cathedral.

Ortygia
Image: Agostino Artnoir Sella · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Syracuse

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ortygia. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ortygia
MLA
“Ortygia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ortygia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ortygia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ortygia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ortygia’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ortygia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻