city state · Italy

Selinous

628 BCE – 409 BCE (approx.) · capital Selinous

The westernmost Greek city in Sicily, famed for its great temples, which was destroyed by Carthage in 409 BCE.

Origins

Colonists from Megara Hyblaea, led by Pammilus, founded Selinous around 628 BCE on a coastal plateau between two rivers in south-western Sicily, according to Thucydides; some ancient sources give an earlier date. The name came from wild celery (selinon), which appears on its coins.

Rule and society

Selinous grew rich from its grain-growing lands and trade with Carthage and the Elymians, and it built more large temples than almost any other Greek city: on its acropolis and on the eastern hill stand the remains of at least eight, including the colossal Temple G, and their sculpted metopes are now in Palermo. It sided with Carthage in 480 BCE but later quarrelled over borders with Segesta, which called in Athens and Carthage.

Decline and legacy

In 409 BCE a Carthaginian army under Hannibal Mago stormed Selinous after nine days, killing thousands. The city revived under Carthaginian control, but in 250 BCE Carthage moved its inhabitants to Lilybaeum and abandoned it. Its archaeological park is one of the largest in Europe.

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Selinous. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/selinous
MLA
“Selinous.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/selinous. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Selinous.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/selinous.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Selinous’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/selinous (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻