History of Gela

The area of Gela coincided with some much more ancient settlements dating back to prehistoric times and more specifically to the Copper Age (between III and II millennium BC). In the classical times, and after a few years after its foundation, the city gained control of much of west-central Sicily and founded many colonies, including Agrigento. The period of the tyrants of Gela, from Cleandro (died in 498 BC) had a great personality as Hippocrates (460-370 BC). The apogee of the Greek city, however, dates back to the period between the sixth and fifth centuries BC, when it had over 100,000 inhabitants, and commercial relations with all major Mediterranean stores, attracting writers and philosophers in a city of great prestige, as Aeschylus .

After the destruction of Carthage 434 BC, the city was rebuilt by Timoleon (411-335 BC). In Roman times, the fertile plains around the city was mainly used for growing wheat, so that Gela became the "granary of Rome." In medieval times Frederick II of Swabia (1194-1250) founded on the site of Gela a new walled city, providing it with a castle and a port in order to better control costs and leverage the vast southern plains for agriculture. Because of its economic and military importance, Gela was affirmed by the sovereign as a  State-city, directly dependent on the Crown, classifying as the second biggest city after the Sicilian capital Palermo, and recording a thriving economy, especially in agriculture, maritime and crafts (ceramics).

Today  Gela is one of the most important cities in Sicily for the number of residents and urban dimensions.

Etymology

We observe at the outset that the discussion about the origins of Gela includes the analysis of  a large number of very complex  interpretations. For simplicity, we start with the fact  that Gela  was mentioned by Thucydides (460-295 BC), who wrote that it was founded by some colonists from Rhodes, and that it owes its name to the river that runs near ( the river Gelas, " apò tou  Ghela Potamou ") [" Gela derives its name from the river "]. From these statements of Thucydides started the discussions of scholars from the seventeenth century. The “status quaestionis"  was explined by Bruce Karl Baswell, who, starting from the translation of the passage of Thucydides, and founding  upon studies of the Byzantine philologist John Tzetzes (1110-1180 approx.) , came to the conclusion generally accepted by contemporary critics: “[...] Fragment 63. Tucyd. 6.4.3: 'In the forty-fifth years after the settlement of Syracuse Gela was founded by Antiphemos from Rodi and Entimos from Crete who led out the colonists jointly. The city received its name from the River 'Gelas'. About the etymology, Tzetzes wrote: ' Epaphroditus (26-95 AD approx.), as you say, writes as follow: 'Gelas was named from the fact that it produces much hoar-frost. For hoar-frost has this name there (...) For this is called 'Gela' in the language of the Opici and Sicels (...) Thus Gela derives its name from a word (perhaeps 'gelu') meaning 'frost'” (See Bruce Karl Braswell, Margarethe Billerbecke, “The Grammarian Epaphroditus. Testimonia and Fragments”, Lang, Berna, 2008: 351-353 and footnote 2).

The history of the names of Gela, however, did not stop there. As you can see from the passage translated by Braswell and Billerbeck, according to tradition dating back to Thucydides, Gela was founded in 689-688 BC, on the advice of the oracle of Delphi, by colonists from Rhodes, led by Antiphemos, and by settlers from Crete , led by Entimos . These would have given the city the name "Lindioi”. Even about "Lindioi" born great discussions among scholars, especially to test whether, indeed, "Lindioi" corresponded to Gela or the city was located elsewhere. A convincing solution of the problem was given by Luigi Pareti, who writes: "[...] Without dwelling too much on issues about 'Lindioi', we make some considerations. From Thucydides VI, 4, 3, Herodotus VII, 56, and Stephen the Byzantine, the Greek term 'Lindos' seems to be referring to a place name. It may be doubtful whether this is the first name given by Greeks to the colony, then replaced with that of Gela, or if 'Lindioi' was reported only a portion of Gela, which is the oldest part of the walled, ie 'Acropolis. I think more likely the latter case [...]" (See Luigi Pareti, "Studi siciliani e italioti", Bibliobazaar, 2009:  213 note 2).

It’ s still checked that the old part of town was called "Lindioi", precisely because Antiphemos (who with Entimos  founded the city) was from “Lindos”, one of the richest city of Rhodes. Gela was therefore founded in 689-688 BC " […] by people from the city of Rhodes called  'Lindos', led by Antiphemos and by some Cretans led by Entimos. Thucydides preserves the memory of this first Greek  settlement, limited to a first fortified place  called 'Lindioi'. The Excavations of Professor Orsi, dating back to the early twentieth century, had been given to light some sanctuaries, like the one dedicated to Athena on the hill […] "(See C. De Seta, “Storia d'Italia, Annali. Insediamento e territorio”, Torino, Einaudi, 1935, Vol 8:  35).

About the fact that the name "Lindioi" practically coincided with the ancient fortified acropolis  agree the many contemporary studies conducted by various institutions,  such as the University of Naples (“Centro Studi per la Magna Grecia”, L'Arte Tipografica, 1970: 314), where it is said that it is now sure that there was a settlement on the acropolis of an early settler community of Rhodes, called 'Lindioi', as stated by Thucydides, and as is confirmed by the oldest pottery found during excavations; or the studies of the University of Catania (“Graduate School of Classical Archaeology, Greek settlements in Sicily”, published by the Institute of Archaeology, 1980, Vol. 17: 95), in which it is pointed out that the Greek colony of the seventh century BC was already firmly established on the hill of the acropolis of Gela and it was regarded as a sacred place with the cult of Athena, to which was accompanied, perhaps in the 'polis', the cult of Hera ".Finally, as noted by Andrea M. Bignasca, ("The Circular ‘Kernoi’ in the East and West”, Freiburg-Schweiz, 2000: 70 footnote 523),  in Gela was found a statue of  “Athena Lindia ", already venerated at the shrine of ‘Lindos’ in Rhodes.