Eryx (Sicily)

Eryx was an ancient Elymian city atop Mount Eryx (750m) in western Sicily, at the site of modern Erice. Its summit hosted the Temple of Venus Erycina, described by Polybius as "indisputably the first in wealth and general magnificence of all Sicilian holy places". Worship of Aphrodite/Astarte/Venus at the site dates to the 6th century BC under Elymian, Phoenician, and Carthaginian control. During the First Punic War, Eryx was among the last Carthaginian garrisons under Hamilcar Barca. After Roman conquest, the Romans built a Venus Erycina temple in Rome itself in 217 BC. Emperor Tiberius later restored the original Sicilian sanctuary at the request of Segesta's people.