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43-463: Many of the city's ancient monuments have been excavated and are visible today. Motya has become known for the marble statue of the Motya Charioteer , found in 1979 and on display at the local Giuseppe Whitaker museum. The Carthaginian settlement was written in their abjad as HMṬWʾ ( Punic : 𐤄𐤌𐤈𐤅𐤀 ) or MṬWʾ ( Punic : 𐤌𐤈𐤅𐤀 , possibly Motye ). The name seems to derive from

86-701: A Carthaginian colony, but this may not be strictly correct. As the Greek colonies in Sicily increased in numbers and importance, the Carthaginians gradually abandoned their settlements in the east and concentrated themselves in the three principal colonies of Soluntum , Panormus (modern Palermo ), and Motya. Motya became one of the chief Carthaginian strongholds, as well as one of their most important commercial cities in Sicily due to its proximity to Carthage and its opportune situation for communication with North Africa , as well as

129-449: A date around this time. Moreover, the facial features are similar to those of the figures in the pedimental sculpture of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia , which dates to the 460s BC. The subject of the statue is heavily disputed. It clearly belongs within the Greek sculptural tradition, but Motya was a Punic settlement. Which of these two factors should be given preeminence in interpreting

172-470: A metal fitting at the centre of the belt, perhaps a clasp. The figure's musculature, genitals, and posterior are clearly visible; the sculptor managed to create the illusion that they are seen through the sheer fabric of the chiton. Bulging veins are depicted on the upper arms in a rudimentary manner. The figure's face is impassive, with puffy eyelids and almond-shaped eyes. The hair is depicted as three rows of circles, commonly known as "snail curls." Above them,

215-485: A panelled carpet with a complex geometric border and with the panels containing depictions of hunting wild animals (a lion attacking a bull, a bird of prey, a deer). Its format dates it from similar ones in mainland Greece and its colonies to the 3rd century BC. The peristyle has residential rooms around it. On the lower level in the southwestern part of the house are 6 service rooms with three large pithoi (food storage vessels). The 399 BC Battle of Motya , part of

258-486: A rare example of a victor of a chariot race who must have been very wealthy in order to commission such a work. It was found built into Phoenician fortifications which were quickly erected before Dionysios I of Syracuse invaded and sacked Motya in 397 BC. Its superb quality implies that it was made by a leading Greek artist in the period following their defeat of the Persians, but its style is unlike any other of this period. It

301-502: A request from the city of Segesta . In the Battle of Selinus he successfully took the Greek city of Selinus and then Himera . In the process of this conquest he was said to have killed some 3,000 prisoners of war, reportedly as revenge for the defeat his grandfather suffered in the Battle of Himera 70 years before. In 406 BC Hannibal Mago died in a plague that broke out during the siege of Agrigento . This Sicily -related article

344-530: A small channel opened in the Kothon wall towards the sea. In the later Roman period (2nd to 4th c. AD) it was used for fish farming and the production of salt. The city walls originally enclosed the entire island and are best preserved along the east coast. In 1874 the area of the North Gate was discovered where a large sculpture ornamented the double-arch passage. The city walls were revealed further by G. Whitaker at

387-482: A type of cemetery for the cremated remains of children, possibly (but not entirely proven) as sacrifice to Tanit or Baʿal Hammon is exposed. Many of the ancient residences are open to the public. The foundation of the settlement dates from around 800 BC, about a century after the foundation of Carthage in Tunisia. Like Carthage, it was originally a Phoenician colony, who were fond of choosing similar sites, and probably

430-480: Is Mozzia . The island first received the name San Pantaleo in the 11th century from Basilian monks . Between the promontory of Lilybaeum (Capo Boéo) and that of Aegithallus (San Teodoro), the coast forms a deep bight, in front of which lies a long group of low rocky islets, called the Stagnone . Within these, and considerably nearer to the mainland, lies Motya island formerly called San Pantaleo, on which lie

473-418: Is an artificial lake on an otherwise very dry island that had long puzzled archaeologists since the first excavations by Joseph Whitaker in 1906/07. The lake was fed by the only fresh water spring on the island and enclosed with a rectangular, 52.5 m × 35.7 m (172 ft 3 in × 117 ft 2 in), perimeter wall of carved limestone blocks with a drain towards the sea. The basin, which

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516-462: Is believed it must have been looted from a Greek city conquered by Carthage in 409-405 BC. Recent archaeology carrìed out by La Sapienza Universìty in the area of the "Kothon" found the earlìest occupation of the Phoenician settlement dating from the second quarter of the 8th century BC. It started at the anchorage identified on the southern shore of the island, and grew around the nearby springs, where

559-569: Is commonly believed to have been destroyed by the Ancient Greeks." Discovered items include cooking pans, Phoenician-style vases, altars, and looms. During the Middle Ages , Basilian monks settled on the island and renamed it San Pantaleo, and in 1888 it was rediscovered by Joseph Whitaker . The Motya Charioteer sculpture found in 1979 is on display at the Giuseppe Whitaker museum. It is

602-499: The Battle of Himera in 480 BC, and is depicted as a priest in Greek literary sources. Scholars such as R. R. R. Smith , who emphasise the Greek artistic context, interpret the sculpture as a depiction of a charioteer celebrating a victory in one of the Panhellenic Games . On this interpretation, the chiton and belt are the chiton poderos or xystis , the traditional costume worn by charioteers – to be compared with that worn by

645-672: The Charioteer of Delphi . One objection to this interpretation is the starkly different postures of the Motya Charioteer and the Charioteer of Delphi. However, Smith argues that this difference reflects the divergent status of the two charioteers. Usually, the owners of chariots entered in the Panhellenic Games did not drive their own chariots, instead employing professional drivers. Sculptural groups commemorating victories commonly depicted

688-484: The Phoenician triliteral root MṬR , which would give it the meaning of "a wool-spinning center". Motya is the latinization of the island's Greek name, variously written Motýa ( Μοτύα ) or Motýē ( Μοτύη ). The Greeks claimed the place was named for a woman named Motya whom they connected with the myths around Hercules . The town's Italian name appears as both Mozia and Mothia ; its Sicilian name

731-524: The Syracusan exile, who had established himself on its ruins, laid waste the territories of Motya and Panormus. During the second expedition of the Carthaginians under Hamilcar (407 BC), these two harbours became the permanent stations of the Carthaginian fleet. In common with the other Phoenician settlements in Sicily, it passed under the government or dependency of Carthage , since Diodorus calls it

774-493: The North African coast, despite their ancient common ancestry. This led to Carthage defeating and demolishing Motya in the mid-sixth century BC. Motya recovered and the population quickly rebuilt the city on a monumental scale and, after two centuries without them, built the first defensive walls, some of the earliest in the central Mediterranean. Motya is first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus , and Thucydides notes it among

817-549: The West Gate and the excavation of the western fortress. Since 2015 archaeology was resumed on the walls between the East Tower and the North Gate. The 4 phases are: This house is built on two levels against the city walls on the seashore, suggesting the walls were no longer in use and in ruins. On the upper level is a courtyard with a peristyle paved with a pebble mosaic which is the only example of its type in Sicily. It resembles

860-508: The beginnìng of the last century. Their systematic exploration started in the 1960s by the Brltish Expeditlon who focused on the North and South Gates. From 1974 to 1992 La Sapienza University of Rome carried out yearly campaigns on walls, especially along the eastern and northern shores. Four major constructlonal phases were identified. They resumed excavation in 2002 with the identification of

903-523: The charioteer, but presented him in an impassive guise and focused attention on a figure of the victorious owner. Some chariots, however, were driven by their owners; examples include Herodotus of Thebes and Thrasybulus of Acragas. In that case, the victorious owner and the charioteer would be one and the same. Smith proposes that the Motya sculpture depicts an owner-charioteer of this type, arguing that "the swaggering whole embodied agonistic arete as conceived in

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946-541: The chief colonies of the Phoenicians in Sicily at the time of the Athenian expedition in 415 BC. A few years later (409 BC) when the Carthaginian army under general Hannibal Mago landed at the promontory of Lilybaeum , he laid up his fleet for security in the gulf around Motya, while he advanced with his land forces along the coast to attack Selinus . After the fall of the latter city, we are told that Hermocrates ,

989-470: The city with the Greek legend "ΜΟΤΥΑΙΟΝ". They are, however, of great rarity and imitated those of the neighbouring city of Segesta . Archaeology has shown (e.g. the House of the mosaics) that it continued to be inhabited, including by wealthy Greeks. In 2006 archaeological digs uncovered a house built against the town's walls, the finds from which have shown that the town had a "thriving population long after it

1032-467: The earliest sacred area was erected (Temple C5). This area initiated rapid growth of the town and houses spread over the acropolis (which had already hosted a huge prehìstoric village). Three main centres soon became established: At Ieast two thirds of the ìsland were still left free for agriculture. A cothon , as it usually spelled in English, is a typical feature of Phoenician ports. The cothon at Motya

1075-588: The early fifth century BC." Scholars who favour this latter interpretation have tended to explain the charioteer's presence in the Punic settlement of Motya by regarding it as war booty seized from one of the Sicilian Greek centres destroyed in the Carthaginian invasion of Sicily in 410–404 BC. R. R. R. Smith argues that this explanation may not be necessary, given the large Greek population resident in Motya as well as

1118-432: The familiarity of the Punic inhabitants of Motya with Greek culture. The Motya Charioteer was discovered in 1979 in the northeast sector of the island of Motya, while archeologists were excavating an open area between an ancient potters ' workshop and a sanctuary . The area was filled with rubble and dirt that may have once formed barricades erected during Dionysius I of Syracuse 's siege of Motya in 397 BC. The statue

1161-546: The formidable catapult made its appearance for the first time) were brought up to the walls, the Motyans continued a desperate resistance and after the walls and towers were breached by the overwhelming forces of the enemy, they still defended from street to street and from house to house. Their struggle only increased the hatred of the Sicilian Greeks for the Carthaginians and when the troops of Dionysius were victorious, they put

1204-410: The head is a featureless dome. There are small holes around the bottom of the dome, which were probably for pins to secure a metal skull cap or helmet. When the sculpture was toppled in antiquity, both arms were snapped off and lost, as were the legs below the shins. The face is also heavily damaged and the head was snapped off at the neck, but it has been reattached by archaeologists. The charioteer

1247-575: The houses were lofty and of solid construction, with narrow streets ( στενωποί ) between them, which facilitated the desperate defence of the inhabitants. Much of the walls, with those of two gateways, can be seen whose circuit is about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi). The island of Motya is owned and operated by the Whitaker Foundation (Palermo), known for Marsala wines . The museum has artifacts that display Egyptian , Corinthian , Attic , Roman , Punic and Hellenic influences. The Tophet ,

1290-486: The island of San Pantaleo off the coast of Sicily . It is owned by, and on view in, the Museo Giuseppe Whitaker (inv. no. 4310) on the same island. The marble statue depicts a young male figure in a swinging contraposto pose, with his right foot forward, his left hand resting on his hip, and his right arm raised. He wears a very long chiton , with a broad flat belt over his chest. Two holes once accommodated

1333-584: The largest known sacred pool in the ancient Mediterranean world and the area all around the Kothon, the Temenos or temple area, was also sacred and was enclosed by a semicircular wall which has been exposed. Next to the Kothon are three temples, the Temple of Baal, the Temple of Astarte and the "sanctuary of the Holy Waters". The temples of Baʿal and Astarte date to the first Phoenician settlement 800–750 BC. At this time,

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1376-414: The natural strength of its position. The important status of Motya led Dionysius I of Syracuse in 398 BC to invade Carthaginian territory in Sicily. The Motyans, supported by Carthage, made preparations for vigorous resistance and, by cutting off the causeway which linked them to the mainland, compelled Dionysius to repair it or build a new causeway. When the military engines of Dionysius (among which

1419-421: The nearby sanctuary and was knocked down during the Syracusan siege. Hannibal Mago Hannibal Mago ( Punic : 𐤇‬𐤍𐤁‬𐤏‬𐤋‬ , ḤNBʿL ) was a grandson of Hamilcar Mago . He predates the more famous Carthaginian general Hannibal by about 200 years. He was shofet (judge) of Carthage in 410 BC and in 409 BC commanded a Carthaginian army sent to Sicily in response to

1462-421: The remains of the ancient city. The island is nearly 850 m (2,790 ft) long and 750 m (2,460 ft) wide, and about 1 km (0.62 mi) (six stadia ) from the mainland of Sicily. It was joined to the mainland in ancient times by a causeway , over which chariots with large wheels could reach the town. The confined space on which the city was built agrees with the description of Diodorus that

1505-429: The site of the later Kothon was a natural spring-fed pool with a block-lined side. The Kothon was rebuilt as a monumental pool with the rest of the city between 550-520 BC after the destruction of the city by the Carthaginians. The Kothon had a platform in the centre as a base for a statue of the Phoenician god Baʿal. Only after the destruction of the city in 397/6 BC was a section of the nearby city wall dismantled and

1548-425: The statue is an open question. Scholars who foreground the Punic context of the sculpture have seen it as depicting a Punic priest. In this interpretation, the belt around the figure's chest is compared to a piece of priestly regalia seen in depictions of priests in Punic art. Some go further and see the sculpture specifically as a depiction of Hamilcar I of Carthage , who led the invasion of Sicily that culminated in

1591-487: The war of Syracuse 's tyrant Dionysios I against Carthage is a major event in the 1965 historical novel The Arrows of Hercules by L. Sprague de Camp . Motya Charioteer The Motya (or Mozia ) Charioteer is a marble statue dating from the ancient Greek Classical Period . It was found in October 1979 in the ancient city of Motya ( Italian : Mozia ), originally a Phoenician settlement which occupied

1634-443: The whole population, men, women, and children, to the sword. Dionysus garrisoned it under an officer named Biton, while his brother Leptines of Syracuse made it the base of his fleet. But the next spring (396 BC) Himilcon , the Carthaginian general, having landed at Panormus with a large force, recovered possession of Motya with comparatively little difficulty. Motya was not destined to recover its former importance for Himilcon

1677-507: Was found in a stratigraphic layer associated with the destruction of Motya in 397 BC, which provides a terminus ante quem . Several stylistic features make clear that it dates from the 470s BC and is an early example of Classical sculpture . This early date is suggested by the depiction of the hair with rows of snail curls, which is typical of Archaic Greek sculpture , as well as the bulging veins. Such veins were first depicted in sculpture by Pythagoras of Rhegium ca. 480-470 BC, suggesting

1720-414: Was found lying on its back with its head detached and resting in place, suggesting that the weight of the soil that had buried the statue was responsible for its decapitation. The arms, metal accessories, and base of the statue were not found at the site and remain missing; therefore, it is likely that the statue was not found in its original context. It is possible that the statue was originally displayed in

1763-449: Was originally merely a commercial station or emporium, but gradually rose to be a flourishing and important town. The Phoenicians transformed the inhospitable island into one of the most affluent cities of its time, naturally defended by the lagoon . By 650 BC the settlement had grown into a busy port-city with maritime trade extending to the central and western Mediterranean. This prosperity caused rivalry with powerful Carthage nearby on

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1806-399: Was slightly bigger than an Olympic-sized swimming pool, was carved into the rock with a maximum depth of 2.5 metres (8 ft). Although thought at one time to be a harbour, in ancient times sea level was about 1 metre (3 ft) lower than today (which is also shown by the depth the causeway to the island) and entry of large ships into the basin would have been impossible. Instead it is

1849-448: Was struck with the superior advantages of the promontory of Lilybaeum and founded a new city there to which he transferred the few remaining inhabitants of Motya. From this period Motya disappears from documented history. Although we have no account of Motya having received any Greek population or having fallen into the hands of the Greeks before its conquest by Dionysius, there exist coins of

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