Akragantina hiera. Riflessioni a margine”, in “Ktiseis: Intrecci culturali tra Gela, Agrigento, Creta e Rodi

The aim of this paper is to discuss current opinions about ancestral cults and ethnicity, and to consider some aspects concerning the Archaic sanctuaries of Akragas. While the efforts of distinguishing Cretan or Rhodian cults and heritage as separate entities (referred to different groups/periods within the city) are to be dismissed, several traits of Acragantine sacra maintain indeed a link to the Rhodio-Cretan cultural heritage of the first settlers. However, the traditional cults – and other traits of different origin – were always reshaped and adapted to the new context. The sanctuaries were carefully located and distributed in the urban and peri-urban territory, responding to the religious ideas (among which, the ideas concerning natural elements and “chthonian” forces) and the ritual exigencies of the city, with a remarkable increase in monumentality from late 6th-early 5th century BC.