This is a richly illustrated volume that demonstrates Sicily's essential role in the development of the ancient Mediterranean world. Ancient Sicily, a prosperous island at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, occupied a pivotal place in the region. In the late 8th Century B.C., emigres from the Greek mainland founded colonies along the shores of the region now known as Sicily. Over time, the area grew wealthy from its agricultural abundance, and colonial settlements emerged as formidable metropolises. Sicily is the only English-language book that focuses on the watershed period between 480 B.C. and the Roman conquest of Syracuse in 212 B.C. - a time of great social and political ferment. Essays investigate Sicily not simply as a destination for adventurers and settlers, but as a catalyst that shaped Greek culture at its peak and transmitted Hellenism to Rome. In the opulent courts of the Sicilian city-states, artists, poets, and scientist attained levels of ingenuity rivaling those of "old Greece." Innovation in architecture, engineering, philosophy and literature flourished in mixed cultural communities.