In 409 BC Hannibal Mago arrived at Selinunte with 100,000 men and took it in nine days. He killed 16,000 people, enslaved 5,000, demolished the temples, and left. The city was never properly rebuilt. What remains is 270 hectares of Greek urban fabric — temples collapsed in place, city blocks at foundation level, the massive unfinished drums of Temple G lying where the stonecutters left them at Carthage's approach, each drum weighing over 100 tonnes. Temple E has been partly re-erected (38 standing columns) and gives the clearest picture of a complete Sicilian Doric temple available in Sicily. Entry €10; open daily 9am to sunset. Sicily guide →
Sicily → Plan my Sicily trip →Region: Sicily (province of Trapani, municipality of Castelvetrano) | Founded: 628 BC by Greek colonists from Megara Hyblaea | Destroyed: 409 BC (Carthage) | Site area: 270 hectares (largest Greek archaeological park in the world) | Entry: €10 | Hours: Daily 9am to sunset | Distance from Palermo: 115 km (90 min)
Selinunte was a Greek city on the southwestern coast of Sicily — founded in 628 BC by colonists from Megara Hyblaea (eastern Sicily), it grew to a population of perhaps 25,000–30,000 by the 5th century BC, with nine temples on two main hills, a fortified acropolis, a commercial harbour, and the political ambition that eventually destroyed it. In 409 BC, the Carthaginian general Hannibal Mago (grandfather of the more famous Hannibal) besieged Selinunte with an army of 100,000 men, took it in nine days, killed approximately 16,000 of its inhabitants, enslaved 5,000, and systematically demolished its temples. The city was repopulated briefly under Carthaginian control and then abandoned permanently after the First Punic War (264–241 BC).
The specific significance of Selinunte's destruction is the preservation it created. Because the city was abandoned rather than continuously inhabited and built over, the archaeological record is intact at ground level — the temples fell where they fell (several toppled by earthquakes subsequent to the Carthaginian destruction), the city blocks retain their foundations, the streets are readable, and the material culture is where the inhabitants left it in 409 BC. The park covers 270 hectares — the largest Greek archaeological park in the world by area.
The temples of Selinunte are identified by letters (Temple A, Temple B, through Temple O) because their dedications are not known from ancient sources — the inscriptions and literary references that would identify them were lost with the city. The nine temples span approximately 100 years of construction (550–450 BC) and show the evolution of Doric temple architecture from the heavy, squat forms of the archaic period to the more refined proportions of the classical.
Temple E (Eastern Hill, 5th century BC) is the most striking — it was partially re-erected in the 1950s–1960s using the original fallen blocks (anastylosis), and the resulting structure of 38 standing columns gives the clearest impression of what a complete Sicilian Greek temple looked like. The metopes from Temple E (now in the Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonio Salinas in Palermo) show mythological scenes of exceptional quality — Heracles and the Amazon, Actaeon, and others — among the finest examples of archaic Greek architectural sculpture in any museum.
Temple G (Eastern Hill) was one of the largest Greek temples ever constructed — if completed, it would have been among the five largest temples in the Greek world. It was never finished; the construction programme was interrupted by the Carthaginian attack. The massive columns, still prone exactly where they toppled in the earthquake, give a specific visual experience of scale that cannot be replicated: each drum section weighing 100+ tonnes, the total column height when standing would have been approximately 16 metres. Temple G lying in ruins is more impressive than many temples standing.
The Acropolis temples (Temple A, Temple C, Temple D, Temple O) stand on the original city's fortified hill, overlooking the sea. Temple C is the oldest on the site (mid-6th century BC); its position on the acropolis hill, with the Sicilian Channel visible on two sides, makes it the most atmospherically situated structure in the park.
West of the main acropolis, a separate sanctuary of the goddess Malophoros ("bearer of pomegranates" — a local Sicilian variant of Demeter or Hecate) predates the Greek foundation of 628 BC and continues into the Carthaginian period. This is one of the clearest examples in the western Mediterranean of a pre-Greek indigenous sacred site adopted and transformed by the Greek colonists. The sanctuary produced approximately 12,000 terracotta votive figurines during excavation — the quantity reflecting the scale of cult activity over several centuries. The sanctuary is accessible within the main park ticket.
By car from Palermo: 115 km, approximately 90 minutes via the A29 motorway to Castelvetrano, then the SS115. From Agrigento: 80 km, 75 minutes via SS115. From Trapani: 80 km, 75 minutes via SS115. No practical public transport to the site; a car is required. Entry: €10, open daily 9am to one hour before sunset. Time needed: 2.5–3 hours minimum for the Eastern Hill temples and the acropolis; allow 4 hours for a full visit including the Malophoros sanctuary and the Marinella di Selinunte beach (directly below the acropolis). Best time: Early morning (site opens at 9am, the light on the Eastern Hill temples at 9–10am is exceptional) or late afternoon (the acropolis at sunset, facing west over the sea toward Carthage). Combine with: Castelvetrano (the Museo Civico holds several Selinunte metopes), Cave di Cusa (the ancient quarry, 15 km north, where the unfinished drums for Temple G are still lying exactly as they were abandoned in 409 BC), Sciacca (35 km east). Sicily guide →
Selinunte is a Greek archaeological site on the southwestern coast of Sicily — the ruins of a Greek city founded in 628 BC, destroyed by Carthage in 409 BC, and never rebuilt. The site covers 270 hectares (the largest Greek archaeological park in the world by area) and contains nine temples, the city acropolis, residential blocks, and the Malophoros sanctuary. The most important temples are Temple E (partially re-erected) and the monumental unfinished Temple G. Entry €10; open daily 9am to sunset.
Selinunte was destroyed in 409 BC by a Carthaginian army of approximately 100,000 men under Hannibal Mago (grandson of the Hamilcar killed at the Battle of Himera in 480 BC, avenging that Carthaginian defeat). The campaign was motivated by Selinunte's alliance with Syracuse against Segesta, a Carthaginian-allied Sicilian city. The siege lasted nine days; approximately 16,000 inhabitants were killed, 5,000 enslaved, and the temples systematically demolished. The city was briefly repopulated under Carthaginian administration and permanently abandoned after the First Punic War (241 BC).
Selinunte is 115 kilometres from Palermo — approximately 90 minutes by car via the A29 motorway to Castelvetrano, then SS115 to the site. There is no practical public transport connection from Palermo; a car is required. From Agrigento: 80 km, 75 minutes via the SS115 coastal road. Selinunte is most conveniently combined with Agrigento's Valley of the Temples (80 km east), Sambuca di Sicilia (45 km northeast), or Sciacca (35 km east) as part of a western Sicily circuit.
Temple E on the Eastern Hill is the most visually impressive — partially re-erected using original blocks (anastylosis), with 38 standing columns giving the clearest impression of a complete Sicilian Doric temple. Temple G (Eastern Hill) is the most awe-inspiring in ruin: one of the largest Greek temples ever attempted, its massive fallen drums covering an enormous area, each weighing over 100 tonnes. Temple C on the Acropolis is the oldest and the most atmospherically sited, facing the sea. The Cave di Cusa quarry (15 km north) shows the abandoned column drums for Temple G exactly where they lay when work stopped in 409 BC.
The Cave di Cusa are the ancient quarries 15 kilometres north of Selinunte from which the limestone for the Selinunte temples was cut. When work stopped abruptly in 409 BC (the year of the Carthaginian destruction), partially-cut column drums and capital blocks were left exactly where they lay in the quarry. They are still there — the abandoned quarry is now a park accessible for free visit, and the drums lying in the cut limestone landscape with olive and carob trees growing around them is one of the most haunting archaeological experiences in Sicily. No entry fee; open continuously.
The best times to visit Selinunte are early morning (9–10am, when the Eastern Hill temples catch the morning light from the east and the site is largely empty of visitors) and late afternoon (the Acropolis at sunset, facing west over the Sicilian Channel toward the direction of Carthage — the most dramatic light of the day). In July and August, midday at the site is intensely hot and shadeless; carry substantial water and come prepared for 35°C+ temperatures. April–June and September–October are the optimal months for comfortable visiting. The beach at Marinella di Selinunte directly below the Acropolis provides swimming access after the archaeological visit.
The sculptural metopes from the Selinunte temples (the carved rectangular panels from the Doric frieze) are primarily in the Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonio Salinas in Palermo (the most important collection — the Temple E metopes showing Heracles and the Amazon, Actaeon's transformation, and Artemis and Actaeon are among the finest archaic Greek sculpture in any Italian museum) and in the Museo Civico di Castelvetrano (a smaller selection). The metopes in Palermo are the principal reason to visit the Salinas museum — their combination of archaic stylisation and narrative sophistication is extraordinary.
Selinunte + Cave di Cusa + Sambuca di Sicilia + Agrigento — the Greek and Arab-Norman circuit in 3 days.
Plan my Sicily trip →The Temple of Marasà at Selinunte (Eastern Hill zone, 6th–5th century BC) is one of the earliest Ionic-order temples in the western Mediterranean. The Ionic order — with its distinctive volute capitals — was primarily an eastern Aegean Greek tradition; its appearance at Selinunte reflects the cosmopolitan character of the Sicilian Greek colonies, which absorbed architectural influences from across the Greek world. The Marasà temple foundations and some architectural elements remain in situ; the column drums and capitals that survive show the specific Archaic Ionic form with the large volute scroll. The temple was rebuilt in the 5th century BC; the phases of construction are visible in the foundation layers.
Ancient Selinunte at its peak (5th century BC) probably had a population of 25,000–30,000 people within the city and the surrounding agricultural territory. This made it one of the larger Sicilian Greek colonies — significantly smaller than Syracuse (perhaps 100,000+) but comparable to Akragas (modern Agrigento) in scale. The evidence for population size comes from the urban footprint (the city blocks and street grid visible in the archaeological survey cover approximately 100 hectares of residential and public space), the scale of the temple-building programme (nine temples requiring substantial civic wealth), and ancient literary references to the city's strength and resources. The 409 BC destruction reduced this population to zero within a week.
Hannibal Mago (not the famous Hannibal of the Second Punic War — that Hannibal was born 183 years later) was a Carthaginian general of the Magonid dynasty who led the 409 BC Sicilian expedition. His motivation was partly vengeance: his grandfather Hamilcar had been killed at the Battle of Himera in 480 BC during an earlier Carthaginian attempt to conquer Sicily. The destruction of Selinunte and then Himera in 409 BC was explicitly framed in Carthaginian sources as revenge for Himera. After destroying Selinunte and Himera, Hannibal returned to Carthage and did not attempt further Sicilian conquest. The subsequent Carthaginian-Greek Sicilian wars continued for another 170 years until the Roman conquest resolved them in 241 BC.