The Art of Conflict: Remnants of Greek and Punic Exchange from the Sixth to Fourth Centuries BCE

Abstract

Sicily, as a crossroads of the Mediterranean, is no stranger to the occupation of non-native people. Its history of change and occupation made Sicily a melting pot of cultural identity, and the island should be studied as a nexus of cultural hybridity. The fifth century BCE marked a pivotal moment on the island, as the rising conflict between the Greeks and Carthaginians culminated in war until the eventual subjugation of Greek lands at the hands of the Romans in the third century BCE. Remnants of material culture, whether monumental architecture, currency, trade of small objects, or dedicatory sculpture, offer modern scholars a chance to trace critical moments of interaction in Sicily. This thesis explores such moments in the history of Sicily’s material culture in order to propose a new understanding of the interaction between Greeks and Carthaginians in Sicily, especially during periods of heightened conflict between the two cultures. By closely studying moments of intense conflict, as well as significant material remains and works of art, this project aims to provide a more complete picture of the complex nature of interaction in Archaic and early Classical Sicily. The subsequent chapters will explore material culture from Punic, Greek, and indigenous sites for evidence of influence spurred by interaction. Using specific sculptural and architectural monuments on the island as case studies, namely the Motya Youth statue found at the Sanctuary or Cappidazzu in Mozia, two Greek archaizing stelai from the Campo di Stele at the Zeus Meilichios sanctuary in Selinous, and the Doric temple of Segesta, I show the ways that cross-cultural influences permeated the material culture of all peoples of Sicily. Future research will continue to dispel the colonial myth of “Hellenization” and show that the culture of Sicily was a mosaic and unique blend of Punic, Greek, and indigenous convergence in the sixth to fourth centuries BCE.