Camarina

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Camarina is an ancient city of Sicily, situated on the south coast, about 17 miles South East of Gela (Terranova). It was founded by Syracuse in 599 B.C., but destroyed by the mother city in 552.

The Geloans, however, founded it anew in 461 B.C. It seems to have been in general hostile to Syracuse, but, though an ally of Athens in 427, it gave some slight help to Syracuse in 415-413 B.C. It was destroyed by the Carthaginians in 405 B.C., restored by Timoleon in 339 B.C. after its abandonment by Dionysiuss order, but in 258 B.C. fell into the hands of the Romans.

Its complete destruction dates from A.D. 853. The site of the ancient city is among rapidly shifting sandhills, and the lack of stone in the neighborhood has led to its buildings being used as a quarry even by the inhabitants of Terranova, so that nothing is now visible above ground but a small part of the wall of the temple of Athena and a few foundations of houses; portions of the city wall have been traced by excavation, and the necropolis has been carefully explored.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.