Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela,[3] Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden age of Ancient Greece.

[4][5][6][7][8] The city flourished under Theron's leadership in the 5th century BC, marked by ambitious public works and the construction of renowned temples.

During the Principate, Agrigento's strategic port and diverse economic ventures, including sulfur mining, trade and agriculture, sustained its importance throughout the high and late Empire.

[10] Akragas was founded on a plateau overlooking the sea, with two nearby rivers, the Hypsas and the Acragas, after which the settlement was originally named.

[11] The territory under Akragas's control expanded to comprise the whole area between the Platani and the Salso, and reached deep into the Sicilian interior.

Greek literary sources connect this expansion with military campaigns, but archaeological evidence indicates that this was a much longer-term process which reached its peak only in the early fifth century BC.

[13] Excavations at a range of sites in this region inhabited by the indigenous Sican people, such as Monte Sabbucina, Gibil-Gabil, Vasallaggi, San Angelo Muxano, and Mussomeli, show signs of the adoption of Greek culture.

[16] This was the main land route from the Straits of Sicily to the Tyrrhenian Sea and Acragas' control of it was a key factor in its economic prosperity in the sixth and fifth centuries BC, which became proverbial.

Around 570 BC, the city came under the control of Phalaris, a semi-legendary figure, who was remembered as the archetypal tyrant, said to have killed his enemies by burning them alive inside a bronze bull.

[25] Greek literary sources generally praise Theron as a good tyrant, but accuse his son Thrasydaeus, who succeeded him in 472 BC, of violence and oppression.

Shortly after Theron's death, Hiero I of Syracuse (brother and successor of Gelon) invaded Acragas and overthrew Thrasydaeus.

An oligarchic group called "the thousand" was in power for a few years in the mid-fifth century BC, but was overthrown – the literary tradition gives the philosopher Empedocles a decisive role in this revolution, but some modern scholars have doubted this.

[27] In 451 BC, Ducetius, leader of a Sicel state opposed to the expansion of Syracuse and other Greeks into the interior of Sicily, invaded Acragantine territory and conquered an outpost called Motyum.

Acragas never fully recovered its former status, though it revived following the invasion of Timoleon in the late fourth century onwards and large-scale construction took place in the Hellenistic period.

[citation needed] In the 2nd century BC, Scipio Africanus Minor bestowed upon the city a statue of Apollo by Myron, housed in the Temple of Asclepius as a symbol of their alliance during the Third Punic War.

He ranked Agrigentum among Sicily's largest cities, emphasizing its pivotal port and role in Roman governance, including hosting the governor's assize circuit.

Additionally, he mentioned a sizable population of Roman citizens coexisting harmoniously with the Greek populace, likely engaged in commerce linked to the port.

"[33] A resilient Christian community endured into late antiquity, although archaeological evidence suggests a decline in activity after the 7th century, possibly due to disrupted trade routes following the Arab conquest of Carthage in AD 698.

During this period the inhabitants of Agrigentum largely abandoned the lower parts of the city and moved to the former acropolis, at the top of the hill.

[35][36] In 1860, as in the rest of Sicily, the inhabitants supported the arrival of Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Expedition of the Thousand (one of the most dramatic events of the Unification of Italy) which marked the end of Bourbon rule.

This comprises a large sacred area on the south side of the ancient city where seven monumental Greek temples in the Doric style were constructed during the 6th and 5th centuries BC.