Engyon

Engyon (Ancient Greek: Ἒγγυον, Latin: Engium, Greek: Ἐγγύον in some Byzantine texts of Ptolemy and Plutarch)[1] is an ancient town of the interior of Sicily, a Cretan colony, according to Diodorus Siculus and famous for an ancient temple of the Magna Mater (Mother Rhea)[2] imported from Crete, which aroused the greed of Verres.[3] It took its name from a spring that arose in the land chosen by the colonists, as explained in the following excerpt from Diodorus:

οὐ μὴν ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κατὰ τὴν Σικελίαν Κρῆτες μετὰ τὴν Μίνωος τελευτὴν ἐστασίασαν διὰ τὴν ἀναρχίαν, τῶν δὲ νεῶν ὑπὸ τῶν περὶ τὸν Κώκαλον Σικανῶν ἐμπυρισθεισῶν τὴν μὲν εἰς τὰς πατρίδας ἐπάνοδον ἀπέγνωσαν, κρίναντες δ᾽ ἐν τῇ Σικελίᾳ κατοικεῖν, οἱ μὲν ἐνταῦθα πόλιν ᾤκισαν ἣν ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως αὐτῶν Μινῴαν ὠνόμασαν, οἱ δὲ διὰ τῆς μεσογείου πλανηθέντες καὶ καταλαβόμενοι χωρίον ὀχυρὸν ἔκτισαν πόλιν ἣν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν τῇ πόλει ῥεούσης πηγῆς ὠνόμασαν Ἔγγυον.[4] However, the Cretans of Sicily, after the death of Minos, fell into factious strife, since they had no ruler, and, since their ships had been burned by the Sicani serving under Cocalus, they gave up any hope they had of returning to their native land; and deciding to make their home in Sicily, a part of them established on that island a city to which they gave the name Minoa after their king, and others, after wandering about through the interior of the island, seized a place which was naturally strong and founded a city to which they gave the name Engyum, after the spring which flowed forth within the city.[5]

Timoleon attacked the city, while the tyrant Leptines (Ancient Greek: Λεπτίνης) was the ruler. After he defeated the Leptines, he restored its autonomy.[6]

Its site is uncertain; some topographers have identified it with Gangi, a town 30 km SSE of Cefalù, but only on the ground of the similarity of the two names.[3] Others identify it with Troina.

References

1. Ptolemy, Klaudiou Ptolemaiou Geographike hyphegesis, Volume 1, trans. Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller (Alfred Firmin Didot, Paris: 1883), p. 405
2. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1889, Note 173, available at:, accessed 24 June 2015.
3. Chisholm 1911.
4. Diodori Bibliotheca Historica, Vol 1-2. Diodorus Siculus. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890, 4.79.5, available at: , accessed 24 June 2015.
5. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4.Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1889, 4.79.5, available at:, accessed 24 June 2015.
6. Diodorus Siculus, Library, §16.72.1

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Engyon". Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 646.