Eryx

Related Category: Ancient History, Rome

(ĕr´ĭks), ancient city, W Sicily, Italy. Long a source of conflict between Carthage and Syracuse, it was destroyed (c.260 B.C.) by the Carthaginians in the First Punic War. Its temple of Venus Erycina was an important religious shrine; the temple area was excavated in 1936. The most notable remains are Cyclopean walls, some with Phoenician inscriptions. The site is now occupied by the village of Erice.