Page:History of Art in Phœnicia and Its Dependencies Vol 1.djvu/366

 ;,4 } lliM'nkv 1-1 AKI IN I'IM:MCIA AND 1 1> 1 )I.IT.M>F.N( IKS. the first years of the fifth century, aiul it is likely that between that date and the first Punic var they were often enlarged and repaired. In 260 Hamilcar destroyed the town and transferred its inhabit- ants to Drepanum, but he certainly did not raze the fortifications, and in after years the dispersed population came back and re-established themselves round the sanctuary. Upon a Roman penny of the Considia family we find both temple and rampart figured (Fig. 244). The former stands upon some rocks which are meant to represent the summit of the mountain ; in front there is a wall ending in quadrangular towers, and having in the Fir,. 242. Postern in the wall c.f Eryx. From Salinas. Outside view. centre an arched doorway Hanked by round towers. This coin is contemporary with Cicero. Solunte, built on a high hill close to the sea, and Motya, seem both to have had a wall built after the same fashion as that of Firyx. The rampart at Motya is the more regular and the better preserved of the two (Fig. 245). This town was built on the western coast, on a small island separated from the mainland by a channel about eight or nine hundred yards wide. This choice of a site appears to suggest a very old Phoenician colony. The