City
Lilybeo
Marsala
Listen to the story
Lilybaeum, today Marsala in Sicily, was founded by the Carthaginians in 397 BC and grew into a heavily fortified stronghold. Under Roman rule it kept flourishing, rose to the rank of a colony with the proud title Helvia Augusta, and later became the seat of a bishop. The geographer Ptolemy calls it a city. It was also a port: from here a sea route ran along the coast to Agrigentum, and ships crossed over to Africa. Some ancient remains survive in the modern town, and the old name still clings to the nearby headland, Capo Lilibeo.