Museo Giuseppe Whitaker. Motya was an ancient and powerful city on San Pantaleo Island off the west coast of Sicily, in the Stagnone Lagoon between Drepanum and Lilybaeum.
It is within the present-day commune of Marsala, Italy. Many of the city's impressive ancient monuments have been excavated and can be admired today.
Motya has become known recently for the marble statue of the Motya Charioteer, found in 1979 and on display at the local Giuseppe Whitaker museum. The Greeks claimed the place was named for a woman named Motya whom they connected with the myths around Hercules.
The town's Italian name appears as both Mozia and Mothia; its Sicilian name is Mozzia. The island first received the name San Pantaleo in the 11th century from Basilian monks.
The island is nearly 850 m long and 750 m wide, and about 1 km from the mainland of Sicily. It was joined to the mainland in ancient times by a causeway, over which chariots with large wheels could reach the town. The foundation of the city probably dates from the eighth centuryBC, about a century after the foundation of Carthage in Tunisia. It was originally a colony of the Phoenicians, who were fond of choosing similar sites, and probably in the first instance merely a commercial station or emporium, but gradually rose to be a flourishing and important town. The Phoenicians transformed the inhospitable island into one of the most affluent cities of its ti
It is within the present-day commune of Marsala, Italy. Many of the city's impressive ancient monuments have been excavated and can be admired today.
Motya has become known recently for the marble statue of the Motya Charioteer, found in 1979 and on display at the local Giuseppe Whitaker museum. The Greeks claimed the place was named for a woman named Motya whom they connected with the myths around Hercules.
The town's Italian name appears as both Mozia and Mothia; its Sicilian name is Mozzia. The island first received the name San Pantaleo in the 11th century from Basilian monks.
The island is nearly 850 m long and 750 m wide, and about 1 km from the mainland of Sicily. It was joined to the mainland in ancient times by a causeway, over which chariots with large wheels could reach the town. The foundation of the city probably dates from the eighth centuryBC, about a century after the foundation of Carthage in Tunisia. It was originally a colony of the Phoenicians, who were fond of choosing similar sites, and probably in the first instance merely a commercial station or emporium, but gradually rose to be a flourishing and important town. The Phoenicians transformed the inhospitable island into one of the most affluent cities of its ti
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