Chap. Ill-

GUEC1AN.

63

called the temple of the giants, from having figures in the manner of Caryatidessupporting some part of the edifice. According to Diodorus Siculus , it was the largesttemple in Sicily , and might be compared with the grandest and most magnificent monumentthat ever existed.

Not far distant from the ruins of this temple, are the remains of the famous Piscina,which, according to the same writer, was 7 furlongs in circumference, and 20 cubits indepth : the water was conducted into it from the neighbouring streams: this was probablyexecuted by Pheaces, under whose direction were made the several sewers which carriedoff’the water from the city, and which were afterwards called by his name; he lived in thetime of Gelon, or about 500 years before Christ. These sewers, therefore, were subsequentto the great Cloaca at Rome .

This city was surpassed by few in the beauty of its temples, and for the luxuriance of thecountry around: there are the remains of a temple to Hercules, Castor and Pollux , JunoLucina, and Concord, all in the style of the Greek Doric. The modern town ot Girgenti is near the ancient mole.

Stlinus was founded about 725 years before Christ, 107 years after Syracuse ; and tookits name from the river Silenus. Its first inhabitants were a colony from Megara, a city on theeastern coast of Sicily , which was called Megara of Attica, from whence its inhabitantsmigrated; 250 years after its foundation it was besieged by Hannibal, carried by assault,the citizens put to death, and the walls of the city rased to the ground. Soon after thisHermocrates repaired the walls, and assembled many of the wandering natives who fledbefore Hannibal's army had arrived in the neighbouring states. It became again a placeof importance, and the temples, which had only been robbed of their treasures, remainedtuiul a second siege by the Carthaginians, when they were thrown down; the city wasthen abandoned, and Strabo enumerates it among the ruined cities of Sicily . The greatquantity of fallen stones which here present themselves lead us to fancy the buildings musthave been the work of giants, as, from the enormous size of some of the blocks whichcomposed them, it does not seem possible that they should have been moved by men.

The plan of the city , which is traceable from the existing walls, is somewhat in theshape of a horse-shoe, whose two ends are towards the sea: these were terminated bytowers: the port, which lay between them, exhibits uo remains. On the western side, thewalls are quite perfect, as are also two vast flights of steps, by which the inhabitants ascendedfrom the port to the city . The time when the six temples were thrown down, and themeans by which their ruin was accomplished, is unknown: it has been supposed it was theresult of an earthquake, as their immense solidity must have defied all human means. Thecolumns of the larger temple have all fallen in one uniform direction, thrown down by oneeffort; but surely the power which could have raised the immense blocks might also, whenapplied to their destruction, be competent to produce this effect.

All these temples were of the Greek Doric order; some of the blocks of stone usedin their construction were immense; one, which formed the architrave of the greatertemple, supposed to be dedicated to Jupiter, is 21 feet in length, 5 feet 8 inches in width,