Extract

Morgantina (Lat. Murgentia?), a city of east-central *Sicily almost certainly to be identified with Serra Orlando, a steep-sided ridge 4 km. (21/2, mi.) east of Aidone. Its acropolis, still called ‘Citadella’, commands a wide expanse of the western part of the plain of Catania, and is the site of the earliest settlement, in the 10th cent. bce. The Italic affinities of the latter community appear to reflect Strabo's (6. 1. 6) story of Morgetes. Greek pottery, masonry styles, and architectural *terracottas suggest that Greek settlers, probably from *Catana or *Leontini, established themselves c.560, on good terms with the indigenous settlers. In the 5th cent. and later the city was within the Syracusan orbit, apart from the short period (459–450) when it was under the control of *Ducetius (Diod. Sic. 11. 78. 5), and after 424 when it was ceded to *Camarina (Thuc.