Morgantina under och efter det andra puniska kriget : Den sista fria grekisk-sicilianska stadens fall

Sammanfattning: The ancient city of Morgantina in Sicily was an important city during the Hellenistic age and probably member of a koinon (a union) under the leadership of Syracuse. Much research has been done on the city of Morgantina, but as far as I know, no study has had the aim to show what role Morgantina played in the Second Punic War. Therefore, this essay focuses on Morgantina during and after the Second Punic War (218–201 BCE). The main questions presented in this essay are what happened to the city after the war and what was the aftermath of the war? What happened to the people in the town and why were some houses abandoned and others not? To answer these questions archaeological evidence (numismatic material and buildings) as well as ancient historians’ narrations have been used (the historians used are Diodorus Siculus, Livy, Cicero and Strabo). The study argues that Morgantina might have been the last important free Greek town in Sicily (and possibly the very last) and that the city probably did not fight actively for either side, but might have provided Rome with grain and therefore taken Rome’s side.