Segesta
| Ἔγεστα (Ancient Greek) | |
The Doric temple of Segesta
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 Shown within Italy
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| Location | Calatafimi-Segesta, Province of Trapani, Sicily, Italy |
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| Coordinates | 37°56′29″N 12°49′56″E / 37.94139°N 12.83222°ECoordinates: 37°56′29″N 12°49′56″E / 37.94139°N 12.83222°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Cultures | Greek, Elymian |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Preserved |
| Ownership | Public |
| Management | Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. di Trapani |
| Public access | Yes |
| Website | Area Archeologica Segesta (Italian) |
Segesta (Ancient Greek: Ἔγεστα Egesta;Sicilian: Siggésta) was one of the major cities of the Elymian people, one of the three indigenous peoples of Sicily. The other major cities of the Elymians were Eryx and Entella. It is located in the northwestern part of Sicily in Italy, near the modern comune of Calatafimi-Segesta in the province of Trapani.
According to the tradition used in Virgil's Aeneid, Segesta was founded jointly by the territorial king Acestes (who was son of the local river Crinisus by a Dardanian woman named Segesta or Egesta) and by those of Aeneas' folk who wished to remain behind with Acestes to found the city of Acesta.
The belief that the name of the city was originally Acesta or Egesta and changed to Segesta by the Romans to avoid its ill-omened meaning in Latin is disproved by coins showing that Segesta was indeed the earlier name.
The population of Segesta was mixed Elymian and Ionian Greek, though the Elymians were soon Hellenized and took on external characteristics of Greek life.
Segesta was in constant conflict with Selinus (modern Selinunte), which probably tried to assure itself a port on the Tyrrhenian Sea. The first clashes were in 580-576 BC, and again in 454 BC, but later the conflict would have repercussions for all of Sicily.
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