v49_0117 - SICILIA - ISOLE DI SICILIA - LIPARA Unité, (MB, Æ 22)

SICILY - SICILIAN ISLANDS - LIPARI

(4th - 3rd century BC)

Lipari is part of a series of seven islands of volcanic origin off Sicily 40 kilometers away which includes among others Stromboli. Identified with Aeolus, god of the winds, it is one of the Aeolian Islands. A legend has it that its islands are the lair of EphaIstos (Vulcan) god of the underworld. It would also have been the place where the Cyclops lived. Colonized by the Greeks during the 5th century BC to protect Sicily from Carthaginian invasions. Lipari was finally captured by the Carthaginians in 288 BC. The Romans seized it during the First Punic War in 251 BC. The islands remained disputed until the end of the Second Punic War (218 -201 BC). The island enjoyed some prosperity under Augustus.