Art and Invention between Greece and Rome. Ancient Sicily, a prosperous island at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, occupied a pivotal place in the region. In the late 8th Century B.C., migrs from the Greek mainland founded colonies along the shores of the region now known as Sicily. Over time, the area grew wealthy from its agricultural abundance, and colonial settlements emerged as formidable metropolises. Sicily is the only English-language book that focuses on the watershed period between 480 B.C. and the Roman conquest of Syracuse in 212 B.C. a time of great social and political...