Editing Erice (section)

=== Antiquity ===
{{Main|Eryx (Sicily)}}

The origins of Erice remain uncertain, but the settlement likely emerged by the 10th–7th centuries BCE, developing both as a sanctuary site of indigenous worship and as a strategically fortified location.<ref name="Tusa2017" /> Historical sources date the site to at least the 6th or 5th century BCE.<ref name="LietzZirone2017" /> Under the Elymians, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians, Erice developed as a sanctuary-fortress with a settlement protected by fortifications now known as the Elymian-Punic Walls.<ref name="Tusa2017" />

The ancient city’s population was fluid and largely shaped by its religious role. There is evidence that the settlement was a centre of trade, defence, hospitality and transport. Following the Roman conquest of Sicily, Erice was classified as a ''civitas censoria'', the name for a city formally annexed into Roman territory.<ref name="Tusa2017" /> The city was also a religious centre and Thucydides records Athenian ambassadors being shown a sanctuary of the goddess.<ref name="LietzZirone2017" />

Now known as the Temple of Venus Erycina, the sanctury had fallen into decline due to a reduction in pilgrimage and financial support during the first century CE. A delegation from [[Segesta]] appealed to Emperor [[Tiberius]] for funds from the Roman treasury to assist with its restoration. The fact that the request came from Segesta suggests that Erice, by this time, lacked the civic structure or political autonomy to advocate on its own behalf, functioning primarily as a religious site rather than a populated polis with institutions or local governance.<ref name="Tusa2017" />