Selinous

Selinous is a small-medium Greek faction in southwestern Sicily. It is one of a few factions playable in multiple scenarios, being available in both the Unification of Italy sandbox and the Sicily-only sandbox.

It neighbours the Elymoi, Sikeloi and Syrakousai in the full-map sandbox, and the Elymoi and Sikanoi in the Sicily-only sandbox.

Sicily and its factions, such as Selinous, are an addition of The Eagle King DLC and do not occur in the basic version of the game.

In-game Description
"Selinous is the westernmost Greek colony in Sicily. It would frequently come into conflict with the Elymoi of Egesta, a rivalry that would set first Athens then Carthage against it in support of the Elymoi. In 405 BCE, the Carthaginians would successfully conquer Selinous, and though they would rebel frequently, the city would never regain power and would finally be destroyed by Carthage in the First Punic War."

Starting Cities

 * Selinous:
 * Adranon:
 * Lilybaion:
 * Akragas***:

*** City belongs to the Sikanoi in the Sicily-only sandbox

Strategy
Geographically, the Elymoi make sense as a first target, as they have the most threatening position on your territory and incorporating their realm will lead to less elongated land borders. The Elymoi have powerful combat bonuses, though, so it might be preferable to deal with them through diplomacy in the early game, if possible, and round them up later after your own territory and economy has grown enough to muster a concentrated attack. The exact best target for early expansion will probably depend on randomized factors such as AI vs AI conquest and diplomatic events.

Note that your bonus to farm crop yield only affects regular grain farms, and not livestock farms, fisheries or vineyards. Prioritize staffing and upgrading these regular grain farms, to ensure that you don't fall victim to your increased food consumption penalty.

Trivia & History

 * Though Selinous was one of the most important Greek city-states on Sicily, it did not historically control Akragas (a colony of Gela) or Lilybaion (a Phoenician rather than Greek colony), and the ownership of the Greco-Punic settlement at Adranon (originally in the territory of the Sikanoi) isn't clear. These cities were presumably merged with the Selinous faction in-game for balance reasons and to simplify the faction roster.
 * Not much of Selinous' early history is known, but it is noted for its frequent conflicts with the nearby Elymoi, starting as early as 580 BC. It also allied with Carthage against Akragas and Syrakousai in 480 BC, but the Carthaginians were defeated at the Battle of Himera before Selinous could send assistance.
 * Selinous played a short but notable role in the Peloponnesian War, when its conflict with the Elymoi of Egesta prompted the latter to appeal for assistance from Athens. This prompted the Athenians to embark on the so-called Sicilian Expedition of 415-413 BC, which resulted in the annihilation of their entire invasion force while besieging Syrakousai. This event marked a turning point in the Peloponnesian War, as Athens had lost many valuable resources in the failed expedition.
 * The city's conflict with the Elymoi continued, who appealed for help from Carthage shortly after the failed Athenian expedition. This resulted in the Carthaginian invasion of 409 BC, which captured Selinous and also destroyed Himera. Selinous would mostly be a Carthaginian subject from then on, though at times briefly occupied by Syrakousai or Epirus.
 * Selinous was eventually entirely destroyed and its population moved to Lilybaion by Carthage during the First Punic War of 264-241 BC. The area passed to the Romans at the conclusion of the war, but the city was not rebuilt.
 * The city was named after the large amounts of celery (Ancient Greek: Selinon) that grew in the area. The faction's icon is also a leaf of celery, with the exact design being taken from ancient coinage minted in Selinous.