Himera

Himera is a small Greek faction in northern 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.

Its neighbours are Zancle, the Sikeloi and Elymoi. In the Sicily-only sandbox, Himera additionally borders the Sikanoi.

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

In-game Description
"Founded by colonists from Mylae and bolstered by Syrakousian refugees, Himera is the largest Greek city on the north coast of Sicily, said by Thucydides to be the only free city-state on that coast. It would be the site of two major battles between the Sicilian Greeks and the Carthaginians, with the Greeks winning the first Battle of Himera, but the Carthaginians winning the second ninety years later. After the second battle, Himera would be destroyed utterly. Though it would never be rebuilt, its population would resettle at the nearby city of Thermae."

Starting Cities

 * Himera:
 * Kale Akte:
 * Panormos:

Strategy
Geographically, Zancle is theoretically a good target in the early game as this will allow you to expand along the coast of the island without gaining too many new land borders, and unlike the Elymoi they do not have combat bonuses. The exact best target for early expansion probably depends on randomized factors such as AI vs AI conquest and diplomatic events.

With your relatively elongated borders, it will probably be a good idea to use diplomacy to secure a truce with one or several of your neighbours, while focusing your military elsewhere.

To compensate for only starting with a few native cities, it might be a good idea to use the economic skill tree to boost population growth and unlock the Colonization skill as early possible.

Trivia & History

 * Panormos and Kale Akte were not historically part of Himera's territory, being cities of the Phoenicians and Sikeloi respectively. These cities were presumably assigned to Himera in-game for balance reasons, and to simplify the faction roster as far as the Phoenicians of Panormos are concerned.
 * Originally founded in the 640s BC, archaeological evidence reveals that the city was destroyed and rebuilt around 580-560 BC, during an unknown event that is not mentioned in any of the surviving historical records.
 * As mentioned in the in-game description, Himera played a significant role in the Greco-Punic wars between Carthage and the Sicilian Greeks. Akragas captured Himera and expelled its ruler, who allied with Carthage in an attempt to reclaim the city, triggering a large Carthaginian invasion which was destroyed by Syrakousai and Akragas at the Battle of Himera in 480 BC. Later, during another invasion in 409 BC, the Carthaginians ended up completely destroying the city.
 * Himera was historically one of the earliest in-game factions to be destroyed, and wasn't actually contemporaneous with the Bruttii who didn't emerge as a distinct people until the 350s BC.
 * The remainder of Himera's population would found a new city known as Thermae in the same area, but remained subjects of Carthage. Thermae was eventually taken by Rome during the First Punic War of 264-241 BC.
 * The faction's icon depicts a rooster. Like with most in-game factions, the design is taken from ancient coinage, and features on coins found in Himera's territory.