Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Himera

Battle of Himera was a battle fought in 480 BC at Himera, in what is now Italy. It was part of First Sicilian War. The recorded result: Greek victory; Syracusan hegemony of Sicily. Recorded strength: Unknown; 50,000 infantry; 5,000 cavalry against Unknown; 300,000; Modern sources estimate around 50,000.

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Copy of the Battle of Himera, wrongly named Battle of Arbela
Copy of the Battle of Himera, wrongly named Battle of Arbela. Giuseppe Sciuti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought480 BC
WhereHimera, Italy37.972N, 13.811E
OutcomeGreek victory; Syracusan hegemony of Sicily
BelligerentsSyracuse; Akragas; Caucasian mercenariesagainstCarthage
Casualties and lossesMinimalandHeavy
Part ofFirst Sicilian War

Record

Date480 BC (year precision)
PlaceHimera, Italy
37.972N, 13.811E
KindBattle, ancient
StrengthUnknown; 50,000 infantry; 5,000 cavalryUnknown; 300,000; Modern sources estimate around 50,000
Casualties and lossesMinimalHeavy
Commanders
  • Gelo
  • Theron of Acragas
  • Hamilcar I of Carthage
Battle of HimeraBattle of HimeraBattle of HimeraSiege of CefalùBattle of PalermoBattle of PanormusSiege of PalermoBattle of HimeraSiege of CefalùBattle of PanormusCataniaMessinaSiracusaMarsalaRagusa100 km37.972N, 13.811E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Himera
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Himera today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-07-06. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 6 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -3 to 430 m, 433 m of relief, steep country and today it is 36% water, 24% grassland, 18% cropland.

water: 36%grassland: 24%cropland: 18%tree cover: 14%built-up: 6%water 36%grassland 24%cropland 18%tree cover 14%built-up 6%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 179 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 369 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Elsewhere in 480 BC

Battle of Himera is one of 102 engagements of the 5th century BC in the atlas and one of 1,038 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1138660, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Himera (480 BC), revision 1370265653, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.