History of Sicily politics in Greece itself, leading Athens, for example, to mount the disastrous Sicilian Expedition in 415 BC during the Peloponnesian War. In Greek mythology, the goddess Athena threw Mount Aitna onto the island of Sicily and upon either the gigante Enceladus or Typhon during the giants' war against the gods. The Greeks came into conflict with the Punic trading communities, by now effectively protectorates of Carthage, with its capital on the African mainland not far from the southwest corner of the island. Palermo was a Carthaginian city, founded in the 8th century BC, named Zis or Sis ("Panormos" to the
Flag of Sicily Flag of Sicily The flag of Sicily (; ) was first adopted in 1282, after the successful Sicilian Vespers revolt against the king Charles I of Sicily. This flag bears a resemblance to the flag of the Isle of Man. The flag is characterized by the presence of the triskelion ("trinacria") in its middle, the (winged) head of Medusa (Gorgon) and three wheat ears. The three bent legs allegedly represent the three points of the triangular shape of the island of Sicily, or the historical three valli of the island. The present design became the official public flag of the