the temperature has never dropped below freezing, although snow has fallen before, for example in December 2014. Mythology In Greek mythology, Butes was the only Argonaut who jumped in the sea while sailing past the Sirens because he couldn't resist the charm of their singing, but Aphrodite saved him and transferred him to Lilybaeum. History Carthaginian Period The Carthaginian army sent to conquer Selinunte in 409 BC landed and camped near the site of the later Lilybaeum. In 397 BC when the Phoenician colony of Motya on the southwestern coast of Sicily was invaded and destroyed by the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius I, the survivors founded a town on the mainland nearby, the site of modern-day Marsala, which they called by a Punic name, recorded in Greek as Lilýbaion () and in Latin as . Over the following two centuries, it became a trade centre for manufactured goods and served as a strategic port between Carthage and Carthaginian territories in Sardinia. It was built with strong defensive walls from the beginning and had three linked harbours. Punic Lilybaion was never conquered although it was besieged several times e.g. by Pyrrhus of Epirus and the Romans. The walls were ultimately over 10m high and 7m thick. They were strengthened for Pyrrhus' Siege of Lilybaeum in 278 BC by a second wall 10m from the first. The siege lasted 2 months before he withdrew. It was the only city which Pyrrhus could not conquer during his campaign at Sicily. The First Punic War began here when the Punic army landed at Lilybaion in 265–264 BC, then marched across Sicily to Messina, where the opening clash of the war took place. In 250 BC the Romans sent a huge naval expedition of up to 240 ships towards Lilybaeum, the Carthaginian headquarters. A massive Roman army of 4 legions under the two consuls was also sent. The Carthaginians also understood the importance of this port and put their whole force together to save the city including about 10,000 mercenaries (Celts and Greeks). The Carthaginians sailed 50 ships from Africa under the command of Hannibal to try to save the city by charging towards the centre of the harbour. The Romans did not attempt to stop the entry of the fleet because of their sudden appearance and unfavourable winds in a foreign port. The Roman fleet was defeated at Drepana in 249 BC when attempting a