The Myth is an imaginary narration of fabulous and magic genre, telling the exceptional deeds of heroes and supernatural beings. It gives a fanciful and an irrational explanation to the many events and the natural phenomena that man was not able to explain, as for example the origin of mankind, the existence of life and of the universe, the prevalence of death over life, the eternal contrast between good and evil.

In this sense the myth is also the idealization of an event or of a character, so important to attract and fascinate in a deep and irrational way the popular collective imaginary.

The world “myth” derives from the Greek language and means exactly story, legend.

The myths originally were handed down from generation to generation orally by word of mouth, thanks to men responsible for this function: wizards, priest, cantors, bards.

Only in a second moment some poets wrote down the Myths, even if this didn’t prevent their popular oral transmission.

Since the most ancient times all the people have felt the necessity of relating their own vision of life and of the world: the Myths express the fundamental conceptions of each society, the experience of the people, they represent the soul of a community, in this sense, they are a precious and irreplaceable cultural heritage of any people or social group, as they reveal their way of living, their uses, the costumes, the religious beliefs. Every people on the Earth, as primitive and culturally simple can be, have produced their myths, relating to the differences of time and place, social and economical organization.

At the same time, even if they belong to people completely different among one another, the myths present some identical characteristics as the essence of the human nature is almost equal; therefore also the myths belonging to people living in primitive state as the Boscimans or the Bantus, have something in common with those read in the pages of people that have attained, in their historic path an elevated degree of civilization as the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans.

The Myths are an example of the culture and civilization reached by each people: varying from the simplest and unsophisticated narration to the most elaborated expressions, being, always the symbol of the prestige of advanced and complex forms of civilization.The grandeur of the myths is entrusted to the written codification given by the greatest authors of the past. For the Latin world the encyclopaedic references were the Latin writers Ovid and Virgil, that represent the most authoritative and reliable source, from which all the other writers drew inspiration. Ovid’s “Metamorphosi” have been an important reference point for all the Middle Ages. Their tales and stories have the precise objective to give an explanation to reality, to what man can’t explain, to what somehow, concerns man and his necessities.

Myths, legends and tradition in Sicily

Sicily is perhaps the most suggestive and exciting land in the Mediterranean area where legends and traditions meet, making it a cradle of great civilization.

Since ancient times it has been the scenery of Myths and legends that have intermingled with its religious roots, many of them have much to do with water as the symbol of life, of agriculture, of what was really important and essential to the insular life.

Sicily is unique as unique is his people that have been able to preserve a specific cultural identity throughout the centuries and the different dominations: The Phoenicians, the Greek, the Byzantine, the Arabs, the Normans, the Swabians, the Aragonese, the Spanish, the Angevins, the Austrians, the Bourbons.

This land of culture and kindness is open to all his visitors with the incantation of his eternal beauty, with the majesty of his history, the splendour of his art and the magnificence of his monuments, and above all, with the hospitality of this people.

Strong is its tradition of ancient myths linked to water, some of them will be presented as an example of our greatest cultural heritage.

Aretusa was one of Artemis’s nymphs who lived in Acaia , in Greece.

She was considered a very beautiful nymph but she blushed of her natural beauty, feeling this as a fault. Ovid and Virgil narrate her story:

One day returning rather tired from the forest of “Stinfalo” , she stopped at the shore of a little river to refresh herself. Undressed she plunged into the fresh and clean water.

Alfeo, the river in which she was “freshening”, noticed her beauty and assuming human features started to woo her to obtain her love.

Aretusa escaped running as fast as she could till she was exhausted. Till Diana moved by her fear decided to cover her with a cloud , hiding her from Alfeo’s sight.But Alfeo didn’t lose his heart and continued to look for the loved Aretusa. The nymph started weeping tillshe became a river.

Alfeo recognized in the brillant water the loved nymph left his human appearance and returned to be a river to be able to mix his waters with hers.

Eventually Artemide made a tear into the ground that permitted to Aretusa to sink in a dark cave till she reached Ortigia near Siracusa , in Sicily where she resurfaced.

Historical references

Ovid : Metamorphosis 5, 572

Virgil : Eneid 3, 1092-1097

“To be between the devil and the deep blue sea”

The legend narrates that Glauco fell desperately in love with Scylla, a beautiful nymph, Crateide’s (or Ecate’s) and Forco’s daughter, known as she refused all her pretenders. One day, Glauco, god of the sea, saw her, as she was wandering about the beaches near Messina where she lived in an inlet, and fell in love. She refused his advances so firmly that the God decided to ask the sorceress Circe to prepare a magic potion to obtain the love of the sullen nymph. The enchantress touched by Glauco’s beauty, on the other hand, fell in love with him and being refused, furious with rage, decided to take revenge. So she transformed Scylla in a fearful monster with heads of barking dogs around her waist. In another version it is told that she was transformed into a monster with twelve feet, six necks, six heads, six mouth with three tiers of teeth). She retired in the Straits of Messina opposite the grotto where Carybdis lived and from her cave, she devoured all the human crews passing nearby. It is narrated that sorrowful for her horrible appearance, Scylla gave vent to her hate, depraving Ulysses of his companions while the hero was crossing the Straits.

Opposite Scylla on the other side of the Straits, there lived another monster Carybdis, Poseidone’s and Gea’s son. He sucked and spat the sea water three times a day, swallowing whatever he met.

It is told that Ulysses who crossed two times the Strait of Messina, succeeded to survive, grabbing to a fig-three, according to Circe’s advice.

Historical references:

• Apollonio Rodio, IV 784-90, 825-32,922-23, narrates about the Argonauts who

avoided Scylla and Carybdis’s danger with the help of Era and Teti.

• Ovid Metamorphosis XIII 898, XIV 74
• Homer Odyssey XII 308
• Virgil Eneid III 410-32 686-689
• Licofrone, Cfr. Alex 44-48 649-50

Ancient conflicts and contemporary issues:

The Bridge between Scylla and Carybdis.

What environmental Impact?

The Bridge: an open question. Pro and versus

The legend narrates that Aci, the son of Fauno and the nymph Simete, fell passionately in love with the nymph Galatea, who reciprocated his love. Unluckly she was also the object of desire of the Cyclops Polifemo, who didn’t accept to be refused. Beyond description was his wrath when he saw Galatea in the forest embraced with Aci tenderly, furious and blinded with rage he didn’t hesitate to hit the rival with a huge rock, wounding him to death.

The poor Galatea started weeping so much that the Gods, moved by her grief, turned Aci’s blood into water, originating the river Aci, near Catania.

Another version tells that Galatea’s tears turned into a river and Aci became its God and finally another version tells that Galatea eventually accepted Polifemo’s love.

Indeed in Sicily really exists a river called Iaci that originates from the slopes of the Etna.

Historical references:

• Ovid Metamorphosis XII
• Petrarca Trionfo d’amore II,169-171

There is a language understood by everybody which neither evolves nor dies , as it is atemporal: a language that tells us our past, delivering to the eternity, to the collective imaginary, places and heroes, the divinity and the humanity through which man doesn’t feel immortality denied and comes out of the darkness of ignorance; through the experience of heroes whom he identifies himself with, of terrible and gloomy places, that he knows he wouldn’t ever meet in his life.

The Acheron plays a very important role in the conception of traditional Myth.

It is an infernal river that runs in Epirus, entered the cosmology as infernal as, at a certain moment of its course, it interrupts itself without outflow.

It was Omer that mentions it for the first time in the Odyssey, it is dark and menacing, only the damned souls can cross it to descend in the dreadful hell “ Ad infera” but on condition that the human body that had hosted them during their life had had an honourable burial. It is one of the river of the Averno from which nobody is allowed to return.

Therefore Priamo implores the heroic Achilles in the Iliad to give back Hector’s body to give him a fair burial .

Dante in his “Inferno” recalls it to our memory accompanied and made more lugubrious through the hellish figure of his helmsman Charon ”Caron demonio dagli occhi di bragia…….” yet “la tema si volge in desio” the damned souls throng on its banks, pushing their way , they all want to cross the Acheron, husband of the Gorgon Gorgira, father of the howl Ascalafo.

How does modern man read the myth of the Acheron today?

It is the extension of the mournful course of the human existence, l’ “Obulum” that we pay to cross it, the price due to our wish of knowledge, to poetry that has eternized this meaningless course of river, turning it into a atemporal myth.

The Divina Commedia is one of the greatest poems of the Middle Ages. The work is divided into three parts (cantiche): Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise, each containing 33 Cantos, plus the introductory Canto I of Inferno. The part we have studied this year is the Inferno.

Geography of Hell

Dante conceives Hell as a great funnel-shaped cave lying below the northern hemisphere with its bottom point at the earth’s centre where Lucifer lives. Around this great circular depression runs a series of ledges, each of which Dante calls a Circle. Each circle is assigned to the punishment of one category of sin, which becomes worser as the abyss gets deeper. The circles are populated with monstruous mythological creatures which guard the place they are assigned to. Dante depicted this imaginary place according to the mentality of his time: a dark world with no stars, where there is only weeping, pain and cries: a gloomy, deep atmosphere at times violently swept by strong winds whose blows are as feroucious as the roar of a stormy sea or as the heavy cold rains which constantly shake the damned souls. Thus Dante describes the Gate of Hell, a blank place where everything is wrapped in heavy shadows.

Allegorical meaning of the poem

Dante imagines to be the protagonist of an extraordinary journey that lasted about one week and which took him, during the Spring of 1300, through the three realms of the afterlife: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The journey is full of tremendous obstacles and the gloomy atmosphere of hell frightens the traveller. Yet, he is not alone, but is guided by Virgil, the Latin poet who lived in the 1st century B.C.

This journey should not be looked upon as a mere narrative description of the afterlife, but must be interpreted following its deep, allegorical meaning: Dante represents mankind who experiences a profound spiritual crises which one can overcome only if aided by human reason (represented by Virgil’s figure) and faith.

The guardians of Hell

Dante’s poem thrills the modern reader’s imagination by the use of various mythological figures, monsters which are to be found at the entrance of each circle. Among these:

Charon, the ferryman who carries the dead souls across the Acheron, the first of the rivers of Hell, over to punishment. He is not a wise man; he is old and has a thick beard as white as his hair; with eyes of flames he threatens and frightens the damned souls.

Minos is the dread monster, judge of the damned who horrendously growls like a dog while assigning to each soul its eternal torment. After hearing each admission of sin, he decides to which circle sinners must go. Then his tail twists around him forming as many circles as those the damned soul must descend.

Cerberus is the ravenous three-headed dog of Hell who barks against the sinners that lie in the slush. He has eyes of fire, a large belly and with his claws and teeth rips and tears the souls of the third circle: the Gluttons. a hoarders’ sins.

Each of these monsters tries to stop Dante from descending through the circles of Hell, but Virgil silences them and so the poets move on.

Ed elli a me: << Le cose ti fier conte,

quando noi fermerem li nostri passi

su la trista riviera d’Acheronte >>.

Allor con li occhi vergognosi e bassi,

temendo no ‘l mio dir li fosse grave,

infino al fiume del parlar mi trassi.

Ed ecco verso noi venir per nave

Un vecchio, bianco per antico pelo,

gridando: << Guai a voi, anime prave!

Non isperate mai veder lo cielo:

i’vegno per menarvi a l’altra riva

ne le tenebre etterne, in caldo e’n gelo.

E tu che se’ costì, anima viva,

pàrtiti da cotesti che son morti >>.

Ma poi che vide ch’io non mi partiva,

disse: << Per altra via, per altriporti

verrai a piaggia, non qui, per passare:

più lieve legno convien che ti porti>>.

E ‘l duca lui: << Caron, non ti crucciare:

vuolsi così colà dove si puote

ciò che si vuole, e più non dimandare>>.

(Inferno, Canto II, Dante Alighieri, La Divina Commedia)