Aprile 2021 – Exit Sicily Transfer

A map of Sicily – Wikipedia, public domain

The province of Agrigento is located in the southwest of Sicily. According to the legend, it was founded by Deadalus, protagonist of Greek mythology and inventor of the Knossos labyrinth and of the hollow cow for Minos‘ wife, Pasiphaë. We have already concerned with Bull of Phalaris, now let’s describe these other two inventions in outline. The former, the labyrinth, was built by Minos, king of Crete, in Knossos (Greece), to keep the so-called Minotaur confined in it. The Minotaur was the fruit of Pasiphaë’s infidelity with a divine bull and, consequently, he was a mythical creature with the head and the tail of a bull and the body of a man. The latter, the hollow cow, was designed for Pasiphaë’s will, in order to live her secret passion for the divine bull.

The mythical Minotaur – Wikipedia, public domain

Pasiphaë and Daedalus, a fresco from The House of the Vettii, a Roman domus (a type of house) in Pompeii – Wikipedia, public domain

However, according to history, Agrigento was founded in 580 BC by Rhodian and Cretan colonists, Aristinoo and Pistillo, as a colony of Gela. Several tyrants governed the town, such us: the known Phalaris (580 – 554 BC) and Theron (488 – 472 BC), who made the town a notable cultural and military centre. Agrigento was conquered by different peoples over the centuries: by the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs (they really improved the local trade, industry and called the town “Girgenti“) and, ultimately, the Normans. The Normans arrived in Agrigento in 1087 and, after a painful resistance, the town surrended. The current “Agrigento” dates back only to 1927.

the fascinating Agrigento (Sicily) – Wikipedia, public domain

Bibliographical reference

Di Giovanni, G., 1998, Agrigento: The head of the Valley and the City of Temples, Edizioni Di Giovanni, Agrigento

Touring Club Italiano, 1997, Guida d’Italia: Siracusa e Agrigento, Touring Editore s.r.l., Milano

Electronic reference

https://www.worldhistory.org/agrigento/?visitCount=2&lastVisitDate=2021-4-1&pageViewCount=3 [Last accessed 16/04/2021]

https://www.worldhistory.org/Minotaur/?visitCount=2&lastVisitDate=2021-4-1&pageViewCount=3 [Last accessed 16/04/2021]

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daedalus-Greek-mythology ]Last accessed 16/04/2021]

https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/agrigento_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/ [Last accessed 16/04/2021]

In the Sicilian province of Agrigento you can visit a place of breathtaking beauty and full of history: the Valley of the Temples, the ancient city. Let’s have a look! Agrigento (Akragas in Greek) was a prosperous city during the Greek domination of Sicily. In the Valley there are a lot of temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Temple of Hera Lacinia, The Valley of the Temples, Agrigento (Sicily) – Pixabay, public domain

History deeply interrelates with myths and legends which are a valuable part of Greek culture. In the Valley there is a building known as the Oratory of Phalaris (1st century BC). It is a Hellenistic in antis temple (it means that it has a portic prolonged at the end of the side-walls in two columns) and in its front there were four Ionic columns, under a Doric trabeation (the architectural horizontal element). So, different styles coexist. Today just the cella remains (the sanctuary, usually in the centre of the building).

The Oratory of Phalaris, the Valley of the Temples (Agrigento) – Wikipedia, public domain

The name of the temple recalls a myth. Phalaris was the cruel tyrant of Akragas in the 6th century BC, sadly famous also for his hollowed bronze bull used to torture his enemies, built by Perillo. Phalaris closed people inside the bull and then lighted a fire under it, roasting them. The victims’ screams seemed the roars of a real bull. According to a terrible version of the myth, Phalaris himself was victim of his creation.

The Bull of Phalaris, copper engraving by Pierre Woeiriot – Wikipedia, public domain

Bibliographical reference

Di Giovanni, G., 1998, Agrigento: The head of the Valley and the City of Temples, Edizioni Di Giovanni, Agrigento

Touring Club Italiano, 1997, Guida d’Italia: Siracusa e Agrigento, Touring Editore s.r.l., Milano

Zingarelli, N., 2008, Lo Zingarelli 2008. Vocabolario della Lingua Italiana, Zanichelli, Bologna

Electronic reference

https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/agrigento_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/ [Last accessed 15/04/2021]

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/831 [Last accessed 15/04/2021]

https://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/anta1/ [Last accessed 16/04/2021]

Agrigento: between history and myth

Myths and legends: The bull of Phalaris