Ciane and Anapo
Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths
Ciane was the nymph companion of Persephone (the daughter of Demeter) which, in an attempt to oppose Pluto who wanted to kidnap Persephone, was transformed into a source: the current Ciane torrent which is found in Syracuse, where even a temple would have been erected [Diodoro Siculo lib. XIV.72].
One version of the legend has it that the young man Anapo, in love with Ciane, seeing his beloved transformed into a river, decided to follow her fate, by being transformed into a river.
The link between the cult of Cyane and that of Persephone is also derived from the story of Diodorus (lib. IV.23) who, speaking of Heracles' journey to Sicily, says that the hero placed one of his bulls in the Cyane fountain in Syracuse to sacrifice it to Persephone, ordering the inhabitants to make the same sacrifice every year in honor of Persephone and Ciane. It is probable that behind the sacrifice of the bull was actually hidden the ancient memory of human sacrifices which were carried out at the source, as often happened in Eastern cultures. This fact and the reference to the Phoenician Hercules would give an oriental imprint to the cult of Ciane.
The other version of the myth of Ciane also has human sacrifice as an argument, seen as an atonement for the sins committed. In fact, it is said that a girl named Ciane, daughter of a certain, lived in Syracuse Cianippo that one night, in a drunken state, he raped his daughter, thus committing incest. The girl, during her violence, managed to tear off the ring that her father wore on her finger, allowing her, with great pain, to recognize the author of her rape the day after her. Meanwhile, the plague having struck the city, the oracle of Apollo he argued that to appease the epidemic a sacrifice was needed and the victim had to be guilty of incest. Ciane saw in this the sign of his destiny, she killed her father and then followed his fate by killing herself.
In Sicily Diodorus speaks of a temple dedicated to Ciane with reference to the events that saw the tyrant Dionysus oppose the Carthaginians who were at the gates of Syracuse in 396 BC [Diodoro Siculo lib. XIV.72] From excavations carried out in 1887 near the source of the river Ciane, on the hill Cozzo Scanderra, remains of a building in opus quadratum have been found, probably to be identified with the sanctuary mentioned by Diodorus [Biagio Bace: Art and civilization of Ancient Sicily pag. 464 vol III].
The Myth in the IWB Register of the Sicily Region
The places of the Myth of Anapo and the Ninfa Ciane have been included by the Sicily Region in the LIM Register (Places of Identity and Memory of Sicily), sector of the Places of Metamorphoses.
The places concerned are:
- “Prism head”, at the source of the Ciane River (province of Syracuse)
- Mouth of the Anapo and Ciane Rivers, at the Porto Grande (Syracuse)
Extract from the Book ” Cults of Ancient Sicily” by Ignazio Caloggero ISBN: 9788832060102 © 2022 Centro Studi Helios srl
