Crimiso
Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths
Crimiso is the Sicilian river god who turned into a dog and joined the Trojan Egesta (or Segesta) when she arrived in Sicily. From their union was born Aceste (or Egesto), founder of the city of Segesta, who happily welcomed Aeneas and the Trojans when they landed in Sicily. The dog is the element that is once again linked to oriental culture, and precisely in the Segestan coinage this symbol appears several times, perhaps as a reminder of the cult of Crimiso. There are different versions of the arrival in Sicily of the Trojan Segesta. One of these narrates that, due to discord between the king of Troy, Laomedonte, and his magnate, a certain Fenodamante, the king had the latter arrested and killed and all his male descendants and decided, instead of handing over the three daughters to merchants with the requirement that they be taken to distant lands. The girls, escaped from death thanks to the goddess Aphrodite, were taken to Sicily where, upon their arrival, they erected a temple to the goddess who had protected them. One of these girls was our Segesta.
Extract from the Book ” Cults of Ancient Sicily” by Ignazio Caloggero ISBN: 9788832060102 © 2022 Centro Studi Helios srl
