Places of the Myth of Hercules: Case del biviere
The site is part of the Places of the Myth of Hercules included in the Register of the Sicily Region LIM (Places of heroes and heroic legends)
Heracles in Sicily
In his tenth labor, after stealing the oxen from Geryon, Heracles set out on his return journey, which took him all the way to Sicily, where he swam with his herd. Upon arriving, he encountered the voracious Charybdis , daughter of the Earth and Poseidon, who stole some of Heracles' sacred oxen and devoured them. Charybdis's deed displeased Zeus, who struck her with a thunderbolt, sending her plummeting into the sea, disguised as a monster that swallowed passing ships.
Heracles decided to circumnavigate the island, so he headed towards the region of Eryx , but upon reaching Himera, he was welcomed by the nymphs, who caused hot springs to gush forth to refresh him from the fatigues of the journey. After being the first guest at what became the thermal baths of Termini Imerese , he set out for Eryx, where he faced and defeated in battle Eryx , the son of Aphrodite who had founded the city of the same name. Arriving in Syracuse, he took one of the most beautiful bulls, placed it in the spring of Cyane , and sacrificed it in honor of Persephone, ordering the inhabitants to perform annual ceremonies and sacrifices in honor of Persephone and Cyane. After Syracuse , Heracles headed towards the interior of the island, where he had to face in battle a group of indigenous Sicanians who opposed him. He defeated them by killing many of them, among them some important strategists who later received from the Sicans the honours attributed to heroes. He was also at Lentini and Agira (called Agirium by Diodorus Siculus and Argyra by Thomas Phazellus), where near the city, his oxen, passing along a stony road, left footprints as if the road had been made of wax [9].
In Agira, Heracles, together with Iolaus, his faithful companion in arms, were venerated as gods [10] . The hero, who until then had not accepted sacrifices in his honour, "since the divine will suggested to him that he was close to immortality", gave permission for celebrations in his honour [11] . As a sign of gratitude towards the people of Agira, Heracles built a lake in front of the city, ordering that it be called with a name derived from his own, just as he gave his own name to the footprints left by his oxen on the rocky road mentioned above.
Places listed in the LIM register of the Sicily Region (Places of Identity and Memory) – Sector “Places of the gods and minor deities :
- Erice (province of Trapani)
- Sources of Hot Water of Imera (Termini Imerese - province of Palermo)
- Sources of Hot Water of Segesta (Calatafimi - province of Trapani)
- Case del biviere (Lentini - province of Syracuse)
- Scilla and Cariddi (Strait of Messina)
To view the places of the Myth on an Interactive Map, see the following web page: The places of Hercules
Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Photo: web
Informational contributions : Ignazio Caloggero, Sicily Region