Aeneas

Origins of the Myth

The myth of the Trojan hero Aeneas is part of Greek and Roman mythology, his legendary deeds are told in theIliad di Homer where he is presented as a hero protected by the gods and resumed in theAeneid di Virgilio where his adventures are told starting from the fall of Troy up to the fusion of the Trojan survivors with the Latins.

Aeneas is a Trojan prince, son of Anchises (cousin of Priam, king of Troy) and of the goddess Venus, being the father a descendant of Dardanus, son of Zeus (the Roman Jupiter), Aeneas can count among his ancestors, also the god Zeus. As a young man, the Trojan hero would have been educated by the centaur Chiron, considered the wisest of the centaurs (half men and half horses) and therefore educators of many heroes and divinities. He married Creusa, daughter of Priam and had a son named Ascanio, also known as Iulus.

Strenuous defender of Troy, second only to Ettore, at its fall he fled with his father Anchises who took on his shoulders, his son Ascanio and his wife Creusa who, however, lost during the escape, moreover, just to be lighter, the father carried with himself an urn with the ashes of his ancestors and a small statue with the most sacred gods of Troy, the Penates.

During his journey, Aeneas passed through many Mediterranean countries, and after having been in Sicily he concluded his pilgrimage in Lazio where he married the princess Lavinia, daughter of the local king Latinus, thus becoming the progenitor of the Roman people.

Aeneas and Anchises – Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1617/1618) Galleria Borghese – Rome[1]

The Myth in Sicily

According to legend, Aeneas together with a group of Trojan survivors arrives in Sicily, avoiding the areas inhabited by the Greeks, arriving almost as far as the Strait of Messina, but on the advice of the soothsayer Elena, wanted to avoid passing it because the place was made dangerous by the presence of monsters Scilla and Cariddi deciding to circumnavigate the island.

During the circumnavigation they have the opportunity to get close to the lands inhabited by the Cyclops, at the sight of Polyphemus they fled before he managed to catch them (Aeneid Book III vv 955 ss.).

Continuing the circumnavigation of Sicily they passed near the gulf of Augusta (Megara) e Chief Pachino, and they were able to see during navigation, Camarina, Gela, Agrigento and Selinunte, during the stopover at Trapani, the father Anchises, afflicted by ailments and old age died. (Aeneid Book III vv 1030 ff.), Aeneas, thanks to the availability of the local king These, gave solemn burial to his father at the foot of the Mount Erice. A monument dedicated to his father Anchises was erected to commemorate the episode on the coast of Pizzolungo (Stele of Anchises).

When the journey resumed, a storm drove him to the coast of Carthage where he met the queen Dido with whom he fell in love, so he thought of ending his journey in Africa, but the will of Zeus, ordered him to abandon the queen and continue the journey to what would have been his final destination, the Lazio. Seized by her desperation, Queen Dido, seeing the Trojan ship with Aeneas on board, go away from her, she will take her life (Aeneid Book IV vv 920 ss.).

During the journey to Lazio, I pass through Sicily again, welcomed by Aceste who helps him organize games (Ludi) in honor of his dead father[2].

After the games, Aeneas resumed his journey landing at Friday, later passed by Gaeta to finish his journey in Lazio.

According to some versions of the legend Aeneas would have founded a temple dedicated to Erice Venere.

Origin of the Trojan legends in Sicily

Thanks to the discoveries of Heinrich Schliemann we know that the remains of Troy are found in Asia Minor (today's Turkey) and among the various layers corresponding to the various eras of the city, there is one which has a thick layer of charcoal which can be dated around 1250 BC and which could refer to the destruction of Troy by the I found which started the Trojan diaspora. This period does not differ much from the traditional one which wants Troy to be destroyed by a coalition of Greek cities in 1184.

The Aeneid was written between 29 BC and 19 BC but the diaspora of the Trojan fugitives who came to Sicily was talked about much earlier, they talked about Stesichorus (Tisias), lived in the VII century BC e Thucydides, lived in the XNUMXth century BC

As he states Emanuele Ciaceri it would be a mistake to say that the Trojan legend arose and developed in Sicily around the name of Aeneas. It had a varied and gradual development and only later did the narratives on the arrival of Trojan heroes condense around the son of Anchises[3].

The Acetes who welcomed Aeneas was probably Egest (also known as These), son of agesta, the Trojan daughter of Phenodamante who together with her sisters was brought to Sicily (we will deepen this aspect of the legend when we talk about the Elimi people).

According to Thucydides (Lib. VI), the Elimi They would have escaped the destruction of their city by Trojans, later joined by Phocians from Phocaea, a Greek city in Asia Minor.

Egesto, despite being born in Sicily, went to the aid of Troy, and after the destruction of the city, he returned, together with other Trojan fugitives including Spirit, bastard son of Anchises and brother of Aeneas. The Sicani, who considered Egesto a villager and respected the deeds of him Elimo prince Trojan, welcomed them by giving them land on which to settle. The group thus constituted was then called Elimi from the name of the Trojan prince.

The Myth in the IWB Register of the Sicily Region

The Sicily Region has entered the Myth of Aeneas in the LIM register (Places of identity and memory) – Places of heroes and heroic legends.

Places indicated on the IWB:

Archipelago of the Cyclops (Aci Trezza-province of Catania)
Stele of Anchises, Pizzolungo coast (Erice-prov. Trapani)
Gulf of Trapani
Scilla and Cariddi (Messina Strait)

[1]https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enea,_Anchise_e_Ascanio#/media/File:Aeneas,_Anchises,_and_Ascanius_by_Bernini.jpg

[2] Aeneid Fifth book vv 5 ff.

[3] Emanuele Ciaceri: Cults and Myths in the History of Ancient Sicily pag. 314

To view the places of the Myth on an Interactive Map, see the following web page: The places of Aeneas

Virgil writes about Aeneas' trip to Sicily in his epic poem "Aeneid"

“It lies de la Sicania in the gulf in front of an islet that is placed in the wavy Plemmirio, and by the ancients is called Ortigia by name. It is known on this island that the Greek Alfeo comes from Dòride intact by way under the sea, infinity of Arcadia through the mouth of Aretusa to mix with the waves of Sicily. And here in the place we venerated the great gods; then we crossed the opime fields of the swampy Eloro. We shaved the Alpine stones of Pachino, discovered Camarina, and we heard fate, that her dry pond was bad for her.

We passed the plain of Geloi, of which Gela is the land, and Gela the river. Far from afar we saw the great mount Agragante, and its towers and beaches which were already famous mothers of races.

With the same wind back we left the palm-like Seline; and 'n on the tip reached Lilibeo, soon we turned its blind dry, and' the port at the end of the badly seen Drepano we seized. "

Aeneid, Book III - Virgil (70-19 BC)

Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero

Photo: web

Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero, Region of Sicily

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