Enceladus and the birth of Sicily

Enceladus and the birth of Sicily

by Ignazio Caloggero

Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths

Enceladus is another Giant who is even linked to the very foundation of Sicily. According to mythology, he is one of the Giants who participated in the so-called Gigantomachy , the battle between the Giants and the Olympian gods. During the battle, Enceladus attempted to escape, but the goddess Athena buried him under a huge mound of earth she collected from the coasts of the continent. Defeated, Enceladus became part of the land that came to be known as the island of Sicily.

His body is said to be lying under the island with:

the big toe of the right foot under the Mount Erice,
the right leg towards Palermo, the other towards Mazara,
the bust is in the center of the island below Enna,
arms towards Messina one and verse SIRACUSA the other one,
his head and his mouth under theEtna that breathes fire at every cry of the giant.

Every now and then the terrible creature tries to rise up and then Sicily is hit by an earthquake, but Athena watches over the island and will not allow the giant to awaken. In fact, the myth narrates that the volcanic activity of Etna originated from the fiery breath of Enceladus, while the tremors of the earth during earthquakes, from his rolling under the mountain due to wounds.

Fight between Athena and Enceladus, Attic plate (XNUMXth century BC). Louvre Museum.

A memory of Enceladus buried under Etna comes from Virgil – “Aeneid” Book III :

It is fame, that by the lightning struck
And not extinct, under this bulk
The body of superb Enceladus lies;
And that when for grief and laxity
He is overwhelmed, or sighing longs,
The mountain and the whole Trinacria are shaken;
And the fire coming out of the wounded chest
Through the caves murmuring exhales,
And all around the countryside is the sky
Of wicked thunder and pumice and smoke.