Myth of the three Nymphs and the birth of Sicily
Sandro Botticelli – The Three Graces (1480) (detail)
Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths
The Myth of the three Nymphs is linked to the birth of Sicily. Three nymphs wandered, dancing, around the world, collecting stones, fruit and earth from the most beautiful and fertile lands.
Once they arrived at the place that would later become Sicily and bewitched by a clear and particularly bright sky, the three nymphs danced with a more frenetic rhythm dropping what they had previously collected into the sea and thus forming the three promontories (Capo Peloro, Capo Passero and Capo Lilibeo) within which Sicily was formed.
The Myth in the IWB Register of the Sicily Region
The places of the Myth of the three Nymphs have been included by the Sicily Region in the LIM Register (Places of Identity and Memory of Sicily), sector of the Places of the minor gods and divinities.
The places concerned are:
- Capo Sparrow (Pachino-prov. Syracuse)
- Cape Pelorus (Messina)
- Cape Lilybaeum (Marsala-province of Trapani)
Extract from the Book ” Cults of Ancient Sicily” by Ignazio Caloggero ISBN: 9788832060102 © 2022 Centro Studi Helios srl
