Typhoeus-Typhon
by Ignazio Caloggero
Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths
The myth of Tifeo (Typhon) is, in some respects, similar to that of Enceladus.
In Greek mythology Typhon (Tifeo) is the son of Gea (Mother Earth) and Tartarus (personification of the underworld). Typhon was a giant, as was Enceladus, one of the Giants who took part in the so-called Gigantomachy, in one of the many fights against Zeus (Jupiter). Typhoeus was the personification of the south wind and was the father of all the bloodiest winds. According to the poet Aeschylus, Typhon was confined to Etna and caused eruptions. Even Hesiod, in the Theogony, places the titan under Mount Etna.
Another version of the myth tells the birth of Typhon in another way, Gea, grieved because Zeus had destroyed the Giants, slandered Zeus towards his wife Hera and the latter I think I am addressing Cronus (Saturn), the pre-Olympic divinity, father of Zeus who had it in death (we could say so) with his son, having been overthrown by him. Cronus, king of the Titans and of fertility, thought of a particular strategy of his, he masturbated, dropping his seed on two eggs that he gave to Hera, telling him to bury them as they would have generated a demon capable of overthrowing Zeus. This demon was Typhon himself.
Typhon did not look very good, indeed he was, as a demon, ugly, very ugly: half man and half animal he was higher than all the mountains and, often, his head bumped into the stars. He was breathing fire from his mouth and eyes. His legs were made of coiled dragons from which snakes emerged from the center. When Typhon ascended Mount Olympus, all the gods, including Zeus, at the sight of him, fled to Egypt, transforming themselves into animals and giving rise to the local animal cult:
- Zeus (Jupiter) turned into a ram
- Apollo in crow
- Dionysus (Free) in goat
- Artemis (Diana) in cat
- It was (Juno) in cow
- Aphrodite (Venus) in fish
- Hermes (Mercury) in ibis
"And Typhoeus, son of Earth, came there, forcing the gods to hide under false pretences: Leader of the pack," he said, "he became Jupiter, for which reason in Libya Ammon is still depicted with curved horns; the god of Delos changed himself into a crow, the son of Semele into a goat, the sister of Phoebus into a cat; the daughter of Saturn hid herself in a snowy cow, Venus in a fish and Mercury in the feathers of an ibis" [1].
Zeus was called to order by his daughter Athena (Minerva), goddess of war but also of reason, who reminded him that he was the supreme god of Olympus and guarantor of world harmony. Zeus, therefore, faced Tifeo but he was defeated by him and imprisoned in a cave in Cilicia after cutting the tendons of his wrists and ankles. Hermes and Pan found his tendons, freed him and healed him. Zeus then resumed the fight against Typhon and this time he managed to win by throwing Sicily at him. Popular tradition has it that Typhon supports Sicily, in fact, his body is positioned with the head towards the east, the feet towards the west and the two arms stretched perpendicular to the body along the north-south axis: Typhon holds Messina with his right hand , Pachino with the left, Trapani is resting on his feet and the cone of Etna is right on his mouth, facing upwards. Every time he gets mad, Tifeo makes fire and lava vomit from Etna and every time he tries to free himself from captivity, the earth trembles, triggering earthquakes.
Zeus hurls the thunderbolt at Typhon, Chalcidian black-figure hydria, 550 BC, Staatliche Antikensammlungen – Munich [2].
“Immense on the limbs of a giant the island of Trinacria stretches: under its enormous weight it holds Tifeo, who had dared to aspire to the seats of the celestials, crushed.
He, it is true, is struggling to get up, but on his right hand stands Pelorus , near Ausonia, on his left you, Pachynus ; Lilybaeum presses his legs, above his head weighs down Etna ; and Typhoeus, lying on the bottom, from his mouth in rage belches lava and vomits flames.
Often he strives to remove the crust that oppresses him and to shake off cities and mountains: then the earth trembles and even the king of the dead fears that the ground will split open, that a chasm will reveal its secrets and that the light, breaking in, will sow terror and chaos among the shadows.” [3]
The Myth in the IWB Register of the Sicily Region
The Sicily Region has entered the Myth of Tifeo - Typhon in the LIM register (Places of identity and memory) - Places of gods and minor divinities.
Places indicated on the IWB:
- Etna volcano
- Capo Passero (Pachino, province of Syracuse)
- Capo Peloro (Messina)
- Capo Lillibeo (Marsala, province of Trapani)
[1] Ovid – The Metamorphoses – Book Five
[2] https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tifone_(mitologia)#/media/File:Zeus_Typhon_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_596.jpg
[3] Ovid – The Metamorphoses – Book Five
To view the places of the Myth on an Interactive Map, see the following web page: The places of Tifeo – Tifone
Excerpt from the book “ Myths of Ancient Sicily” by Ignazio Caloggero ISBN:9788832060157 © 2022 Centro Studi Helios srl
