Myths and legends of Siracusa

Aretusa

		The myth of Aretusa nymph is surely the most fashinating legend about Siracusa. Aretusa was a nymph of Artemis' retinue, who spent her days running free around Peloponneso's trees, hunting animals and picking flowers. One day the young Alfeo saw her and fell in love. The young nymph didn't reciprocate Alfeo's love and, tired of runnig away, asked Artemis for protection. Then the Goddess (that had to be momentarily short of better solutions) wrapped it in a thick cloud, that covered the young girl whit an icy sweat that was melted in a spring on the Ortigia coast.
Aretusa, represented in the beautiful "decadramma" coin, drawn from Eveneto and coined after the victory of Siracusa on Atene (413 b.C.)		Alfeo (that had to be a hard-headed guy) asked Gods for help, and they transformed him in a river that, being born from Greece and covering underground all the Jonio Sea, flowed near the beloved Spring, lapping on her waters with his ones.

		Still today, like in those ancient times, the spring known as "Zillica's Eye" gushes out between the waters of the Great Harbour of Siracusa, near the mythical spring, whose waters joins continuously with its ones.
Aretusa' Spring and the Great Harbour

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Ciane & Anapo

Ciane and Anapo are two rivers that, after flowing along the Siracusa's land, join a one mouth and pour themselves in the Great Harbour of Siracusa. The legend refer to the myth of Persephone (Romans' Proserpina ) and to her abduction made by Ade (Pluto).

Persephone, daughter of Zeus (Jupiter) and Demeter (Ceres), goddess of the vegetation and agriculture, was intent of picking flowers together with some nymphs near the shore of Pergusa Lake (close to Enna). Without warning, Ade came outside from his underground reign with his coach. He was fallen in love with the nymph and, in order not to lose time in courtships and, above all, in order to avoid to ask her hand to his conceited brother Zeus, had decided to abduct her. After a first moment of general bewilderment, while the poor Persephone was screaming, Ciane was the only one who had the courage to react and to grab the Ade's coach, trying (hopelessly) to withhold it while it was sinking underground to the Averno. The God, angry, hit her with his bifurcate scepter and transformed her in a double spring of blue waters (cyanos in Greek language means blue).

		The young Anapo, sweetheart of the unlucky nymph, unexpectedly seeing his girlfriend melted, didn't find anything better than imitate the fluvial god Alfeo (see over the myth of Aretusa) and be tranformed in the homonymous river that still today, after receiving the waters of the river Ciane, pours itself in the Great Harbour of Siracusa. What about Persephone? The legend tells that Zeus convinced his bad brother (and son in law) to withhold Persephone in the Ade just for four months of the year (so that in that months the angry mother Demeter sends us winter), while in the eight remaining months, with the joy of her mom (luckily for us) Persephone returns on the earth, together with spring, summer and fall.
The one mouth of Ciane and Anapo rivers and, in background, Ortigia's skyline		Beyond the unlucky love stories, there's another thing that links Aretusa (the spring) and Ciane (the river): their shores are the ones, ouside Egypt, where naturally grows the papyrus plant, used still today from the Siracusa's craftsmen to realize wonderful paints on the paper invented from the ancient Egyptians.

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'A Piddirìna (Pilgrim girl)

The eastern coast of the Maddalena Peninsula , (so called because of the previous existence of an ancient little church dedicated to Mary Magdalene), is also known by Siracusans as A' Piddirìna (Pilgrim girl).

This name refers to a fishermens' tale, telling that once upon a time a young sailor and a girl were used to meet all the full moon nights in a cove inside the Pillirina Gulf to love themselves passionately on a seaweed bed.

An ugly day, indeed an ugly night, the girl went in the cove waiting for her beautiful sailor, but he didn't come that night, neither never more (as it seems to be usual between his collegues).

The girl didn't accept to loose him and became to walk around (to pilgrim) nearby the cove, but always vainly.

Fishermen tell that still today, shoring in the full moon nights near the Piddirìna Cove, it is possible to see the poor girl, enclosed in a lunar bundle of light, waiting hopelessly for her young sailor.

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Archimedes

Archimedes accepted, completely enthusiastic, and the Romans noticed very how much able was the genius, who during three years arrested Mecellus' army.

It happened, in fact, that one day the crew of a ship, that bravely had pushed under the enemy fortifications, saw without warning dulling from walls a kind of monstrous and colossal tongs that seized the ship between two tremendous arms, and quaked and demolished it. It was a war machine created by Archimedes, working by means of levers and pulleys, all mechanisms of which the scientist was most expert, indeed unsurpassable. At the same time, on the other ships berthed to short distance from walls, began to fall heavy masses, launched by catapults, that crushed bridges and flanks, broked trees, massacred the crews.

But the invention of Archimedes who more has hit the popular fantasy is Specchi Ustori (burning mirrors). The tradition tells, in fact, that Archimedes had realized great mirrors by means of which, concentrating the light of the solar beams, he was able to set afire the enemy ships.

The largeness of Archimedes genius has, moreover, inspired numerous legends about his life and even about his death. One of more diffuse legends tells that " the Archimedes principle" was found by the eclectic scientist while he was taking a bath in a bathtub and that, excitating for the discovery, he came runnig out of his home, completely naked, screaming "Eureka!" (I have found it!).

There's also a famous legend about Archimedes death. It tells that, after the Siracusa's conquer, a Roman soldier, entered in Archimedes home, found it dipped in his thoughts and asked him several times his name (the consul Marcellus had ordered to save the great scientist's life). Seeing that the old man kept on being silent, the soldier drew his sword and killed him. Also the place where Archimedes was buried is wrapped in the mystery. Traditionally the Siracusans call "Archimedes Tomb" a monumental ancient tomb dug in a cliff inside the archaeological park, which is still today visible from Corso Gelone. Such identification was based on two elements: a showy tympanum located over the income of the tomb and an engraving found in a wall near the income, representing a sphere inside a cylinder (in this way Archimedes discovered how it's possible to calculate the sphere's volume). Such identification, however, is not absolutely sure, as long as analogous elements have been found in another tomb, located in the inner courtyard of the Hotel Panorama (not far away from the other tomb).

Niccolò Barabino (1832-1891), Archimedes' killing

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Saint Lucia (Saint Lucy)

		Lucia was born in Siracusa, but we don't know the exact date. Her life is full of legendary elements, that testify the enormous veneration of people all around the world. Her Gospel of the Passion asserts that Lucia endured the martyrdom under Diocleziano, for which it's used to fix her birth date in 283 a.C. According to the Gospel of the Passion, Lucia belonged to a rich Siracusan family and was promised to a pagan boy. Because of a disease of her mother, she made a travel to Catania, in order to visit the sepulchre of Saint Agata, on which she swore to remain virgin. There, God communicated her His plan: she had to dedicate her life to the poors. Lucia obeyed: she left her boy friend and kept on distribute her goods to the poors, turning around in the houses and in the catacombs, where in those times the persecuted Christians sheltered themselves.
E. Orciani, Verisimilar face of S. Lucia

According to the legend, to walk in the dusk of the catacombs leaving her hands free, she was used to wear a crown of candles on her head (therefore in Sweden she is still today represented with it).

The former promised husband, taken from the anger, denounced her, accusing her of being Christian. Lucia was arrested and subjected to various tortures: carried in a brothel, dragged from a couple of bulls, sprinkled whit hot pitch, placed on the burning coal. According to another legend, she tore her eyes with her own hands, without showing any appearing pain, and gave them to the executioner on a plate. In spite of these tremendous torments, only a stabbing to the throat from a soldier could kill her. Her bones are not in Siracusa, because they were trafugate from the Turks during their raids (it seems that they didn't scorn the relics of Christian Saints for superstition), and were recovered in Constantinople from Venetians. Today it's possible to see Santa Lucia's bones in Venice in Santa Lucia's Church, near Venice's railway station, called Santa Lucia Station.

The iconography of Santa Lucia is carachterized by the episode of voluntary tearing of her eyes: she is usually represented with a plate in her hand on which the eyes are placed. In Siracusa the heavy silver statue of Lucia, object of enormous veneration, represent her full sized with a bunch of ears in one hand, the cup with the eyes in the other and a dagger run into her throat.

Santa Lucia's Day is the 13th of December. Before the introduction of the modern calendar, 13th of December was the day of the winter solstice, from which the saying " Santa Lucia: the shorter day of the year". For this reason the tradition to celebrate Santa Lucia is also diffused in Northern Europe (Sweden, Norway and Denmark), where her Day preannounces the arrival of the light months, after the long polar winter.

In Siracusa, Santa Lucia's Day is characterized by agrarian magical-exorcistic and solar practices. Breads are made with the shape of eyes that, blessed, are eaten to prevent themselves from ocular diseases and it's made the "cuccìa", a soup made up of bubbled grain. To Santa Lucia are also offered silver ballot to shape of eyes, that are hung on the statue of the Saint during its procession.

Santa Lucia bring her gifts in Northern Italy (Brescia, Bergamo, Mantova, Cremona, Verona and Trentino), where she comes on a little ass: you have to make it find under your fireplace some straw to eat. But they are also useful some little carrots bunches on the windows, to show it the road and to persuade it to stop. Be careful: children don't have to see Santa Lucia, otherwise she could throw some ash in their eyes, without leaving any gift.

In the 20th of December, during the procession for 8th day from Santa Lucia's Day, Siracusa traditionally hostes "Santa Lucia of Sweden", a young Swedish girl, accompanied by two "maids", who in Sweden represents Lucia, with her head worn by of a crown of candles, like those that made light to Lucia in the permanent night of Siracusan catacombs.

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Last updating: 20/12/2003