Sicily- Greek LocationLocation · Landmark"Island of the Three Capes"

Persephone's Meadow

Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow near Enna, in the heart of the island, when the earth split open and Hades burst forth in his chariot. He seized her and dragged her to the underworld. Demeter searched the entire island for her daughter, and her grief blighted the land. When Persephone was finally allowed to return for part of each year, Sicily's wheat fields became Demeter's gift to the island — a reward for the help she received in finding her daughter.

The Fire Beneath the Mountain

After Zeus defeated the monstrous Typhon in their cosmic battle, he buried the creature beneath Sicily and piled Mount Etna upon him. The volcano's eruptions were Typhon's fiery breath, and earthquakes came from his thrashing against the weight above. Some traditions placed the giant Enceladus there instead, hurled beneath the island by Athena during the Gigantomachy.

Etna also housed Hephaestus's forge, where the elder Cyclopes — Brontes, Steropes, and Arges — worked as his smiths. The hammering from within the mountain and the glow of molten rock at night were signs of their ceaseless labor, crafting thunderbolts for Zeus and armor for the gods.

Odysseus on Trinacria

The Cyclops Polyphemus dwelt in a cave on the island, tending his flocks. Odysseus and his crew became trapped inside, and after the giant devoured several men, Odysseus blinded him with a heated stake and escaped beneath the bellies of the Cyclops's sheep. The coast near Catania was later identified with the rocks Polyphemus hurled at the departing ships.

The island was also home to the sacred cattle of Helios. Despite warnings, Odysseus's men slaughtered the divine herd, and Zeus destroyed their ship with a thunderbolt, killing all of Odysseus's remaining companions. The Strait of Messina, separating Sicily from the mainland, held its own terrors — Scylla and Charybdis, the six-headed monster and the devouring whirlpool that Odysseus navigated on his approach.