Sicilian Cyclops
Sicilian Cyclops, gigantic divinities of Greek mythology with one eye, have always been linked to Sicily, its history and culture.
Narrated by myths and legends, the Sicilian Cyclops became skilled craftsmen before, forging the lightning of Zeus and, pastors and monsters later in the Odyssey of Ulysses, a story that sees Sicily and its places protagonists.
The most famous of all the Cyclops is certainly Polyphemus, legend has it that Ulysses, under the false name of “Nobody” blinded him to save his men and continue his journey.
The reality is always less romantic than the legend and the origin of the cyclops in Sicily is thought to be due to archaeological findings of skulls of elephants, animals that in the past crowded the island, mistakenly mistaken for “monsters from one eye only”.
The legends about the Sicilian Cyclops are many and fascinating but the question that we of JustSicily ask ourselves is: What is left today of the Cyclops? Can they also be found in this age of technology, smartphones and digital information? Obviously Yes, or rather, we can find their presence in the names and places still lives today.
Blinded by Ulysses, Polyphemus, enraged and without the use of sight, threw from the summit of the Volcano Etna some big rocks to try to hit the fugitives “blindly”.
Those rocks are still visible in Acitrezza, in the province of Catania, with the name of “Faraglioni“. Hurled from the Cyclops (or rather from the geological activity of Mount Etna) create today one of the most evocative scenarios of the whole Sicily that must be seen at least once in life…
Aurora View Resort: ..perhaps enjoying a refreshing sea view tasting a typical granita ice cream.