The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, January 7,1909. MYTHS OF SICILY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 447, 7 January 1909, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, January 7,1909. MYTHS OF SICILY.

Sicxuy is interesting to the lover of Greek and Roman literature and mythology as the home of several myths. Sir Archibald Geikie, in one of his delightful essays on the connection between landscape and history, remarks that the volcanic phenomena so characteristic of the Mediterranean, must have impressed, more than any other physical feature, the dwellers by that sea. The very early Greeks, accustomed to eruptions in the Aegean Sea, were prepared to accept the stories of far more colossal volcanoes, and more terrifying eruptions, in the distant West. The adventurous voyagers who saw the lolly cone of Etna emitting smoke and fire, and Stroraboli continually in eruption, and who perhaps escaped from the horrors of a terrible outburst, would bring home such tales as would confirm the belief in the national mythology, and might even suggest new myths. The greater size aijd vigour of the Sicilian volcanoes tended to create the impression that other characteristics of the region were on a similar exaggerated scale. Sicily was accordingly believed to be the home of a gigantic race of shepherds, the Cyclops people with but one eye, and that in the centre of their forehead. Ulysses had an exciting adventure with one of these folk, conquering him by putting out his eye. The legend arose of the hundred-armed giant Enceladus lying beneath the earth, and having Etna as an outlet for his breath. The belching of the volcano suggested the gasping of an imprisoned monster, the tremors so constantly affecting the region were his quiverings as he lay on his bed of torture, and the severe shakings were caused by his endeavours to change his positions. As Sicily became more familiar to the Greeks, the Cyclops became impossible above ground, so they were transfeiicd to the under-world as associates of Hephaistos or Vulcan. It was noticed that while eruptions of Etna occurred at intervals, volcanic activity in the islands to the north was continuous, so the idea was suggested of a subterranean workshop, where Vulcan and the Cyclops forged thunderbolts for Jove. The abundant discharge of vapours suggested that wind was imprisoned in the earth, so the God of the Winds was represented as having his home in the same subterranean caverns.