52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #24. The Mother Goddess’ Presence is Everywhere

Demeter, the goddess of the grain, female fertilization, and the harvest, who is the mother of Persephone, represents the great matriarch in ancient Greek mythology. Her power to cultivate the bounties on the Earth’s surface for us are illustrated significantly during the myth of Demeter and Kore/Persephone. Before the Christian era, the Eleusinian Mysteries (as…

The Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros, Selinunte (Part I)

The ancient Greek community of Selinunte was founded as a sub-colony of Megara Iblea in 651-650 BCE. One of the first sacred sites in the western Sicilian city, which is considered one of the world’s largest archaeological zones, is the Santuario della Malophoros or the Sanctuary of the Fruit Bearer. “Malophoros” implies pomegranates or apples,…