Sicily And The Cyclops

This is a cyclops. Well, sort of. It’s actually the skeleton of an elephant. A small elephant that at one time was indigenous to Sicily. Yup, that’s right. This animal, which is the size of a Vespa motor bike, once roamed the ancient landscape of Sicily. (Remember, part of Sicily is on the African tectonic…

Not The Cyclops, But Etna

These rock stacks are volcanic. The beginnings of Etna, they were pushed up from the sea floor. So, contrary to the story from Homer’s Odyssey, they were not rocks thrown after Odysseus and his men by the cyclops. I recently finished listening to the Emily Wilson translation of the Odyssey read by Claire Danes. It…

Rocks of Science 

In addition to these rock stacks (or faraglioni, as they are called in Italian) being associated with the cyclops Polyphemus and Homer’s crafty Odysseus, they are also part of a nature preserve and research area owned by University of Catania. The largest of the faraglioni (pictured left), the island of Lachea, has been a biological…

Watch for Falling Rocks 

Gli Scogli dei Ciclopi, the Rocks of the Cyclops, are basalt (volcanic) rocks that protrude from the sea at Aci Trezza, a fishing community on Sicily’s east coast, north of Catania. Local legend says that these are boulders from Mt. Etna, thrown here, into the sea, at Homer’s hero, Odysseus, after he and his men…

Hit and Myth

Galatea was a beautiful nymph with milky-white skin. A character in Greek Mythology, she was one of 50 sea nymphs called the Nereidi. Together, this clan of nymphs lived at the bottom of the sea and made it their business to assist the sailors on their journeys. Polyphemus, the cyclops who lived on a nearby…