Tag: demeter
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Mother’s Grain
The Feast of Santa Lucia is celebrated on December 13, which until 1582 when the Gregorian calendar was instated, was the winter solstice. To celebrate the saint, who is the Christian translation of the Greek goddess Demeter, goddess of grain, agriculture, and fertility, Sicilians eat cuccìa, a pudding made of farro (barley), milk (in this…
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An Offering to the Goddess
This terracotta figure from Siracusa’s archaeological museum is one of hundreds of examples of statuettes found around the island of Ortigia that is attributed to the cult of Demeter and Kore (Persephone). I find this divine figure especially interesting because more recent images of Santa Lucia, the patron saint of Siracusa who is celebrated in…
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The Earth is Waking from Her Sleep
Spring in Sicily is glorious. Persephone has returned from the Underworld, and Demeter is waking from her sadness.
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Renato Guttuso (1911-1987) was born in Bagheria, Sicily and although he lived and worked in Rome most of his life his sensibility as a painter always reflected Sicily’s vibrant contrasts as displayed in this pastel on paper called Six Dances for Demeter (1958). #guttuso #sicily #demeter #bagheria #pastel