Cyclops on board! Sicily’s Greek heritage stares you in the face from a boat in Aci Trezza.
© Robert Long

Stories Speak of Cultural Heritage

Under the watchful eye of my high school English teacher, I learned about the 10-year voyage of Odysseus (aka Ulysses) and his encounter with the cyclops, never imagining that I would one day see evidence of their fight.

Yet, here I am on the Cyclops Riviera where the encounter occurred. Before my eyes, stories—old and new—engage me in the cultural heritage of Sicily.

A Story of Old: Odysseus Meets the Cyclops

In the Odyssey, the great epic poem often attributed to the blind poet Homer, Odysseus sails home after his clever idea for the Trojan Horse won Greece a victory over Troy.

Along the way, Odysseus stops at an island where one-eyed giants known as cyclops tend their sheep. He and his crew, laden with gifts of wine, find the cave of the cyclops Polyphemus. They make themselves at home, lighting a fire inside the cave and stealing the cyclops’ cheese and lamb. Not a good idea.

Sicilian sheep still graze in the shadow of
Mount Etna, an active volcano.
© iStock/Domenico Pellegriti

When Polyphemus returns with his sheep, he isn’t too hospitable. He traps the Greeks inside the cave and proceeds to have a couple of ’em for dinner.

He has two more Greeks the next day for breakfast, and Odysseus has an “Oh, I see” moment. He better do something fast!

So, when Polyphemus leaves for the day with his flock, Odysseus fashions a spear from an olive branch. That night, he sees to it that Polyphemus overindulges in the sweet wine and falls into a drunken state. That’s when Odysseus hardens the point of his spear in the fire, rams it into the cyclops’ one big eye, and blinds him.

Though injured and blind, Polyphemus does what a shepherd has to do. In the morning, he takes his sheep out to graze, feeling their fleece as each exits the cave, and blocking the opening with a boulder to keep the Greeks inside.

Only problem is that the cyclops has an “Oh, I don’t see” moment—the Greeks have tied themselves to the undersides of the sheep, and they escape.

As the Greeks set sail, Odysseus taunts the cyclops. In a fit of rage, Polyphemus tears rocks from the mountainside and hurls them into the sea, hoping to sink their ship. The Greeks get away, but the rocks are still there today.

In Greek mythology, the rocks, now known as I Faraglioni off the eastern coast of Sicily,
were thrown into the sea by the cyclops trying to stop the escape of Odysseus and his crew.
© Sheron Long

Is it only a story? Who knows, but it’s been around in oral form since the 12th Century BCE. It’s part of Sicily’s cultural heritage that includes not only the Greeks but (among others) the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, and finally the Italians once Garibaldi unified Italy in 1861.

Due to its geographic position, Sicily has built up layers of history from different cultures, and the evidence is everywhere. For the  Sicilians, settling on an identity is not always easy. I ask one woman if she identifies now with Italy. The answer? “Only once every four years when Italy plays in the World Cup.”

A Story of New: Boy Meets Girl

Every day that goes by, new layers of history are added, both cultural and personal. Today I get to look into the past and the future. Gazing seaward, I see rocks supposedly thrown by the cyclops about 3000 years ago; looking into the plaza, I see future stories, steeped in Sicilian culture, unfolding.

A couple just married pauses there to document this historic day in their personal story. They begin a new chapter in their lives, drawing on their more contemporary cultural heritage.

A picture-perfect wedding picture in a centuries-old Sicilian plaza
© Sheron Long

A couple stands where other couples have stood across centuries
to celebrate an important chapter in their personal stories.
© Sheron Long

Walking into the future—what stories will the bride and groom write together?
© Sheron Long

Like Odysseus, they are about to set sail, hopefully for more than the ten years that comprised his voyage and surely full of “Oh, I see” and “Oh, I don’t see” moments—the kind of moments that always make for a good story. Buon viaggio!

May the voyage be long and happy filled with Sicilian traditions, like this boat!
© Sheron Long

The Italian government tourism office offers travel videos and information on Sicily. For maps of Sicily showing its vulnerable geographic position, visit World Atlas.

Visit the Ancient History Encyclopedia  for more on the Greek rule of Sicily (8th–3rd Century BCE). 

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.