The Odyssey journey in Sicily: 4 places between history and legend

Sicily is a wonderful land. And not only: it is a legendary place. Where some of the events narrated in the Odyssey took place. These four, to be precise.

1. The cave of Polyphemus

The starting point is piazza San Papino, in Milazzo. You will reach the imposing Milazzo Castle. At the foot of the fortress, there is a cave. Legend says that it is the cave of Polyphemus, the Cyclops, where he was blinded by Odysseus and his companions.

2. The sea stacks of the Cyclops

Polyphemus, blinded by Odysseus, came out of his cave and cast huge rocks towards the sea in order to hit the boat of Odysseus. But he failed, and the Greek hero sailed away.

In the Gulf of Acitrezza, near Catania, there are spectacular sea stacks, a very romantic panorama at sunset: the stacks would be the huge boulders that Polyphemus cast towards Ulysses’ ship.

3. Aeolian Islands

Aeolus, the god of the winds, gave hospitality to Odysseus and his companions. On the day of the departure, he gave them a bag containing all winds, to be used to return home. But the companions of Ulysses opened the bag unleashing a terrible storm. That brought them back to the island of the god.

Today, the Aeolian Islands are dream tourist destinations. It seems that the abode of the god of the winds, hence the name of the archipelago, was in Stromboli.

4. Scylla and Charybdis

Charybdis was a naiad, transformed in a monster of the sea. Scylla was a beautiful nymph, transformed in a monster without legs but with six heads. According to the legend, they live in two caves in the strait of Messina.

Image source: Flickr.com/photos/gnuckx