{"id":114917,"date":"2024-01-16T08:17:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T07:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trapaniwelcome.it\/places\/erice-the-myths-of-erice\/"},"modified":"2025-02-07T07:30:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T06:30:25","slug":"erice-the-myths-of-erice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/trapaniwelcome.it\/en\/places\/erice-the-myths-of-erice\/","title":{"rendered":"Erice The Myths of Erice"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The myths of Erice<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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There are a great many tales and myths about Erice…<\/p>\n

The Myth of Venus<\/u> – <\/strong>In Erice, the cult of this female deity took on different names over the centuries and peoples. The Phoenician cult of the goddess Astante<\/strong>, later transformed by the Romans into that of Venus<\/strong>, was in many ways obscure in nature and included the breeding of doves<\/strong> and sacred prostitution within the temple. <\/p>\n

Thousands of pilgrims each year would reach the shrine on the occasion of the departure of the doves sacred<\/u> to the goddess who would head to Africa, to Kef, where a sister shrine was located and then return to Erice<\/strong> after nine days. During this time great festivals were held in Erice<\/strong>.
The myth of Venus<\/strong> was then fueled by the sacred prostitution of the Hierodules<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

From all over the Mediterranean, traders and sailors arrived here to enjoy the company of the beautiful priestesses of Venus who, in return for substantial offerings, ensured the goddess’s protection. <\/p>\n

Anchises’ Stele<\/u> – <\/strong>Aeneas, on his journey away from Troy stopped at Aceste, king of Erice<\/strong>, who offered him hospitality. Along the coast of Erice, near the promontory of Pizzolungo<\/strong>, Aeneas<\/strong> was finally able to give a proper burial to his father Anchises in whose honor the Stele of Anchises<\/strong> was erected. On the first anniversary of his death, Aeneas organized here the Ludi<\/strong>, a sporting joust that Virgil accurately describes in the Aeneid. <\/p>\n

Erice and Hercules<\/u> – <\/strong>Legend has it that the area was ruled by the demigod Erice<\/strong>, son of Bute, one of Odysseus<\/strong>‘ companions, and the goddess Aphrodite. When Erice<\/strong> learned that the mighty Hercules<\/strong> had come to visit his territories, he wanted to challenge him to determine which of the two was the stronger.
If Erice<\/strong> lost, he would hand over all his possessions to Hercules<\/strong>. If not, Hercules<\/strong> would hand over to Hercules<\/strong> the sacred cows that he carried. But Hercules<\/strong> ‘ fame did not lie and he got the better of Hercules<\/strong>.
Hercules<\/strong>, however, continued his journey by entrusting the kingdom of Erice<\/strong> to its own inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Daedalusand Minasse<\/u> – Daedalus<\/strong> took refuge in Sicily, the guest of the Sican king Cocalo, after fleeing Crete<\/strong> because of the wrath of Minos who wanted to punish him to death for providing his consort Pasiphae<\/strong> with the famous bronze cow.
Minasseh<\/strong>, however, learned of Daedalus<\/strong> ‘ presence in Sicily and went to ask Cocalo<\/strong> to hand him over. The latter pretended to accede to the request but, in reality, it was just a ruse to kill Minos<\/strong> in a hot bath. <\/p>\n

The same Cretans<\/strong> who had accompanied the king, before returning home, buried Minos<\/strong> and erected over his tomb a temple dedicated to Aphrodite<\/strong>.
According to some, the temple would have been precisely that of the Erycine goddess, under which Minos’ burial<\/strong> would be found.<\/p>\n

The Myth of the Julian Knight<\/u> – <\/strong>After the end of the Roman Empire, Erice<\/strong> disappears from historical records. It will reappear there only in the 12th century when we learn from Arab sources that there is a city, called Gebel Hamed<\/strong>, right there where Erice<\/strong> should be. It is 1076 AD, when the Norman Count Roger II besieges the Muslim populations on the mountain. <\/p>\n

At first light in the morning, during an auspicious prayer for victory, he saw in a dream the knight Julian<\/strong> riding a white horse, equipped with shining weapons, dressed in the red mantle of a dignitary, with a falcon perched on his left hand, urging the Muslims to flee.<\/p>\n

Gebel Hamed thus became Norman land and, out of devotion to the saint<\/u>, was renamed in the year 1167 “Mount St. Julian<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Insights<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The myths of Erice There are a great many tales and myths about Erice… The Myth of Venus – In Erice, the cult of this female deity took on different […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990014,"featured_media":114485,"parent":114740,"menu_order":57,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1693],"class_list":["post-114917","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-erice-en"],"yoast_head":"\nErice The Myths of Erice - Trapani e Provincia - hotel, agriturismo, casa-vacanze, B & B, affittacamere, campeggi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trapaniwelcome.it\/en\/places\/erice-the-myths-of-erice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Erice The Myths of Erice - 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