Sicily Genoa

’ JO HN L . ST ODDARD S L E CT URES SI C I LY G EN OA A DR I V E T H RO UG H T H E E NGA DI N E Norw' ood Press ’ ’ . S u rbi n — ' . C 59 Co . Be wick 59 ‘7 g r N w' d Ma w U S . A or oo , , . B st n B kbi ndi n o o o oo C . Camb id e Ma ss g , r g , . ° Tbe E n a v i n : a r e b n g obn A d ew 59 Son B st n r g y j r , o o I N THE R AN A PH I TH EATR E S YRACUS E . OM M , O HN T O DDARD ’ LECT URES S UPPLEMEN T/{R Y VOL UME NUMB ER FO UR C HI CAG O 8: BO ST O N M — ” / é ¥ ; I L - 8 SP u . fi V J CU ” M CM X I I COPYR I G HT 1 0 , 9 5 B Y JOHN L . S T OD DAR D REV I S ED E DI T I ON CO PYR I GHT 1 1 1 , 9 BY JO H N L . S T ODDAR D ’ E D AT S T AT I ONE Rs H L L NTERE AL ONDON . A G LI . RI HTS RESERVED . I N A PALE R M O GARDEN . ‘ C I L ’ o f l n H E site Sicily foreshadowed , o g before m an s advent on our globe , the mighty part that it would n play in history . The Mediterranean had o t then the aspect which it bears - su r to day . Across its face stretched two isth o n e muses , of which severed it from the At lantic , and j oined Gib r a ltar with Morocco ;the u other , a tho sand miles to the eastward , divided it into two great basins , a n d f o r m e d b e t w e e n them a gigantic cause way , eighty miles in length , connecting Sicily and Tunis . Of this not only do geology and d eep -sea soundings fur “ Y H G RE G “ m m A 5 mm OUT ” nish ample proof , but the discovery in Sicily o f m any bones of extinct tropical animals shows that these creatures formerly made their way by land - from Africa to southern Europe . A sinking of the earth crust caused at last these two partitions to subside ; and while the 8 SI C I LY waves of the Atlantic rushed in through the opening n o w f kn own as the Straits of Gibraltar, the waters o the two interior basins also met and mingled over the sunken ridge which had divided them . Thus there appeared for the fi rst time — although as yet unseen by any human eye — the noble spectacle of a united Mediterranean , linked at Gibraltar with the o f a oceans the outer world , and covering substantially the s me area we have always known . Of the four termini of these sub n merged isthm uses three proved of great historical importa ce . The influence of Morocco only h as been insignificant ;but its ’ ’ vzr -d -ws huge , Gibraltar, through the three great periods of its — prominence , Pagan , Arabic , and Christian , has loomed suc c e ssive l y on the horizon of the past as the Pillar of H ercules , the Mountain of the Moors, and the stupendous Fortress of Great Britain . Still more remarkable were the two extremities of the vanished isthmus which had stretched from Sicily to ON THE COAST OF SICILY . SI CI LY 9 Africa . For near its southern end there rose , about the middle — of the ninth century before Christ , that is to say , one hun r — dred years befo e the founding of Rome , the famous Tyrian o f colony Carthage , which flourished in unbroken glory and prosperity for seven hundred years , and durin g many centuries possessed such m astery of the sea , that its ambassadors boasted that the Romans could n o t even wash their hands in the Medi a terranean with out permission from the Carth ginians . M ean while , directly opposite to this superbly rich and powerful o f s metropolis lay , at the other terminus the sunken cau eway , r o r n T inacria Sicily , which was not only the largest isla d of the M editerranean , but also occupied its central point . o n Accordingly , so long as the countries bordering the was Mediterranean constituted the whole of civilization , Sicily the centre of the civilized world H ow could it have been ? otherwise I ts site was practically equidistant , eastward and RY A SICILIAN PROM ONT O . I O SI CI LY t westward , from both Spain an d Egypt ;nor hward and south . A ward , from both Rome and Carthage strait but two miles d wi e divided it from Italy , of which it once had formed a part ; and only fourscore miles of water rolled between its southern precipices and the sands of Africa . I n fact, so tempting and con i n - ve n e t was this stepping stone between the two great continents , that one might fancy a malicious deity had i n t e n t i o n a l l y placed it there , as a perennial source of na n n tio n al c o te tion . More over, as its classic name T r i n a c r i a d e n o t e s , Sicily was triangular . Its ancient symbol was o f the head Medusa, sur i n rounded by three legs, dic ativ e o f the three e x tr e mi r ties of the island . A prettier r e p e se n tati o n of it would have been a splen C ANCIENT SYMBOL OF TRINA RIA . — o n e did j ewel with three facets , turned toward Europe , another toward Asia , an d a third toward Africa . an d Such in reality was its situation ; each of these continents , looking toward the face confronting it, became enamored of its beauty , and sought to win the lovely prize behind it . I ndeed , the history of Sicily for three thousand years is little save the record of her warlike suitors , all of whom , in their desperate struggles to possess her, often trampled her beneath their feet , w - an d ell nigh caused her death from violen ce and loss of blood . No spot on earth has suffered more because of its desirable site and fatal gift of beauty . The number and variety of these th e conquerors are bewildering , but they at least attest fasci o f . nation the obj ect of their passion Phoenicians , Greeks , Carthaginians , Romans , Arabs , Goths , Byzantines , Normans , Spaniards, French , and Italians have , during three millenniums, SI CI LY succeeded one another here ;and all have left behind them traces of their sway , which render Sicily even now , despite her an d a wretchedness poverty , a land of wonderful ttractiveness to thoughtful travelers . I n fact, so inter w o v e n w i t h th e history of G r e e c e a n d Rome is this remarkable is land o f the I n l a n d S e a , that Goethe rightly said of i t : I t a l y without Sicily leaves no i m age i n the soul ; Sicily is the Key to all . Y e t n o t alone as a stra te gi c point of dominating i n fl u e n c e w a s Sicily thus c o v eted by differ AN OLD 5 10 m m ent n atio n al i ties and races . It had its own intrinsic value . So wonderfully - fertile were its wheat producing fields , that it was called the an d Garden of the Mediterranean and the Granary of Rome , was believed to be the favorite home of the goddess o f agri D e culture , named by the Romans Ceres , by the Greeks em ter . 1 2 S I CI LY Pe r u sa It was , indeed , near Lake g , in the centre of the island ’ that Pluto was supposed to have seized Dem eter s lovely d a u gh ter, Persephone , while she was at e r flo e rs e rse a a r e r flo e r g h ing w , h lf f i w , to and to have carried her away be his consort in the nether world . Nothing in o ld mythology is sweeter and more poetical than - fo r the story of the goddess mother mourning her stolen child . Wh at ails h er th at s he co me s n o t h o me ? m t r e e k s h e r far an d w e De e e s id , A o o m - o e o t ce ase ess o am nd , gl y br w d , d h l r i Fr o m many a mo r n till e ve nt de . M e mmo r ta t o u it be y lif , i l h gh ’ I s au t sh e c r e s fo r a t o f t ee n gh , i , w n h , Pe rse ph o ne Pe rseph o ne Lighting a torch at Mount Etna , to aid her in her search , the a frantic m other wandered vainly over m ny lands , till finally , having returned to Sicily d isc o v in despair, she ered through the revela tions of the river nymph , Cyane , the abode of her abducted child , and threatened famine to the world unless she were restored to her .

Load more