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Il Ratto Di Proserpina

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Il Ratto Di Proserpina IL RATTO DI PROSERPINA All'inizio dei tempi, sulla terra splendeva sempre il sole e la natura prosperava. Cerere, dea della terra e della fertilità, faceva sì che gli alberi fiorissero e dessero frutti. Mentre Cerere lavorava, sua figlia Proserpina giocava nei verdi boschi della Sicilia. Plutone, il Dio dei morti, non viveva insieme a tutti gli altri dei sul Monte Olimpo, ma regnava da solo sotto terra, al freddo e al buio. Ogni tanto saliva in superficie per spiare la vita sulla terra e un giorno scorse Proserpina mentre coglieva i fiori sulle rive del lago Pergusa nelle vicinanze di Enna, in Sicilia. Quando la vide se ne innamorò e decise di rapirla. Salì quindi sul suo carro trainato da quattro cavalli neri, si sporse ed afferrò Proserpina, trascinandola con sé nell’Oltretomba. Quando sulla terra scese il tramonto Cerere incominciò a cercare disperatamente la figlia. Elios, il dio Sole, che tutto vede e tutto ascolta, rivelò a Cerere lo svolgimento dei fatti avvenuti e lei, per il dolore, non si curò più della terra: cessò la fertilità dei campi e vennero i tempi della carestia e della morte. Giove mandò i suoi messaggeri ad ammansire l'indignata Cerere, la quale rispose che sarebbe tornata alle cure della terra solo se Proserpina fosse tornata. Giove decise allora d'inviare Mercurio ad avvisare la figlia affinché non toccasse cibo, ma il messaggero arrivò troppo tardi: Proserpina aveva già assaggiato sei dei dodici chicchi di melograno (simbolo d'amore) che Plutone, furbamente, le aveva messo nella mano. La fanciulla scoppiò in lacrime quando venne a conoscenza della legge divina per cui, colui che mangia anche un solo boccone mentre si trova nel regno dei morti, non può più ritornare sulla terra. Allora Giove, mosso a compassione, decise che Proserpina, avendo mangiato sei chicchi di melograno, avrebbe vissuto nel regno dei morti insieme a Plutone per sei mesi all'anno ed i rimanenti sei mesi avrebbe vissuto sulla terra insieme alla madre Cerere. Nacque così l’alternarsi delle stagioni: l'arrivo di Proserpina sulla terra sanciva l’arrivo della primavera e il suo ritorno nell'Ade, sei mesi dopo, portava l'arrivo dell'autunno e dell'inverno. THE RAPE OF PROSERPINA Long time ago, the sun always shone on the Earth and nature flourished thanks to Ceres, goddess of the soil and fertility. While Ceres was working, her daughter Proserpina spent her days wandering and playing into the greenish woods. One day Pluto, god of Death, saw Proserpina picking flowers on the banks of the Pergusa lake, near Enna in Sicily. He didn’t live on the Mount Olympus together with the other gods, but he ruled in the dark and cold underworld: he sometimes came out to see life on the Earth. As soon as he saw the young girl he fell in love with her. Knowing that Ceres would never accepted to give her daughter’s hand in marriage to him, he decided to kidnap Proserpina on Jupiter’s approval. Then, he climbed on his cart, pulled by four black horses, grabbed the girl and dragged her into the underworld. When on the ground the sun began to set, Ceres started to look desperately for her daughter. It was Elios, god of the Sun, who told her what had happened and Ceres, because of her grief, stopped looking after the ground: soils became infertile and famine and death spread out. Jupiter sent his messengers to calm Ceres’ anger but she said that she would have started to look after the ground again provided that Proserpina got back. Jupiter sent Mercury to warn the girl not to eat anything, but the messenger arrived too late: Proserpina had already eaten six grains of pomegranate (symbol of love), that Pluto had smartly offered to her. According to the divine law, if you eat a single mouthful of food in the netherworld, you can never go back to earth; when she got to know it, the young girl burst into tears. Therefore Jupiter decided that Proserpina, as she had just eaten six grains of pomegranate, had to spend only six months in the netherworld and could live on Earth for the remaining six months. This way changing seasons began: when Proserpina comes to Earth spring starts, whereas when she goes back to the netherworld, winter and autumn arrive. L'ENLÉVEMENT DE PROSERPINE Il y a longtemps, sur la Terre le soleil brillait et la nature prospérait grâce à Cérès, la déesse de la fertilité. Tandis qu'elle travaillait, sa fille Proserpine jouait dans les bois verts de la Sicile. Pluton, le dieu de la mort, ne vivait pas avec les autres dieux sur le mont Olympe, mais il régnait tout seul dans la froide obscurité de l'au-delà, sous-terre. Quelquefois il montait pour espionner la vie sur la Terre. Un jour il vit Proserpine qui cueillait des fleurs, à côté du lac Perguse, près d'Enna, en Sicile. Dès qu'il vit la fille, il tomba amoureux d’ elle et il décida de l’enlever. Il monta sur son char tracté par quatre chevaux noirs, se pencha et il attrapa la jeune fille, en l'emmenant dans l'au-delà. Quand sur la Terre le soleil était en train de se coucher, la mère Cérès commença à chercher sa fille désespéremment. Hélios, le dieu du soleil, qui voit tout et entend tout , raconta ce qui s’était passé et la déesse, pour la douleur, ne s'occupa plus des champs, qui devinrent infertiles et la famine et la mort se propagèrent. Jupiter envoya ses messagers pour plaquer la rage de Cérès, qui dit qu'elle serait retournée à s'occuper de la terre seulement si Proserpine serait rentrée. Donc, Jupiter envoya Mercure pour aviser Proserpine de ne rien manger. Mais il arriva trop tard car Proserpine avait déjà mangé six grains sur douze de grenade que Pluton lui avait offert avec ruse. Selon la loi divine, si on mange quelque chose dans l'au-delà, on ne peut pas rentrer sur la terre. Jupiter, touché, étant donné que Proserpine avait mangé seulement six grains, devait passer six mois dans l'au-delà et les six autres avec sa mère sur la terre. D'ici naît le changement des saisons: quand Proserpine rentre sur la terre, c'est le printemps. Mais quand elle vit dans l'au-delà, l'automne et l'hiver arrivent. EL RAPTO DE PROSERPINA Hace mucho tiempo, en la Tierra el sol siempre resplandecía y la naturaleza prosperaba gracias a Ceres, la diosa de la fertilidad. Mientras que ella trabajaba, su hija Proserpina pasaba sus días jugando en los verdosos bosques de Sicilia. Plutón, dios de la muerte, no vivía con los otros dioses en el Monte Olimpo, sino reinaba solo en la fría obscuridad del Inframundo, bajo el suelo. De vez en cuando subía para espiar la vida sobre la tierra y un día vio a Proserpina cogiendo flores al lado del lago Pergusa, cerca de Enna, en Sicilia. En cuanto vio a la joven se enamoró de ella y decidió secuestrarla. Subió en su carro tirado por cuatro caballos negros, se asomó y agarró a la chica, arrastrándola consigo al Inframundo. Cuando en la Tierra empezó el atardecer, Ceres comenzó la busqueda desesperada de su hija. Elios, el dios del Sol, le contó lo que había pasado y la diosa, por su dolor, dejó de ocuparse de la tierra: cesó la fertilidad de los campos y se difundió la hambruna y la muerte. Júpiter envió a sus mensajeros para que aplacasen la ira de Ceres, pero ella dijo que habría vuelto a ocuparse de la tierra a condición de que su hija regresase. Entonces, Júpiter mandó a Mercurio para que avisase a Proserpina que no comiera nada, pero el mensajero llegó demasiado tarde: la joven había comido ya seis de los doce granos de una granada (símbolo del amor) que Plutón le había ofrecido con astucia. Según la ley divina, quién coma un bocado de comida en el Inframundo, nunca podrá volver sobre la Tierra. Cuando la chica lo supo se echó a llorar. Por la compasión, Júpiter decidió que, ya que Proserpina había comido sólo seis granos de granada, tenía que vivir en el Inframundo seis meses y podía pasar a la Tierra los otros seis. Nació así el cambio de las temporadas: cuando Proserpina llega a la Tierra lleva la primavera y cuando vuelve al Inframundo empiezan el otoño y el invierno. Traduzioni a cura degli allievi dell'Istituto “Lombardo Radice” di Catania nell'ambito del progetto di alternanza scuola-lavoro concordato con l'Ufficio Turismo (Maggio 2017).
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