The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento is one of the most exciting and mysterious places at the same time for true history buffs, as well as being part of the UNESCO World Heritage List for several years.
Here there is the Temple of Concordia, a building which due to its state of conservation is one of the sacred places of ancient Hellas, the Temple of Demeter, and not far away the Temple of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux), perhaps actually dedicated to Persephone and Dionysus, the gods of the Earth.
In addition to representing places of historical, cultural and artistic interest, Sicilian temples take us back to the time when celebrations and festivals in honor of Autumn took place!
Autumn, the harvest season, hosted great Dionysian feasts, where Dionysius was honored for new wine among dances, music, banquets and sacrifices. During the autumn season, every five years, the Greeks also celebrated the Efèstie, festivals in honor of the God of fire Hephaestus, praised with processions, sacrifices and torchlight races.
At the end of October the Tesmofòrie were celebrated, festivals dedicated to Demeter, goddess of wheat and agriculture. Women were the real protagonists of this celebration which was held over several days. The girls went to the sanctuary of the goddess, where the day went on fasting, accompanied by strange mysterious rituals. The third day of the festival included a large banquet accompanied by rites and sacrifices, in which the women invoked the Goddess to guarantee a large and healthy generation for women.
Text and photos from the web.
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