Demetra in Sicilia centro-meridionale: analisi delle evidenze archeologiche del culto in età ellenistica e romana

Abstract

The study of the cult of Demeter in Sicily has involved various areas of research. In addition to archaeological research, significant contributions have come from the analysis of ancient sources, as well as epigraphic and numismatic evidence. However, investigations have primarily focused on the Archaic and Classical periods. This focus has resulted in a significant gap in our understanding of the developments that this cult underwent during the Hellenistic period and the early Roman control of the Mediterranean. To address this lack of data, the present work is dedicated to studying the nature and spread of the cult of Demeter, as well as its eventual decline in central-southern Sicily during the Hellenistic-Roman period (4th century B.C. to the Imperial age). It also examines the transformations that occurred with the advent of Roman rule on the island, particularly the introduction of the cult of Ceres. These centuries coincide with significant changes in the history of ancient Sicily, especially following the establishment of the Roman province of Sicily. The territorial sample, ranging from Enna to the coastal cities, was chosen due to the relevance of literary sources regarding the Sicilian interior and the presence of important centers of Demeter's cult along the coast, whose activities ceased at the end of the Classical period. The archaeological contexts and artifacts related to the Demeter/Ceres cult were analyzed as evidence of the continuation of the cult until the period between the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries A.D.