Odisseo in Sicilia

Ulysses' helmet sought in Sicily
US team believes mythical relic lies under monastery


(ANSA) - Palermo, July 6 - US archaeologists are trying to uncover the mythical site in Sicily where Greek hero Ulysses is said to have buried his helmet. A team led by Professor Glenn Storey of the University of Iowa has been digging at a medieval monastery in central Sicily .

Storey, who has returned to the site three times in five years, believes the spot covers the legendary Greek city of Engyon. Ulysses, eager to placate the gods during his troubled wanderings back from Troy, is said to have buried his helmet in the Temple of the Mother Goddesses there .

The famed temple is mentioned in various ancient writings and Storey is convinced it lies under the monastery at Gangi Vecchio .

"So far we have gone down two levels and found evidence of a Greco-Roman town and a temple, perhaps the one dedicated to the Mother Goddesses," he said .

"Now we need to dig to the third level where older objects should be preserved." The American team has just turned up fragments of amphorae, oil lamps and plates dating back to the II-IV centuries AD .

Gabriella Cerami of Palermo University said the site was once "a major town." "Gangi Vecchio certainly lies over a Roman town of a certain size and wealth .

"We can see that from the potsherds we have found, especially the plate fragments that date back to the third century AD." Ulysses, or Odysseus in Greek, was a Homeric hero who tricked the Trojans by leaving them a giant wooden horse which disgorged Greek warriors to destroy Troy .

After the Trojan War he spent ten years trying to get back to his native island of Ithaca .

His adventures are told in Homer's second book after the Iliad, the Odyssey .

Originally posted by +HELIACVS+
Ulysses, eager to placate the gods during his troubled wanderings back from Troy, is said to have buried his helmet in the Temple of the Mother Goddesses there .

The famed temple is mentioned in various ancient writings and Storey is convinced it lies under the monastery at Gangi Vecchio.

Come al solito, dobbiamo scavare sotto gli ossari dei galilei, se vogliamo ritrovare ciò che ci appartiene.