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Santoni
The Santoni are a collection of statues carved into a rock face near Palazzolo Acreide, the ancient Akrai, in Sicily.
The statues are the remains of a sanctuary for one of the most mysterious cults of antiquity, the cult of Magna Mater. Although very badly preserved, the site is unique for its scale and for the completeness of the sculptures. It is believed to have been the principal centre of the cult of the goddess Cybele in Sicily.
For stylistic reasons and as a result of archaeological discoveries in the surrounding area, the sanctuary has been dated by scholars to around the fourth or third centuries BC.
The hill on which Akrai was founded had been inhabited since very ancient times. In fact, on its northern slope, a shelter under the rock has yielded abundant evidence of stone age material which shows all the characteristics of the Upper Palaeolithic and is to this day the oldest securely identified habitation in all Sicily.
Thucydides reports that Akrai was founded in 665/4 BC by the Syracusans on a plateau bounded by steep cliffs and by four streams, from which all routes of access could be dominated. The city guaranteed free communication between Syracuse, the Greek cities on the southern coast of Sicily and the Sicel cities in the interior.
During the fourth and fifth centuries AD, Akrai is mentioned as the most important Christian centre of eastern Sicily after Syracuse itself, as affirmed by the vast catacombs found there. It is not known when the city ceased to exist, but the historian Michele Amari suggested that its destruction occurred in 827, during the Islamic conquest of Sicily. The medieval Palazzolo Acreide, the nearest settlement to Akrai, is mentioned for the first time in the geography of Edrisi.
The large sanctuary complex is located along the south side of Orbo Hill, on a rocky outcrop overlooking a path with two flat semi-circular areas at each end. Circular stones, which are probably altars, are visible in the two semi-circular areas and along the path.
The sculptures are found in twelve wide niches carved into the rock, eleven on one level and another one on a lower level. Other smaller niches with no images complete the structure, which has a regular architectural design, indicating that it was a single sanctuary rather than a collection of votive reliefs. The discovery of lamps and small paterae supports the identification of the site as the seat of a cult.
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Santoni
The Santoni are a collection of statues carved into a rock face near Palazzolo Acreide, the ancient Akrai, in Sicily.
The statues are the remains of a sanctuary for one of the most mysterious cults of antiquity, the cult of Magna Mater. Although very badly preserved, the site is unique for its scale and for the completeness of the sculptures. It is believed to have been the principal centre of the cult of the goddess Cybele in Sicily.
For stylistic reasons and as a result of archaeological discoveries in the surrounding area, the sanctuary has been dated by scholars to around the fourth or third centuries BC.
The hill on which Akrai was founded had been inhabited since very ancient times. In fact, on its northern slope, a shelter under the rock has yielded abundant evidence of stone age material which shows all the characteristics of the Upper Palaeolithic and is to this day the oldest securely identified habitation in all Sicily.
Thucydides reports that Akrai was founded in 665/4 BC by the Syracusans on a plateau bounded by steep cliffs and by four streams, from which all routes of access could be dominated. The city guaranteed free communication between Syracuse, the Greek cities on the southern coast of Sicily and the Sicel cities in the interior.
During the fourth and fifth centuries AD, Akrai is mentioned as the most important Christian centre of eastern Sicily after Syracuse itself, as affirmed by the vast catacombs found there. It is not known when the city ceased to exist, but the historian Michele Amari suggested that its destruction occurred in 827, during the Islamic conquest of Sicily. The medieval Palazzolo Acreide, the nearest settlement to Akrai, is mentioned for the first time in the geography of Edrisi.
The large sanctuary complex is located along the south side of Orbo Hill, on a rocky outcrop overlooking a path with two flat semi-circular areas at each end. Circular stones, which are probably altars, are visible in the two semi-circular areas and along the path.
The sculptures are found in twelve wide niches carved into the rock, eleven on one level and another one on a lower level. Other smaller niches with no images complete the structure, which has a regular architectural design, indicating that it was a single sanctuary rather than a collection of votive reliefs. The discovery of lamps and small paterae supports the identification of the site as the seat of a cult.