Ruin sights in Enna
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Temple of Demeter
To the north of the castle a small road leads quickly down to the superbly sited foundations of the Temple of Demeter (Ceres to the Romans), the goddess of fertility and agriculture. In classical times it was the centre of a massive fertility cult, and in 480 BC the tyrant Gelon built a temple here lest his plans for the capture of Syracuse be foiled by a couple of bad harvests. The temple is also supposed to have featured a statue of King Triptolemus, the only mortal to witness the rape of Demeter's daughter Persephone by the Hades, the god of the underworld. In return for spilling the beans, Demeter taught Triptolemus the secrets of agriculture, from which Enna has bene…
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