Apotropaic is a term referring to an object, gesture, animal or formula that removes or cancels out an evil influence. In ancient times oriental magic formulas written on tablets or objects were considered apotropaic, including rare stones, depictions of animals or parts of them, monsters, masks an...

The oinochoe is one of the vessels typically used during symposia. Similar to a jug, its function was to hold wine or water to be poured into jars for drinking. This jug had a rather elongated oval body, a single handle, and varied between 20 to 40 cm tall....

San Giacomo Zebedeo (James, son of Zebedee) was one of the twelve apostles and was called "St. James the Great" to distinguish him from the apostle of the same name. After Jesus' death, he went to Spain to spread the Gospel and upon his return to Judea, was beheaded by Herod Agrippa. His name is l...

Bloody sacrifice was at the core of most religious rituals in Greek culture. In the city's collective practice, on the one hand it was an instrument of communication with the divine, and on the other, a moment of social cohesion and solidarity among citizens. The sacrifice consisted in the ritual ...

Cicero, in his work the Tusculanae Disputationes (Tusculan Disputations), recalls the years of tyranny of Dionysius as a period of true slavery and tells many anecdotes about his life. It seems that the tyrant trusted no one: to avoid relying on a barber, he forced his daughters to cut his hair and...

The glass jars often placed inside small niches on the outer sides of the arcosolia were "blood ampullae", very common in the catacomb of San Giovanni. The ampullae were used by the first Christians to hold the blood of the martyrs. The jars were kept in the tomb of the martyr to bear witness to t...

In the last years of his life, Caravaggio spent a brief period in Syracuse, where he was commissioned to paint the canvas depicting "The Burial of St. Lucy" for the Church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro in Syracuse. The masterpiece was completed in less than one month. The scene's tragedy is conferred ...

According to tradition, in ancient Syracuse theatrical performance was considered a form of institutional activity and was, therefore, granted to all citizens. Most of the population participated in the shows, including women, children and slaves. The city also paid a contribution, called the "teo...