In the picture: "TEOCLE FOUNDER OF NAXOS", STATUE OF MASTER TURI AZZOLINA, YEAR 1998
Nasso di Sicilia (should roughly correspond to today's Giardini Naxos), an ancient Chalcidian colony in the gulf of today's Taormina (near Capo Schisò), was founded around 735 BC by Teocles. Among the most widespread legends about the birth of Giardini Naxos, there is a very suggestive story, linked to Neptune, the God of the Sea. According to an ancient legend, during a sea voyage, the Greek Teocles, a citizen of Chalcis Euboea, offered the liver of a sacrificed person to Neptune. Something, however, went wrong. The boatswain, in fact, had not cooked the liver well and the god of the sea did not appreciate it at all. Neptune became so furious that, by stirring up the waters, he ended up destroying the vessel of the poor unfortunates.
All the sailors died, except for Teocle, who managed to cling to a wreck and land on a beach. He was so fascinated by the beauty of the place that he not only decided to move there, but convinced his fellow citizens and the inhabitants of the Greek island of Naxos in the Aegean Sea to join him. Thus was founded the first Greek colony in Sicily that became the current Giardini Naxos that we all know.
The Island of Dreams: The Myth Comes to Life
