Agrigento, after 55 years the sarcophagus of Hippolytus and Phaedra returns to the Cathedral of St. Gerlando

After 55 years, four masterpieces from the Greek and Roman periods are returning to the Cathedral of St. Gerlando on Girgenti’s hill: more than half a century after the 1966 landslide, the archdiocese has in fact managed to relocate them to their original location.

The 12th-century cathedral built by Gerlando of Besançon, who was appointed bishop by the Grand Count Roger I of Altavilla in 1088, at the time of the reconquest of Agrigento from Arab occupation, was made safe again in 2019.

Even Goethe, during his travels, was impressed by the artistic treasures in the Cathedral, particularly the sarcophagus of Hippolytus and Phaedra dedicated to their tragic love. The myth tells that Phaedra, the wife of King Theseus, fell madly in love with Hippolytus, the son of a previous marriage of her husband. Hippolytus, proudly a virgin and devoted to hunting and the worship of Artemis, rejected her. She, humiliated, killed herself. When Theseus discovered the corpse and a note in which his wife accused Hippolytus, he hurled a deadly anathema at his son. The innocent Hippolytus was forced to flee in a chariot with his companions, but a monstrous bull out of the sea made the horses bolt, the chariot overturned, and the young man died.

Another sarcophagus, from Roman times, depicts two women engaged in weaving laurel wreaths and is therefore known as the sarcophagus of the "coronary women." Two others, from the Greek period, appear simpler: one is made of monolithic white marble and the other, which is distinguished by its lid, shows traces of polychrome geometric decorations on the edges and palmettes on the sides.

Following the 1966 landslide, the sarcophagus of Hippolytus and Phaedra was moved to the church of St. Nicholas, while the other three to the Regional Archaeological Museum. Now thanks to the Arkeo&Fede project from the Valley to the Hill, the sarcophagi have returned to the Cathedral of St. Gerlando. The initiative was carried out on the occasion of the celebration of the 2,600th anniversary of the founding of the city, which was canceled due to the pandemic.

The exhibition space has been set up with multimedia aids to facilitate the visit. It is possible to admire these treasures by booking a visit with the Ecclesia Viva association.

Ph.Credit Kalò Cassaro

Agrigento, after 55 years the sarcophagus of Hippolytus and Phaedra returns to the Cathedral of St. Gerlando

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