HYBLA GELEATIS
(Paternò) Catania, Sicily.
The site lies on the slopes of a volcanic hill containing the remains of different periods, ranging from
the Bronze Age to the Greek, Hellenistic-Roman, Byzantine, and Early Mediaeval periods. The identification with
modern Paternò was suggested after the discovery of an
altar with a dedication to Venus “Victrici Hyblensi” (
CIL
10,2,7013), at present in the Museo Comunale of
Catania. The altar has been connected with the sanctuary
dedicated to the goddess Hyblaia mentioned by Thucydides (
6.94.2). The finds were published in the first decade
of this century. Other finds have been made in the cemetery discovered in the district of Castrogiacomo, to the
SW of the hill of Paternò; they consist of vases, lamps,
and terracottas, datable between the 5th and the 3d c.
B.C. These finds, at present in the Siracusa Museum,
will soon be displayed in the antiquarium which is being prepared within the old Norman Castle.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
P. Orsi, “Paternò,”
NSc (1903); id.,
“Paternò. Reliquie sicule,”
NSc (1909); id., “Paternò.
Tesoro di argenterie greco-romane,”
NSc (1912); id.,
“Paternò. Rispostigli monetali,”
NSc (1915); G. Savasta,
Memorie storiche della città di Paternò (1905); G. Rizza,
“Scavi e ricerche nel territorio di Paternò,”
NSc (1954);
id., “Necropoli greca e rinvenimenti van in contrada
Castrogiacomo,”
NSc (1957).
C. BUSCEMI INDELICATO
