Acheloo e il culto delle acque in Sicilia: il caso di Monte Raffe

Abstract

Monte Raffe sites in the territory of Mussomeli, near the confluence of two rivers, Salito and Gallo d’Oro.
It represents an important multi-layered site with materials ranging from prehistoric times to the Arab occupation and
a time gap between 4th century B.C. and Early Middle Ages. In its most representative moment (6th-4th century B.C.),
Monte Raffe played a role of control of the surrounding territory, not only because of its position on the top of a hill,
but also because of the presence of the rivers Gallo d’Oro and Salito, that were navigable in ancient times and used as
communication ways. In this context, we can consider the recent discovery, near the archaeological area, of a clay mask
representing Acheloo, which, thanks to iconographic and stylistic comparisons from southern Italy, gives us a possible
interpretation of Raffe as an important site of exploitation of the river trades of the Sicilian hinterland.

Keywords: Monte Raffe, Acheloo, rivers, cult, Greek age.