There’s a Town in Sicily Where Greek Heroes Go to Die: The ‘Tomb of Minos’ at the Gurfa Caves and Alia’s Need for a Mythical Past

In the past years the territory of Alia, a small town in Central Sicily, has been attracting a small but constant flow of tourists visiting a nearby complex of artificial caves, the so-called Gurfa Caves (Grotte della Gurfa). Their fame is due not only to their undisputable beauty, but also to the theories of various non-academic scholars, who have drawn comparisons between the Caves and a number of underground structures built by ancient Mediterranean civilizations, going so far as to propose identifying the complex with the ‘Tomb of Minos’, the mythical king of Crete in Ancient Greek literature. The archeologists of the local divisions of the Regional Department of Cultural Heritage, however, have harshly criticized these interpretations, labeling them as non-scientific; in contrast, the town government has encouraged them in an attempt to promote Alia as a tourist destination. My contribution does not engage in the discussion on the actual origin of the Gurfa Caves, but rather focuses on how the Caves have come to be interpreted as the ‘Tomb of Minos’ and on how the cultural production revolving around the town of Alia has been consequently influenced by the myth, allowing modern audiences to vividly encounter an ancient narrative. I first identify those elements of the myth (as attested in the Classical sources) which are most relevant. Second, I outline a sketch of the history of the rediscovery of the Gurfa Caves during the last decades of the 20th century and of the path which has led to their association with the myth of Minos during the first decades of the 21st century. Then, I provide an account of the intermedial way in which the cultural memory of this classical myth has been promoted in the territory of Alia, as well as on how it has been incorporated into, e.g., artworks, plays, and school activities. Finally, I draw some conclusions, attempting to identify some motives which may have inspired a group of citizens of a small Sicilian town to adopt a millennia-old Ancient Greek myth as an important part of their everyday life.