Adranus or Adranos (Greek: 'Αδρανός) was a fire god worshipped by the Sicels, the original inhabitants of the island of Sicily. His worship occurred all over the island, but particularly in the town of Adranus, modern Adrano, near Mount Etna.[1][2] Adranus himself was said to have lived under Mount Etna before being driven out by the Greek god Hephaestus, or Vulcan. According to Aelian, about a thousand sacred dogs were kept near his temple in this town.[3] According to Hesychius, Adranus was said to have been the father of the Palici, born to Adranus's lover, the nymph Thalia.
Some modern commentators have suggested that Adranus may have been related to the similarly-named gods Adar and Adramelech (from Persia and Phoenicia respectively), who were also personifications of the sun or of fire in general.[4]
References
- ^ Plutarch, Timoleon 12
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, xiv. 37
- ^ Aelian, Hist. Anim. xi. 20
- ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867), "Adranus", in Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1, Boston, pp. 20
Sources
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1870).
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