More than once, I have visited the Cathedral of Syracuse and every time I have been impressed by the interior of the church, which is nothing more than the old temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, still well preserved.
The columns with their Doric capitals are intact and even the drapes of the Virgin Mary’s robes recall those of the Greek goddesses.
Paradoxically, the Catholic Church saved this pagan temple by incorporating it into the Cathedral Church.
This also happened in other places. For instance, the Church of San Clemente, near the Colosseum, houses the Temple of Mithra, still visible in the second basement. The same goes for the Pantheon, in Rome, built by the pagan emperor Hadrian to worship all gods of all nations and now turned into the Church of Santa Maria della Rotonda.
What can we infer from this? The desire to worship God has always been present in human beings, from the Stone Age to the present day. Let us be tolerant of all religions and cults!
Ettore Grillo, author of these books:
– November 2: The Day of the Dead in Sicily (English edition)
– A Hidden Sicilian History (English edition)
– The Vibrations of Words (English edition)
– Travels of the Mind (English edition)
– Una Storia Siciliana Nascosta (edizione in lingua italiana)
– Viaggi della Mente (edizione in lingua italiana)
Ettore Grillo's Blog 