Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, and is separated by the Starits of Messina from mainland Italy. It is here where Scylla and Charybdis had their abode, and attacked the seafarers by plucking them out of their ships, or sucked them down under the waters in the Whirpool. The City of Taormina was founded by Greeks in the third century before Christ. One of their great achievements was the Teatro Greco, where great tragedies were played out. It was extensively modified by the Romans at the end of the first century AD, a period when Taormina (the City of the Bull) enjoyed great prosperity under Imperial Roman rule. This reconstruction completely changed the theatre's character. Originally, a magnificent view of the town, the bay and Mount Etna was to be had at the theatre, but the arched apertures, niches and columns, and the destruction of all the forward rows of seats, to make a wall to contain the lions and other beasts, as well as the gladiators, must have obscured the view. This could have been one of the reasons for building the theatre there.
Mount Etna, in the background is quite active; indeed, just a few months ago started another bout of strong activity. It is the largest active volcano in Europe, and is 10,725 feet high. More than 135 eruptions have been recorded, beginning in 475 BC, when both Pindar and Aeschylus wrote about the great explosion of that year.
