Cultes et politique dans la Sicile du Ier siècle av. J.-C. Le cas de la Vénus Érycine et de la Cérès d’Henna

During the last centuries B.C., we can find in Sicily traces of a competition between the sanctuary of Venus and that of Ceres: although the religious aspects, together with the literary descriptions of the Verrines and the Diodorean work, were well studied, a comprehensive and systematic historical analysis explaining this competition is lacking. This article therefore aims to re-examine from a historical point of view the sources that inform us about the worships related to the two sanctuaries under Roman rule, as well as to determine the political and economic interests that they had for the Sicilians and the Romans.