The city of Jaén has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. 4500 years ago, it had a dimension of 2000 meters approximately, it was organized in five concentric circles, separated by ditches of waters coming from the Malena and Santa Maria; these waters were distributed by the city.
The legends of Jaén are born like a homogenous whole, the stories and experiences that have been transmitted from generation to generation. It is difficult to differentiate the legend from the experience, since the narratives are fruit of the oral tradition, transmitted to remember something that caused great impact in the mind of the people.
Icon of Jaén: The Lizard of Magdalena
This legend of Jaén is known even at the level of Spain, as the lizard of Jaén and popularly as the lizard of the magdalena; which tells about an animal that frightened the shepherds at the end of the XV century and that devoured its sheep.
This lizard, according to the story, attacked all the people who passed by the water, so the king was demanded to solve this. A prisoner negotiated his release in exchange for killing the lizard, for which he requested a sheepskin, gunpowder loaves and a horse.
He went to the stream and began to throw the bread to the lizard, he reached a dead end and threw the sheepskin filled with gunpowder, the lizard swallowed it, in a few minutes exploded so the prisoner regained his freedom.
Other recognized legends of Jaén
- Among the legends that are religious, pious and miraculous, we have the journey of St. Euphrasius, St. Catherine, Virgin of the Crown, the Lord of the Tarima, Christ of the Amparo, St. Peter Paschal and more.
- The historical ones; the chamber of the statues, Ali, the rock cross among others.
- There are also legends of treasures or of fear, such as the treasure of the Plaza de los Orfanos, the treasure of Zumel, and many more.
