<< Our Photo Pages >> Cave of Nympholyptou - Cave or Rock Shelter in Greece in Central Greece
Submitted by Antonios on Monday, 20 April 2020 Page Views: 9972
Natural PlacesSite Name: Cave of Nympholyptou Alternative Name: Cave of Archedemos, Cave of PanCountry: Greece Region: Central Greece Type: Cave or Rock Shelter
Nearest Town: Vari Nearest Village: Voula
Latitude: 37.868371N Longitude: 23.791797E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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Certain Nymphs would give divinatory powers to those who had a pure heart and clean conscience. Those who however did not have good intentions would go insane. The sculptor Archedemos came from Thera in 550 BCE and settled in the cave. He carved out from the stalactite material a bass relief of himself, a seated statue of Rhea-Kybele, an altar and some inscriptions dedicated to Pan (All), minor god of Nature, protector of the shepherds. Archedemos became possessed by the Nymphs “Nympholyptos” and made the cave a temple "Nymphaio", a place to worship the Nymphs and Pan. Archedemos is depicted next to his boat, holding a gnomon and a hammer, the tools of his work. The life size sculpture of the goddess was damaged by early Christian zealots.
The cave is situated on Mount Hymettos between Voula and Vari. To reach the cave one has to pass the cemetery of Ano Voula, at half kilometre leave the car on the right side of the dirt road and walk about 600 Meters. The entrance to the cave is at ground level, literally under our feet, and that is why it is difficult to locate. The entrance is covered with an iron grill to keep away the vandals. Few visitors adhere to “take nothing but pictures” as a result the cave today is in a dreary condition, the stalactites are all taken, only the big ones that can not be broken are left. My last information is, to visit the site a permit is required from the Archaeological Department.
The cavern is separated in two sections. The first cavity is blackened from the fires the shepherds burned during the winter. I label this cavity-room Christian because in a corner we find present day icons of the Christian saints. In order to descend to the second cavity, one has to use the ancient steps that lead down hill. These steps were carved out by Archedemos. The decapitated statue of the goddess silently dominates the Nymphaio in a mystical way as if she wants us to stop profaning the Mother Earth.
The cave was excavated by the American Archaeological School in 1902. The findings, such as earthen oil lamps, and the inscriptions are on display in the Archaeological Museum of Athens. Lord Byron has visited the cave. According to the information provided by Aelian and Olympiodoros, the family of the great philosopher Plato, took him to the cave of Nympholyptou in order to acquire the favour of the Nymphs. Many ancient beliefs and traditions were incorporated into the Christian and folk culture. The curative spring water became the holy water, the offerings for the minor gods and goddesses were replaced by the Christian saints and the Nymphs became the fairies.
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