Lerna

Remnants of the stairs in the house of bricks

Lerna was an ancient place in the Argolis , about 7 km south of Argos , in which there was a sacred grove with numerous springs.

At least since the Neolithic , Lerna was settled, from the Early Helladic (2500-2300 BC) comes a large, palatial building, the so-called House of Bricks . The stairs show that the house had at least 2 stories.

According to Greek mythology , Heracles killed the hydra here, which may have been a personification of the sources.

Pausanias reports that the "Halcyon Lake" located here served as the entrance to the underworld and that Dionysus descended here to save his mother Semele from Hades . The lake is groundless, which Emperor Nero found confirmed by experiment during his stay in Greece. This myth probably refers to the mystery cult of the Lernaeen, which was celebrated here in the sanctuary of Dionysus Saotes. According to the Argives, Dionysus sank in the lake Lerna, which symbolizes his fall into the underworld. According to another version, Perseus triumphed over him and threw him into the lake of Lerna.

Today a district of the municipality of Argos-Mycenae with the main town Myli is named after the ancient Lerna.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.37.5
2. ^ Walter F. Otto: Dionysos, Mythos and Kultus. Frankfurt a. M. 1993, pp. 74f.

Coordinates: 37 ° 33 '  N , 22 ° 43'  E