Cave of the Libethrian Nymphs
The cave of the Libethrian Nymphs ( Greek Άντρο Λειβηθρίδων Νυμφών ) is located in the Helicon west of the Boeotian Agia Triada at an altitude of 820 m.
Lore
After Strabo it was named after the city of Libethrum . Pausanias reports that it was 40 stadiums (about 7.5 km) from Koroneia and on Mount Libethrion. The springs of Libethrias and Petra rose nearby.
history
The cave was already used in prehistoric times, as is shown by finds from the Neolithic and the Early and Middle Bronze Ages . From around 650 BC. The cave was used as a place of worship. In 1985 the first experimental excavations were carried out and from 1989 the cave was systematically explored by the archaeologist Vivi Vassilopoulou. Up until that time the cave was used as a pen.
description
The main room of the cave is about 8 m by 10 m. There is an opening in the ceiling about 15 m high, through which light falls into the cave. There is a low and narrow entrance to the northwest. Offerings were placed in niches outside the cave or in the main room. From the inscriptions on offerings, the cave could be clearly identified as that of the Libethrian nymphs. On one wall there was also an inscription to the nymph Koroneia , the nurse of Dionysus .
Web links
- Cave "Nymph Koroneia" at Aghia Triada, Boeotia
- Nymph Koronia Cave
- Ιερό Λειβηθρίδων Νυμφών - Σπήλαιο Νύμφης Κορώνειας
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 38 ° 21 ′ 0 ″ N , 22 ° 52 ′ 55 ″ E