48km east of Heraklion and 52km west of Agios Nicholaos, near the village of Psichro. From Psichro 800m walk, or hire a mule.
Karst cave
A useful introduction to the cave with 42 refs in the bibliography.
| Location: |
Psichro, Crete. 48km east of Heraklion and 52km west of Agios Nicholaos, near the village of Psichro. From Psichro 800m walk, or hire a mule. |
| Open: | OCT to MAR daily 8:30-15. APR to SEP daily 8:30-19. Daily 8-17. Open 8.30 to 19.00. [2003] |
| Fee: | Adults EUR 2.50. Mule EUR 6. [2003] |
| Classification: |
Karst cave
|
| Light: | electric |
| Dimension: | A=1,025m a.s.l. |
| Guided tours: | |
| Bibliography: |
Georgios I Panagiotakis (1988):
The Dictaean Cave,
In English, published by the author. 118 pp, SB, numerous photos, some in colour, survey etc. A useful introduction to the cave with 42 refs in the bibliography. |
| Address: | |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:24:26 $ |
| 2000-1700 B.C. | inhabited in the Prepalatial Period. | |
| 700 B.C. | appeared first in literature. | |
| 1415 | first exploration by a Florentine monk. | |
| 1851 | explored by Captain Spratt (of Malta fame). | |
| 1895 | explored by Evan. | |
| 1899 | explored by Hogarth. | |
| 1939 | explored by Pendelbury. | |
| 1999 | electric light installed. |
Dictaean Cave is overlooking the Lassithi Plateau, the view from the
cave entrance is marvelous.
According to mythology, Rhea hid the baby Zeus from the murderous Cronos in
this cave.
But this is only one of two caves claiming to be this cave.
The other cave is
Idaion Andron.
The story about Zeus is told here:
Zeus Grown Up in a Cave.
This cave is also the place of a second story, where Zeus many years later
met Europe.
Archaeologists have uncovered many icons and votive symbols, confirming that the cave was an important place of worship during the Minoan era. In the background of the cave is a small pond, where - according to myth - Zeus bathed and around which most of the offerings were found. The finds are scattered in museums all over the world from the Oxford Museum to the Louvre in Paris, France.
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