{"id":8478,"date":"2019-07-11T10:12:30","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T07:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/georgiasapartments.gr\/?page_id=8478"},"modified":"2019-07-12T18:19:05","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T15:19:05","slug":"caves","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/georgiasapartments.gr\/crete\/caves\/","title":{"rendered":"Caves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The most famous caves in Crete<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\nThere are over 3000 caves in Crete out of which only 850 have been \nexplored. People used caves as places of worship and also as dwellings \nas far back as the Paleolithic Times. The Minoans began to worship their\n gods in small shrines in sacred caves or in shrines built on mountain \npeaks and tops of hills. In the caves there are stalagmites and \nstalactites which hang majestically and form various impressive \ndecorations.
The most famous caves in Crete:
The cave of Sentoni \nZoniana . This is Crete’s richest cave in terms of natural decoration \nRethimno, 13 km. west of Anoghia and 1 km. from the village of Zoniana \nat an altitude of 800 m.
The Diktian Cave (Dikteon Andron) .The legendary birthplace of Zeus.
The\n Idaian Cave (Ideon Andron). 20 km. south of Anogia, on the plain of \nNidas, on Mount Psiloritis, lies this sacred cave, where according to \nmythology, Goddess Rhea hid the baby Zeus from the murderous Kronos. \nCult objects have been found here along with statues and bronze shields \nand other finds are displayed in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
The\n Cave of Eileithyia (Ilithiia). This cave was used for cult rituals from\n the Neolithic era up to the 5th century B.C. Lying 1 km. south of \nAmnissos, it was dedicated to Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth. \nArchaeological excavations uncovered idols of a woman in the act of \ngiving birth or praying. Figures of animals, neolithic fossils and tools\n were also found.
The Cave of Aghia Paraskevi Skotinou. 22 km. from \nHeraklion. This very interesting cave was used for cult worship both in \nantiquity and during the Christian era.
The Kamares Cave. Northeast \nof the village of Kamares (57 km. from Heraklion) lies the Cave of \nKamares, established during the Minoan period as a sacred spot, possibly\n dedicated to the worship of the goddess Eilethyia. The impressive \nKamares vases found in this cave are displayed in the Archaeological \nMuseum of Heraklion. Reaching the cave entails a 4-hour walk from the \nvillage.
The Gerani Cave. 6 km. from Rethimno, this is a cave of \nprehistoric, paleontological and archaeological interest. Finds from \nthis cave can be seen in the Rethimno Archaeological Museum.
The \nMelidoni Cave. 3 km. from the village of Melidoni (26 km east of \nRethimno), this was used for cult worship during the Neolithic, Minoan \nand Archaic periods.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n