Caves

The rugged topography of Crete includes numerous caves. The approximately 2000 caves of Crete are a patchwork of myth, history and natural beauty.

Caves of Crete bore many of the myths of the island. It is not surprise that the birth of the greatest ancient God, Zeus, was placed in the Cave of Diktaion Antron, in Lassithi Plateau, and his upbringing was placed at the Cave of Ideon Andron, in Psiloritis Mountain. The Cave of the Eileithyia, in Karteros, was a place of worship for the Goddess of childbirth during the Neolithic era. God Saturn lived in the Kronion Cave, in Lassithi Plateau.

Moreover, the history of Crete is connected with the caves. The holocaust in the cave of Melidoni, in Rethymnon, is a witness of the struggle of Cretans for freedom. Caves of Crete hosted saints like Saint Paul and Saint John.

Finally, the speleological and ecological importance of many beautiful caves like the Cave of Sfendoni in Zoniana and the Cave of the Elephants in Chania, is great.