Greece. The eastern part of the island of Crete. 2 148 m above sea level. First, 800 m up the steep ascent of Dikti. And then - on 80 m downhill. There, in the cave of Dectea, grew baby Zeus, the great Thunderer. In this sacred place the god admired the icy lake and the monumental non-monumental columns. Fantastic views and mesmerizing beauties. In the cave of Zeus you can feel the imperishability of existence and the breath of time. There are intertwined myths and reality. There is no only you there yet...
After visiting Crete it would be a sin not to go down to the cave of Zeus. After all, it was there, in the cave of Dectea, according to the myths of ancient Greece, that Zeus the Thunderer was born. This place - one of the few that actually exists in life and at the same time described in the myths. Going there, doubts about the existence of the Greek gods begin to recede slowly - it's too magical, mysterious and beautiful inside the cave of Dectea. Think what you want, but it looks like the baby Zeus was definitely growing up there!
Who hasn't heard, of the bloodthirsty titan Kronos, who was all afraid that his ungrateful descendants would simply rise up against him? Fortunately, he got a good wife... And how else, when it was Rhea herself, the goddess of fertility. While her husband devoured his tiny, barely-born offspring with the tenacity of paranoia, poor Rhea's heart was torn to shreds.
But after giving birth to her last child, the timid goddess turned into a lioness mother. Instead of a baby, she slipped a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes into the hands of the hated goddess. The fiend Kron swallowed it. He swallowed it without noticing that his wife had taken her baby to the cave in Mount Dikti.
But it was not from a good diva that the afflicted Rhea chose this beautiful cave. She, as a faithful daughter, obeyed the advice of her wise parents, Uranus and Gaia, and hid the baby, the future thunderer, in this mysteriously beautiful cave.
The bees nurtured baby Zeus with fragrant honey and the mountain nymphs gave the milk of the divine goat Amalthea, who lived on the island of Crete. When the baby cried loudly, Rhea's helpers, the kuretes, assigned by the caring mother as nannies and guards, quietly tapped their swords on the shield, so that father Cronus wouldn't accidentally hear his son's voice.
Agree - it is one thing to read "Legends and Myths of Ancient Greece" by Kuhn and quite another thing to visit the place where thousands of years ago Zeus' cradle was rocking. Even today, mysterious and beautiful, collected over the centuries drop by drop, gigantic stalactites and stalagmites amaze imagination and enchant by their grandeur. They hang along the walls as colossal columns, bunches and garlands. Or maybe Zeus saw them? Or maybe God touched them with his hands?
In these giant icicles it was as if eternity was frozen. At the bottom of the cave of Zeus a lake of transparent ice water splashes a little. Everything is surrounded by unusual beauty, the air is filled with the breath of time. And the mythical proximity of a deity, and what a deity - Zeus the Thunderer himself, makes us look with servile and delight at the phantasmagoric non-man-made decoration of the cave.
The Dectean cave is not just a mystical place. It is a place of power: cultic, energizing. In the Minoan era the gods were worshipped here, and archaeologists still find gold jewelry and bronze statuettes, ancient weapons and various sacred things. The cave of Zeus is so beautiful and unusual that it makes you want to go down there again. And for that to happen, do not forget to throw a couple of coins into the icy abyss of lake water - so you will come back here again.
The cave is located near the village of Psihro, located in the southwestern part of the Lassithi Plateau. Comfortable shoes are a must here, as you will have to walk the last 800 meters, with benches along the way. For those who find it difficult, donkeys will help, ready to take you all the way to the cave. There is a small underground lake deep in the cave, and it is always cool and wet - it can be slippery in some places.
The cave of Zeus is open to visitors until 17:00, admission costs 4 euros.
The cave can be reached from Heraklion to Lassithi Plateau by bus, but it does not run every day and its final destination is the village Psihro. From the village to the west, there is a winding road that ends in a pay parking lot, from where the hiking trail to the cave begins.
The bus ticket will cost 6 euros and the journey takes about two hours.
