Kefalonia culture

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Kefalonia culture

The unbroken contact maintained by the Cephalonians with West, the trade, the exchange of cultural goods, and the study of well-to-do young students at Western schools all contributed to the cultivation of a western-style liberal thought, and provided an impetus to civilization.

Thus, in a period in which the mainland of Greece had fallen into a cultural stupor as a result of the oppressive Turkish domination, Cephalonia underwent a unique spiritual development.

THE CAVE:
This bottomless cave is located in the Northeastern part of Kefalonia, 500m from the village of Karavomylos and approximately 30m above sea level. The cave's maximum length is 163m and its width is 25m at the height of the tunnel, and slightly larger in its northern part.
Walking down the tunnel, that was opened in 1963, one is faced by one of the most impressive sites in existence. One part of the cave's ceiling has collapsed into the lake, which resulted in an opening of 50m long and 30m wide.
This opening is surrounded by dense bushes, oaks, and olive trees. The opening is a approximately 16m from the lake's surface. It is amazing that the sun's rays, depending on the time of day (mainly from 10.30 a.m. to 13.00 p.m.), change the colour of the lake's waters. This, in turn, gives different light effects on the walls of the cave.

Small boats await each visitor for a tour of the lake. The boatmen give a humorous guided tour of the lake and liken the various shapes of the stalactites and stalactites to different animal forms.

As one enters the boat, the depth of the lake is 13m. At the point where the ceiling has collapsed the depth is 5m. The lake's water is a mixture of fresh and sea water. The ratio of fresh water to sea water is 5:1.
The water's hardness is 77.1 fresh degrees and it contains 5.3% chlorine. When the temperature outside is 23OC, the temperature of the lake's water is 14 OC (readings by J. Petrochelos, September of 1951). After a drought in the summer of 1992, the lake's water was comparable to sea water. Due to its composition it is unsuitable for any kind of use. Fish cannot live in this environment. Only some spices of eel and mullet can survive and and enter the lake through underwater channels from the sea. There is no sign of micro-organisms or plankton in the water.

At the point of embarkation, there is an underwater channel where the water flows to the lake of Karavomylos.
As the boatman is rowing through the lake's dark waters, near the grey and mossy walls of the cave, the depth of the water reaches 16m.
One should notice the first stalactites, which hang from the walls of the cave, in various shapes.

Some are partially covered in moss. It is worth noting that a piece of a stalactite, which had fallen to the bottom of the lake and was studied by the Institute of Physical Studies in the University of Heidelberg, dated back to 20.000 years ago. The boatmen will point out that one of the stalactites looks like a crocodile while another has the appearance of a cobra. At the point of these stalactites there is an underwater channel where the water from "Katavothres" in Argostoli flows from.

As one continues the tour, the water of the lake reaches 36m (this being the maximum depth of the lake) and we leave behind us the open of the lake. We pass through a narrow channel where on one side are the walls of the cave and on the other is a small island. We enter the dark chamber of the cave, which is 83m in length. An atmosphere of mystery encompasses the area. This may be the result of the fermented spirit of the passionate Nymph Melissani, who drowned herself in the lake's waters when Pan refused her love. Looking at the walls on the left one can observe a great number of stalactites.

One of these stalactites has the shape of a duck's head, another resembles a gorila's three fingers, one more has the appearance of a slaughtered lamp, and finally another looks like a dolphin. According to a myth, the dolphin carried the Nymph's message to her beloved God.
At this point, there are underwater channels leading to three more chambers found by two Austrian geologists and divers, Tisch and Reismger in 1963. The appropriate works for them to be opened, have not yet been carried out.
At the bottom of the lake there are many and large stalactites which fell during an earthquake. As well, stalactites which are on the bottom of the lake support the myth that there was once no water in the cave.

Northwest of the cave one can see a large number of stalactites which hanging carcasses. The boatman will also point out another stalactite which looks like an elephants trunk. Further along there is an underwater channel where the lake's water flows down to the sea at the speed of 100 litres per second. This part, where the water exists is called "Frede" and is located 600m north of Odyssey, the Feakes left Ulysses at this point. It is believed to be the entrance of the cave used by the wild bees.

Leaving behind the northern walls of the cave one can see the small island which has been formed by rocks and fallen stalactites. On the island two twin peaks are formed which are 9 and 8m in height. On the first peak there is a stalagmite which looks like a boot and nearly another which resembles an old woman praying (according to the locals, she is the mother of shepherd girl who was lost in vain).

Bats and wild pigeons have made nests in the ceiling's cavities which, over thousands of years, has resulted in a layer of manure on the small island and mainly on the eastern side of the island.

The excavations that took place on the small island have been marked with and on the ground plan. The excavators probably didn't dig any deeper due to a religious fear or a fear of darkness. The spot in which the ancient artefacts were found is no larger than 3 square meters.
No trace of any pre-existing altar or building was found. All of the findings were located at a depth of 0.10 to 0.20m under a dark layer of manure. Manune of equal thickness was found under the findings and under the natural floor of the entire island, that is to say the stalactite crust.

Therefore, when the excavators entered the cave, there was a thick layer of animal manure already in the cave. It look approximately 2.200 to 2.300 years for a layer of this thickness to be formed on top of the ancient artefacts.
The total thickness of the manure indicated that it was about 5.000 years old.

A ceramic disk. Dimensions: diameter 0.195m and thickness 0.06m. It was found in three pieces, which were joined by archaeologists. It is a relief sculpture. The Nymphs surround Pan counter clockwise. Pan looks forward towards the spectator while playing the flute. The last Nymph, who is the leader of the dance. They are all dressed in ancient Greek gowns. The dance's progression is free and natural and the movements are lively and spontaneous.

The above findings originated from different eras, some from the Post-Classical period (the beginning of the 3rd century B.C.) and others from the early Hellenistic era (end of the 4th century B.C.). The absence of offerings originated from other eras is explained by the natural difficulties, which existed for the ancient believers to travel, in order to worship Pan and the Nymphs (in particular Nymph Melissani). All the findings are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Argostoli.

Looking at the ceiling of the cave, which is situated at a height of 25m above sea level, one can see a large opening closed on the top with a huge stone. While the boat is approaching the narrow exit from the dark chamber of the cave, notice that the cave's waters flow from southwest towards a north-easterly direction. Therefore the water flows to the point where it exits the cave on it's way to the sea.

Entering the lighted area of the cave, one can see a fig tree that stands on the front part of the island. The wild pigeons that carried figs into the cave provided the seed that was planed, in order for the tree to grow.
The pigeons, then, as well as the sun's rays helped the tree to grow. The sun is the symbol of the Kefalonian land and the sunlight leads the visitors to the open sky and land above and further appreciation of Kefalonia

to be continued ...

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