Melidoni Cave

Melidoni Cave, also known as Gerontospilios, is rooted in the slopes of Mount Kouloukona, just 18 kilometers from the village of Melidoni. Each step towards its interior is a step towards a mystical place. The 17 degrees Celsius and 90% humidity quickly make themselves felt as the scenery of the cave unfolds before our eyes, with breathtaking stalagmites and stalactites millions of years old.

Perhaps this is what its first settlers felt, in the Neolithic era, thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Continuing centuries-old human activity in the cave, the Minoans worshiped a female deity here, while her worship continued until the end of the Archaic period.

For the ancient Greeks, the giant Talos, a gift from Zeus to the king of Crete Minos, was the first to live on Gerontospelio to protect the island. Around the 2nd century BC the cult acquired a mysterious character and the cave was associated with the cult of what is called Thalios Hermes.

In addition to being a place of worship, the cave was intended to become a place of resistance and martyrdom for enslaved Cretans, during the period of Turkish occupation.

In 1823, Turkish Cretan and Egyptian armies attempted to suppress the revolution on the island, with Hussein Bey camping in the village of Melidoni with a large army, aiming to plunder Mylopotamos. 370 women and children, as well as 30 fighters, will seek refuge in the Melidonio cave, taking with them food for a few days. The Turks followed them, the fighting and shooting at the entrance to the cave lasted for months. Inside the cave, the Free Besieged live in miserable conditions but will become loyal to the principles of the revolution. Freedom or death.

So it happened. The Turks threw flammable materials into the cave, lit large fires and the smoke became suffocating. The last moments of the Greeks will be martyrdom, but their sacrifice will not be forgotten. In the central room of the cave, the “Hall of Heroes” is dominated by the monument-tribute to the rebellious Cretans, a modern altar for the freedom of the homeland!