In the ancient Greek world, caves were frequently used as sites of religious worship. As spaces that open up into the earth, contained and framed by the rocky landscape, they offer us particularly powerful glimpses into the past, into how people once moved within their walls, objects were used and deposited, and visitors’ experiences were determined by each cave’s distinct landscape.
The volume edited by Stella Katsarou and Alexander Nagel takes cave shrines as its focus, investigating the ritual use of caves throughout the ancient Mediterranean, as well as modern scholarly approaches to these spaces. The collection of papers first took shape as a panel at the 2018 meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America; six of the conference papers are joined here by three additional essays, as well as an introduction, bibliographies after each chapter, and a modest index. The volume has two aims: first, to draw attention to the important place that caves held within the ancient religious landscape, a goal that is particularly welcome since caves, as the editors point out, have been largely overlooked in recent discussions of Greek and Roman ritual; and second, to reflect upon work that has already been undertaken on these sites and, even more, to prompt new questions and new avenues of inquiry.
The volume begins with an introduction by the two editors that establishes many of the questions that have guided the study of cave archaeology and religious ritual and provides an overview of the methodology of each contribution: to foreground archaeological evidence in order to discuss “material- and practice-oriented” aspects of rituals that once took place within cave spaces (p. 1). More broadly, the volume seeks to contribute to the growing knowledge of caves in the Mediterranean, to introduce new methodologies, and to offer new insights into the distinct forms of ritual practice that took place within these distinct landscapes. Throughout the introduction, and indeed the volume as a whole, there is exciting attention to the local and the regional, where discussions shift between what is specific for any given cave and how those specific elements are shared (or not) across the Mediterranean. Adding to this dynamic is the consistent emphasis on prioritizing material culture in each analysis; caves are so often afforded only a fleeting mention, if any, in the surviving literary sources, and the authors’ careful discussions of the surviving material evidence significantly add to our knowledge of these sites.
These ambitious goals and approaches are found throughout each chapter. Stella Katsarou begins by investigating evidence that dates to the Bronze Age and the Neolithic period from caves on mainland Greece, tracking the trajectory of when and how ritual activity first begins to appear in the archaeological record. While Neolithic activity centered around depositing goods and undertaking funerary rituals, she notes a marked transition to a clear set of ritual practices that took place within specific caves in the Mycenaean period. Throughout her survey of caves in mainland Greece, her emphasis on material assemblages establishes a clear methodology for analysing and interpreting the often disparate evidence.
Nassos Papalexandrou offers an exciting new interpretation of the Idaean Cave on the island of Crete. Drawing on recent work in sensory studies and on phenomenological approaches to archaeology, as well as his own experience as a member of the cave’s excavation team, Papalexandrou brings the material assemblage from the Idaean Cave together with the range of sensory experiences that this particular cave offered—and indeed still continues to offer—its visitors. He offers his readers a compelling ‘visit’ to the cave, laying out how its natural features may have once provoked specific experiences and how, in turn, those experiences interacted with the ritual activity that once took place. The chapter ends with a number of questions, such as whether the passing of the seasons and changes in weather might have affected the perceived sacrality of the cave, or if the broader landscape that surrounds the cave, once a heavily wooded forest, could have similarly affected worshippers’ perception of the transition from the outside world to the cave’s interior. The richness of these questions, and of the chapter as a whole, suggests the exciting work remaining to be undertaken.
Catherine Morgan and Chris Hayward focus on a single case study, the so-called ‘cave’ sanctuary in Polis Bay on the northwest coast of Ithaca. This chapter is intriguing for the questions it raises in determining a working definition of a cave, how these spaces interact with the external landscape, and how and at what point in time stories from myth and epic might factor into the significance of the site. Hayward begins by discussing the geology and topography of the Polis bay and the ‘cave,’ after which the two authors examine the surviving ceramic assemblages to determine rates of activity, noting rises in the eighth and fifth centuries BCE. They highlight two guiding questions: first, what role the local population had in determining the type of gatherings, and, second, what role the space of the cave played in shaping the ritual activity. This attention to exchange among peoples and agency of local populations is especially compelling in the discussion of ritual practice at the site up to the end of the Classical period. Moreover, the authors end with a compelling call to scholars of Greek religion to include caves in the broader framework of polis religion.
Agathi Karadima similarly foregrounds the communities who made use of a cave in her examination of the Drakaina Cave on the island of Kephallonia. In her discussion of the votive offerings, she argues that the ritual activity at the site focused on domestic concerns related to the well-being of the family, marriage, fertility and childbirth, and health. She organizes her discussion of the votives thematically, which helpfully draws attention to the possible gender of the dedicants. She notes that the primary deities worshipped here, that is, Artemis, Dionysos, and the Nymphs, each seemed to have been conceived of as protectors of the family. The predominance of female dedicants may perhaps speak to these concerns, as both men and women celebrated together in this particular cave.
Alexander Nagel’s chapter examines the Mastro cave at ancient Aitoloakarnania near the Acheloos River. Offering an overview of material that has recently been excavated here, Nagel contextualises the material assemblage to argue for its function as a material metaphor of the networks of exchange that existed among communities in the ancient region. For instance, objects such as Archaic protomes that suggest Corinthian influences or painted figurines that dance together in a circle and draw on a regional emphasis on ritual music and dance, suggest a shared connection among religious practices across the area, as well as the movement of objects and craftsmen throughout the local communities.
Jorge J. Bravo III and Alexandra Mari’s discussion of the Cave of Pan at Marathon is especially exciting. Drawing on the rescue excavation at the Cave of Pan, they position the finds within the framework of the worship of Pan and the Nymphs in Attica, noting how the space transformed from an Archaic cult specifically to the Nymphs, to a joint cult with Pan following the Persian Wars, and then changed yet again with the incorporation of other deities, such as Kybele, Artemis, and Hermes. It is intriguing that the dedications, even after the famous victory nearby at Marathon, remained modest in scale and focused not so much on Pan’s military intervention but rather, as with the majority of Attic caves to Pan and the Nymphs, on music, dance, and ritual feasting. While the stele at the entrance to the cave establishes the importance of the site for Athenian polis cults, the discovery of relatively humble dedications, such as ceramic beehives, one of which bears an inscription to Pan, points to the probable identities of the individuals who frequented this site.
Katja Sporn investigates the dedication of terracotta figurines in Attic cave shrines and considers those objects within the context of figurines discovered in caves throughout Greece. Broadly, she asks several important questions about these objects, including where they were deposited, if they betray either regional or local stylistic or dedicatory features, how they related to ritual practice, and what their significance might be when considered with other votive material. Her methodology allows for important patterns to emerge: for instance, the most common terracotta figurine found in cave shrines is the enthroned female figure, crowned with a polos or stephane, while female protomes are relatively rare across the sites. Sporn builds on these patterns to suggest possible links with ritual practice and to determine the gods for whom certain figurines were dedicated, as well as the identities of the dedicators themselves; given the prevalence of female figures, she suggests that women and children most likely visited the caves to give their dedications to the Nymphs.
Erica Angliker offers an overview of caves in the Cyclades that were sites of religious activity. A map situates her readers as she discusses multiple sites and a range of cave types, including an artificial cave at Delos, a cave at an open sanctuary at Amorgos, and caves outside poleis. The categories she identifies for classifying the various caves offer scholars an important framework with which to approach future work. Her chapter is perhaps the best illustrated among the contributions, which adds a vibrancy to her discussion. Ultimately, her chapter draws attention to the need for systematic survey work and timely publication of material evidence, both of which would offer more in-depth knowledge of these sites.
Finally, Rebecca Miller Ammerman takes the reader to southern Italy to discuss grottoes and the beginnings of cult practice within these spaces. As she notes, there has been substantial archaeological attention to caves on mainland Greece, but much less to similar spaces in southern Italy. She explores how a range of peoples, including local indigenous communities, Greek poleis, and those who travelled throughout the Mediterranean, used the landscape to form both their own cultic spaces and sets of ritual practices. Although her study is necessarily constrained by the limits of the chapter, further attention to these sites would undoubtedly add to our knowledge of caves throughout this region and, by extension, would offer an important point of contrast or continuity with what we know of mainland Greek cave cult.
This volume significantly adds to our knowledge of caves in the ancient Mediterranean, the objects that were once dedicated within them, and the ritual activities that were once performed. It makes clear, however, that much more work needs to be done, both with respect to further archaeological investigation and with respect to the incorporation of the material evidence within scholarly discussions of Greek religion. As one might expect from conference panel proceedings, the individual chapter discussions are distinct in topic from each other, although they are all broadly connected to the general focus on caves and ritual. A short conclusion at the end of the volume, where the editors offered a selection of future research questions and potential directions of inquiry, would have been helpful to frame the excellent discussions from the volume. One more substantial critique has to do with the images: throughout, I found myself wishing that the chapters were accompanied by more images, including clear photographs of the exterior and interior of each cave: a number of black and white images accompany the text, but many of them are grainy and difficult to discern. Given that “caves have been frameworks for rare and wondrous experiences” (p. 64), as Papalexandrou notes, a selection of high-resolution photographs would have brought added attention to the powerfully affective landscapes and their role within ancient ritual practice. These remarks aside, this volume foregrounds the importance of caves and their material assemblages within our understanding of Greek religion and offers compelling interpretations of the material and an exciting array of future lines of research. It is a necessary read for anyone working on Greek religion.