Caves in History: Figure 1: Section of the hinge from the Bronze Gates of Shalmaneser III, with engraving of the Birkilin stream cave (lower panel). © The British Museum.

Homer’s fictional hero Odysseus was noted for amazing spelean adventures. In far northeastern Greece, the town of Maroneia is one of several which claim various caves where he had to blind the one-eyed giant Polyphemus in order to escape captivity (Mallorca’s Cave of Arta also has a strong case). Near his mythical home on the island of Ithaca, the Cave of Marmarospilia is listed as the Cave of the Naiads, where Odysseus briefly stashed his treasure before reconnoitring his home, in disguise. The best claimant to the legendary River Styx or River Lethe appears to be in the Cyrenaica karst east of Benghazi, Libya (Preble, 1945). However, the supposed Labyrinth, in Crete, is merely an underground limestone quarry.