Recherche par auteur > Martino Maria Grazia

The cult of the Nymphs and Pan in Attica is characterized by being documented, also and above all, in the caves, which therefore became among the main sanctuaries for these divinities. Archaeologically, the cult of the Nymphs in Attica is attested starting from the end of the 6th century BC, with an increase in attendance in the 5th century BC., once they became associated with the god Pan after the battle of Marathon. However, there are more ancient cases, for example in Daphni, where protogeometric/geometric ceramics were found, and later cases, such as the thousands of lamps dated to the Roman and late antiquity found in Vari and Phyle. This last phenomenon is comparable with other places of worship of the Nymphs, such as the Sacred Spring of Corinth. Being located on the edge of the cultivated territory, on the mountains, the caves dominate the valleys and plains or may be located in front of the bays. For this reason, the first frequentation of the caves in historical times was mainly due to men who dedicated themselves to sheep herding and hunting and, only at a later time, women presence appeared and eventually surpassed that of the men, at least apparently. The main attestations are, in fact, connected to female rituals of passage and marriage, with the deposition of loutrophoroi or objects linked to childhood. The rituals of the Nymphs and Pan involved dancing and singing which were carried out inside the cave itself. Alongside these performances, sacrifices must have also taken place, goats in particular, and banquets such as the one mentioned in Menander's Dyskolos for Phyle's cave. Yet, there is a lack of altars where such rites could have been carried out. Given the position of the caves, they could have been frequented by groups and individuals of different social class and origin: just think of the Lex Sacra of ephebes dated to 61-60 BC., found in the cave of Oinoe II, near Marathon, or of the relief of the washermen, probably from the Cave of Haghia Photeini. The most characteristic example is, however, that of Vari with Archidamus of Thera, a metec socially integrated into the community as a nympholeptus, a man possessed by the Nymphs and endowed with the gift of prophecy. These caves we speak of were not considered as part of the real world, but as passages to the otherworldly. By delving into the depths of the Earth, Greek man felt the closer presence of the divine beings connected to it. At the sound of the syrinx, accompanied by the clapping of hands and the singing of some girl, while the sound of footsteps echoed in the cave, the dedicatee entered a state of frenzy and felt possessed by the deity. The ritual actions became a mean of the divine epiphany itself. A particular atmosphere was thus created, enough to alter the normal state of consciousness. Added to this were the sounds produced by the cave itself, such as the dripping of water or the noise of the wind. From this perspective, a "soundscape" emerges, and an environment in which the sound component is as fundamental as the visual. For this reason, caves can be classified as particular types of "lived places" and "architectures", where it was the human presence determinant of their sacredness.