Photos by Jack A. Waldron
My guide and constant companion during my pre-on-the-road-internet travels, was my Blue Guide, which I am holding in my hand in the photo above, and if you are interested in antiquities around the Mediterranean, these books are a classic series. Ancient Corycium Antrum ('antrum' means cave in Latin) and its Corycian Cave (aka Cehennem, Cennet, or 'Hell'), plus the Temple of Zeus Korykos (36°27'05.8"N 34°06'17.5"E), are all located about one kilometer up the ridge from the main road and ancient Arima (36°26'28.6"N 34°06'51.7"E), but much more importantly, they are only four kilometers away from ancient Korykos, or Corycus.
If as recorded, that ancient Korykos, or Corycus, or Gorgos, was founded by a Cypriot prince of that name, then is there a relationship between that city, the Corycian Cave, and the Temple Of Zeus Korykos? There are three ancient cities located along a seven kilometer stretch of coast, northern most being Elaiussa Sebaste, then Korykos, or Corycus in the middle, and then ancient Arima, which encompasses several perfect harbors directly below the Temple of Zeus Korykos and Corycian Cave. We believe there is a ceremonial road, or way, from ancient Korykos/Corycus to the Roman Temple of Elaiussa Sebaste, and this may have been established by the Romans during the Imperial Roman period, but what about prior to the Roman takeover of the area? Was there a sacred way, or processional way from Korycos/Corycus to Corycium Antrum during the Hellenic period? Pictured above, I have descended into the cave known as Hell by means of a very tall narrow spiral staircase that carries tourists in both directions in and out of Hell. Though I am not in Turkey to build on my caving skills, which I gained as a young boy under my father's tutelage, I did wish to see what Hell was like, and I must say, it was much colder than I imagined Hell to be. However, if you wish to descend into Hell, well, this is probably one of the most scenic places to do so.
Just up the road from Hell, is the Cave of Wishes (pictured above and below), which is also part of the Corycian Cave group. This cave group played a sacred role in the lives of the ancients who occupied this coastal area and beyond, but it must be noted that there were a number of Corycian Caves around the Mediterranean during ancient times, and they all played sacred roles. The Cave of Wishes is about 120 meters deep, and looking down into the abyss is truly astonishing. The building you see in these photos is a Byzantine church, which I guess was intended to control the gate in and out of Hell. There are however some realistic possibilities, like, perhaps this monumental cave was used as an underground leper colony, with only the Christian monks to offer pity on them? There is water at the bottom of the cave, so maybe the monks controlled who could access the water, for a donation perhaps? I really don't know why this church was built here, but the reason was probably related to this cave being a pagan sanctuary, and/or the availability of water.
In the picture below, a BBC journalist is squatting next to an Ancient Greek inscription located on the cave wall within the Cave of Wishes. The inscription reads to the Greek myth, in which there was a battle between Zeus and Typhon, and with Zeus' victory, Typhon was banished to the Corycian Cave.
With Pan replacing Hermes as protector of the Corycian Nymphs, both are associated with the cave, and thus receive worship from humans. The inscription reads:
"I honored and propitiated the gods Pan and Hermes", ('propitiate', to win or regain the favor of a god, spirit or person, by doing something that pleases them).
So, this proves that the cave was a destination for pilgrims seeking favor from the gods, and that it was associated with the Zeus, Typhon, Pan and Hermes, but was it honored annually with a procession from Korykos? Just across the road from the entrances to the Cave of Wishes and Hell, we are greeted by the Temple of Zeus Korykos (36°27'05.8"N 34°06'17.5"E), which was built sometime between the 3C BCE and the 2C BCE.
The Temple of Zeus Korykos, like many ancient pagan temples, was transformed into a Byzantine church, which often helps preserve the building, however in this case quite a bit of structural changes were made, and a lot of the temple has been destroyed. Notice the round apse in the left side of the photo above, which is the outside, and in the right side of the photo below, which is a view of the apse from the naos, or naive.
While exploring behind the Temple of Zeus Korykus, I came across an extremely well preserved Polygonal wall that dates from the Hellenic period (pictured below). If ancient Corycium Antrum was a sanctuary to which pilgrimages were made, it's possible that ceremonial games and other events also took place here. As is the case with the Temple of Apollo at Didim, the processional or sacred way might have ended here, at the Temple of Zeus Korykus, and the temple stereobate may have served as seating for ceremonial stadium games.
As with the fitted stone blocks found at ancient Incan sites, these polygonal stone walls are nearly as impressive. I never get tired of looking at them, maybe because I lose myself in the maze.
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