Monday, January 26, 2015

Imbriogon: Corycian Cave and Mausoleums

Photos by Jack A. Waldron


Cehennem ('Hell') is just off the main road some ten kilometers east of Silifke.  If you wish to descend into 'Hell', well, this is probably one of the most scenic places to do so.


Though I am not in Turkey to build on my caving skills, which I gained as a young lad under my father's tutelage, I did wish to see what 'Hell' was like.  A tight spiral staircase carries patrons both up and down the narrow round shaft into 'Hell' (pictured above) . . . , it was much colder than I thought 'Hell' would be.  


While just up the road from 'Hell', is the 'Cave of Wishes' (pictured above), which is also part of the Corycian Cave group.  And though this cave played a sacred role for the ancients who occupied the expanse of this land, it must be noted that there were a number of Corycian Caves during ancient times.  


In the picture above, a BBC journalist is seen next to an Ancient Greek inscription located within the cave.  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)"


Along the route to the 120 meter deep sinkage, a Byzantine era church/monastery guards the entrance into the depths; the photo below was taken from about the 50 meter point, and looking down into the abyss was truly astonishing.


Just across the road from the entrance to the 'Cave of Wishes' sits the 3rd or 2nd century BC Temple of Zeus Corycius (pictured below).


Pictured below, I am standing inside the Temple of Zeus Corycius, which was later transformed into a Byzantine church (notice the round apse at the head of the building).


Exploring behind the Temple of Zeus Corycius I came across a rare find, an extremely well preserved 'Lesbian' Polygonal wall that dates from the Hellenistic period (pictured below).


Not far from the Corycian Cave, the Temple of Zeus, and the curiously named ancient city of Coryicus, is the ancient site of Imbriogon, located in the village of Demircili.


The village of Demircili is built over ancient Imbriogon, which today still displays the magnificent mausoleums built for rich citizenry of the 1st centuries AD.


The lower mausoleum (pictured above and below) measures approximately 5m x 4m x 6m, and is decorated with attached columns with capitals in the Corinthian order on its corners.


A side view of the lower mausoleum (pictured below) shows the tiles that still protect the inner chamber after nearly two-thousand years.  The mausoleum is missing the two central columns, and the architrave has collapsed.


The mausoleums pictured below are 500 meters up the road from the lower mausoleum.  The tomb on the left measures 5m x 6m x 6m, and was fronted with beautifully ornamented Corinthian columns, of which two remain.


The tomb on the right measures 4m x 4m x 7.5m, and is decorated with columns of both the Ionic order (lower level) and the Corinthian order with fluted columns (upper level).


The upper mausoleum (pictured below) measures approximately 4.5m x 4m x 7.5m, and is similar in design to the mausoleum pictured above, on the right.


Again, this mausoleum has two stories, and is also decorated with columns of both the Ionic order (lower level) and the Corinthian order (upper level).


*All photos and content property of Jack A. Waldron (photos may not be used without written permission)

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