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The Mythological Entrance into the Underground - Pluto's Hades?
Skocjan Caves Park, Karst, Slovenia
11:30 - local time +1
© 2004 Bostjan Burger, All Rights Reserved.
The view of the big river, in the rainy season as it disappears underground, on the bottom of Velika dolina, 160m under the surface, is both majestic and frightening. Standing near the disappearing river had to be frightening, also at the genesis of the Greek mythology. Geographically we know the mythological supreme hierarchy of the Greek gods, but do we also know its opposite? The mythological entrance into the underground - Pluto's Hades?
That is the kind of question that strikes the present day visitor... and the answer is not far from here. The region of the Skocjan Caves Park is archeologically extremely rich. And indications are that it was inhabited since more then ten thousand years until the present. A precious treasure of archeological findings in 'Musja Jama' indicate the influence of the Greek civilization, where since the end of the bronze age and in the iron age there was located a cave temple .
This region was certainly one of the most significant pilgrimage sites in Europe three thousand years ago, especially in the Mediterranean where it was of important cult significance in connection with the afterlife and communication with the spirits of the ancestors.