Nestor`s Cave Voidokoilia

Nestor`s Cave Voidokoilia

Spacious cave (20x16m) and high up to 30m., Majestic walls and approximately triangular entrance.
The cave has been identified:
1) With the cave where the newborn god Hermes hid the herd he stole from the Sun-Apollo.
2) With the cave where the herds of the Nileids spent the night and especially of Nileos, Nestor’s father. The cave is also mentioned by Pausanias (D.36,2).
The period of use of the cave has been stratigraphically certified since the late Neolithic era and especially during its early or late phase (4th and 3rd millennium BC) and, periodically, during the Early Helladic, Middle Helladic and the third Mycenaean period until the classical times.

The cave was used in its entirety in the earlier periods and this is certified by the hearths of the same periods. During the late Neolithic period, black, painted and black polished pottery was in use, while during the late Neolithic period, engraved and written pottery was used. In general, the quality of Neolithic pottery is considered excellent and equal to that of Thessaly.
The cave was explored in 1874 by Henry Schliemann, who was willing to finance the excavation of the Hellenic Archaeological Society, in order to obtain through it the permission to conduct excavations in Mycenae. Also excavations were carried out by the French Laucent, by individuals from Piraeus, under the supervision of K. Kourouniotou (1912), by C. Blegen, W. Mc.Donald and D. Theocharis (1953) and by prof. G. Korre by A. Sampson (1980).