The discovery of the Melissani Cave by I. Petrocheilos and its glorification by the Telegraph

A major tribute to Limnospeilaio of Melissanis in Kefalonia and the unusual way in which it was discovered, as reported by the British newspaper Telegraph in its digital version.

The author's admiration is evident at the beginning of his article: «I didn't know what the color blue really looked like until September. I had some idea, looking at the sky, blueberries, the Greek flag, etc. But Only when I saw the sun's rays falling on the cold waters of the Melissani cave did I witness the true color of blue.», writes Greg Dickinson.

The journalist reports that, in general, he avoids tourist attractions, crowds, and the queues that come with visiting them. He was persuaded to visit the cave by an employee at the car rental company.

«You have to go,» insisted the employee, and eventually the Telegraph journalist gave him his word that he would do so, as, he writes, «he would see him again at the end of the week.» He describes how he found himself with the other tourists on the tour boat in the cave while The other boats, because of the crystal clear waters, did not seem to be floating but rather hovering.

«Melissani is not a hidden secret. In fact, it is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Kefalonia, along with the neighboring Drogarati Cave and the Myrtos beach. But what makes Melissani particularly charming is that for centuries, perhaps millennia, its marvellous beauty was lost. We owe its discovery to Ioannis Petrocheilos. However, ultimately, its complete exposure can also be attributed to a geological disaster,» he writes.

Who was Ioannis Petrocheilos?

Born in 1900 in Smyrna from parents originating from Kythera, Ioannis Petrocheilos was a man of many talents. He studied music, landscape painting, and physics before moving to Kythira with his wife in 1930 to teach chemistry at the school.. There, he was fascinated by the island's extensive cave network, and in 1932 he was awarded a scholarship by the Greek state to study geology, anthropology, and geography at the University of Athens. Sorbonne.

In the late 1930s, Petrocheilos was one of the leading cave experts in Greece. founder and first president of the Hellenic Speleological Society and his team made some important discoveries. Among them was the excavation at Petralona Cave in Chalkidiki where animal bones were discovered. Today, the cave is considered one of the most important in Europe thanks to its wealth of bones and fossils. Among the findings is the famous skull of the «Petralona Man,» which is at least 200,000 years old.

«In fact, Melissani is just one of the caves discovered and explored by Petrocheilos in the 20th century and is of little paleontological interest. Few caves in the world are as visually impressive and rich in mythological history., writes the Telegraph.

When Ioannis and his wife, Anna, came to Kefalonia in 1951 to investigate the possible existence of a cave west of Sami, there were few clues as to what lay beneath the surface. They found a small opening surrounded by trees. They climbed down with the help of ropes and came across an underground lake that had been lost for millennia.

On their first exploration, they found an ancient oil lamp on an islet inside the cave. Much later, in 1962, Archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos discovered a treasure trove of artifacts dating back to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Among them was a clay figure of God of the Pan and clay dishes depicting the nymph Melissanthe (or Melissani) to dance. Clear signs that the cave was once inhabited and was a place of worship.

According to legend, Melissanthi committed suicide in a lake when the god Pan rejected her love. Another version of the myth says that Melissanthi was a shepherdess who fell into the lake while searching for a lost sheep. In any case, the magnificent discovery of these artifacts revealed an important chapter in the history and myths of the island.

The destruction that brought about the revelation

«In 1953, major earthquake in Kefalonia, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, caused enormous destruction on the island. Hundreds of people were killed, and almost all the buildings on the island were destroyed. The signs of the destruction are still visible today,» says Dickinson. «The earthquake caused a hole to open in the roof of the cave. For the first time, the deep underground waters were revealed in all their grandeur. When the inhabitants returned to the island after the earthquake, they discovered this sinkhole, which the Mexicans call a cenote. Indeed, the landscape here is more Mexican than Mediterranean. In 1963, a tunnel provided access to the cave,» he adds.

The water in Melissani is brackish, a combination of sea water and fresh water, and forms part of a complex hydrogeological system.. The lake is 37 meters deep, which is where the fresh water enters the cave. In the middle of the lake, the depth is much shallower, about ten meters.

«This is the spot where the collapsed ceiling created a mound of debris. Despite the warm sunlight above us, the water is very cold. Not that it really matters, as swimming in the cave is strictly prohibited,» reports the Telegraph journalist.

The cave is divided into two chambers. «The one we usually see on postcards is bathed in light, while the other is dark, illuminated by artificial orange light and covered with stalagmites and stalactites. These stalactites grow 1 centimeter every 100 years.. Our guide/boatman told us that some have been here for 20,000 years, which is entirely believable given their length,» writes the Telegraph.

«Compared to its sunny sibling, this chamber looked like it had come straight out of hell. But it is just as impressive and important for understanding the human history of the cave. This is the islet where the important archaeological discoveries were made,» writes the Telegraph journalist. The extent to which he was impressed by this wonder of nature is reflected in the last paragraph of the feature.

«On the way back from the main cave, I noticed that the water was no longer blue but had taken on a more turquoise hue, creating psychedelic reflections on the limestone walls of the cave. Birds danced in and out of the cave. And I was observing a lost world that had disappeared for thousands of years. And I was grateful to Ioannis Petrocheilos, a very powerful earthquake, and a persistent car rental office employee, that I was able to see it up close.».