View from Kastelli hilltop [ Odysseus’ Palace ] towards the peninsula that Homer calls Asteris.
On the present day island of Cephalonia.

from : Odysseus Unbound – The Search for Homer’s Ithaca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View of Atheras Bay. Putative location of the Cave of the Nymphs.

On the Cave of the Nymphs (Antr.), late third or early fourth century CE. It is one of the few
extant works of the Neoplatonic philosopher Porphyry and is a literary interpretation of eleven
lines from the Odyssey (13.102-12).

There is a leafy olive at its head,
And nearby a delightful misty cave,
Sacred to the nymphs who have the name of Naiads.
Inside are mixing-bowls and double-handled
Jars made of stone, and here the bees store honey.
Inside are long stone looms, at which the nymphs
Weave sea-blue webs, a wondrous sight, and streams
Of ever-flowing water. It has two doors,
One to the north, by which men may descend,
The other to the south, for gods. This way
Men enter not: it is the immortals path. 13.102-12

(…ἄντρον,) ὃ διὰ τῶν ἐπῶν τούτων διαγράφει λέγων·
αὐτὰρ ἐπὶ κρατὸς λιµένος τανύφυλλος ἐλαίη,
ἀγχόθι δ? αὐτῆς ἄντρον ἐπήρατον ἠεροειδές,
ἱρὸν νυµφάων αἳ νηιάδες καλέονται.
ἐν τῷ κρητῆρές τε καὶ ἀµφιφορῆες ἔασι
λάινοι· ἔνθα δ? ἔπειτα τιθαιβώσσουσι µέλισσαι.
ἐν δ? ἱστοὶ λίθεοι περιµήκεες, ἔνθα τε νύµφαι
φάρε? ὑφαίνουσιν ἁλιπόρφυρα, θαῦµα ἰδέσθαι·
ἐν δ? ὕδατ? ἀενάοντα. δύω δέ τέ οἱ θύραι εἰσίν,
αἱ µὲν πρὸς βορέαο καταβαταὶ ἀνθρώποισιν,
αἱ δ? αὖ πρὸς νότου εἰσὶ θεώτεραι· οὐδέ τι κείνῃ
ἄνδρες ἐσέρχονται, ἀλλ? ἀθανάτων ὁδός ἐστιν. Antr. 55.1.2-13.

(…the cave) ?At the head of the harbor is an olive tree with long-pointed leaves,
and near it a lovely and dark cave,
which is sacred to the nymphs called naiads.
Within are kraters and amphoras
of stone, where bees store up honey.
Tall stone looms stand inside as well, and there nymphs
weave sea-purple cloth?a wonder to see.
Within this cave water is ever-flowing. There are two gates,
one toward the north which leads downward for men,
and another toward the south which is divine.
Men do not enter by the latter way, rather it is a path for immortals.? Odyessy(13.102-12)