On the north side of Mount Dikti, in the prefecture of Lassithi in Crete, the Diktaio Cave is located above the village of Psychro at an altitude of 1020 metres.
It is considered internationally as one of the most important caves, with great mythological and archaeological interest. It has attracted the interest of many Greek and foreign archaeologists, who have occasionally carried out excavations inside.
At the end of the 19th century, locals, mainly shepherds and hunters, discovered many archaeological finds in the cave. Neolithic, Minoan, Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman finds prove its continuous use by humans, mainly for worship purposes. The cave seems to have been used as a place of habitation and burial since 2800 BC.
The cave has an area of 2200 square metres and can be visited. The total length of the tourist trail is 250 metres. It consists of 5 chambers and the largest room of the cave has an entrance 18 metres wide and 14 metres high. In its impressive interior, there is a very beautiful decoration of stalactites and stalagmites. The lake in the cave is also amazing, surrounded by huge stalactites and stalagmites.
It is the cave where Rhea took refuge to give birth to the future father of the Gods, Zeus. This happened because Kronos ate his children because there was an oracle that said Kronos would be killed by his son and so Rhea tried to protect Zeus. He tricked Kronos and gave him a stone wrapped in the baby's diapers instead of the baby. Then she left Zeus in the cave to be raised by the inhabitants secretly.
Rhea, Cronus and the Omphalos stone
According to ancient lore, Minoas came to Diktaio Andro every 9 years and met with his father Zeus to hear his wise orders. In the cave also Zeus met erotically with Europe. The Harpies lived also there, the female monsters who were messengers of Hades.
