The Cave of Zeus ( tr, Zeus Mağarası) is a show cave located in

Kuşadası Kuşadası () is a large resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast, and the center of the seaside district of the same name within Aydın Province. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about from Aydın. The municipality's primary industry is tour ...

, Aydın Province, in the Aegean Region of western Turkey. The cave is within Dilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National Park, immediately west of the town of

Güzelçamlı Güzelçamlı (''also referred to locally as Çamlı for short'') is a sea-side town and municipality in the district of Kuşadası in Turkey's Aydın Province, and an increasingly popular tourist resort. It is situated at a distance of following ...

district. It is situated about west of the national park's entrance at

Dilek Peninsula Dilek is a Turkish word meaning ''wish'', ''request'' or ''desire''. It is used as a feminine given name as well as a noun and may refer to: Given name * Dilek Akagün Yılmaz (born 1963), Turkish politician * Dilek Gürsoy (born 1976), German hear ...

. The cave is reached by a long slippery, stoney trail southwards. The cave's mouth is hidden from view, as it is covered with trees, plants and flowers. The cave can be accessed from the district's center of Kuşadası via dolmuş, which shuttle the route to and from Güzelçamlı regularly. The cave was formed as a result of a

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

eroding a kalk formation by a

subterranean river A subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground surface – one where the riverbed does not represent the surface of the Earth. It is distinct from an aquifer, which may flow like a river but is contained within a per ...

. Its base has the shape of a pool. The blue-green colored carbonated

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

of the cave is a brackish mixture of

spring water A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust ( pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh ...

from the mountain and salty seawater. The deep pool attracts the attention of local and foreign visitors year-round for bathing and swimming. The cave is deep and wide with a length of . According to

Ancient Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

, the Olympian ruler of the skies, used to hide in the cave to escape the fury of his brother

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

, the ruler of the seas after Zeus angered him. Poseidon, in his wrath, would unleash very high waves and other dangerous water conditions with his

trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...

. As a popular habit, visitors tie a cloth piece on a wishing tree next to the cave's mouth in the hope that their wish comes true.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cave of Zeus, Aydin Show caves in Turkey Landforms of Aydın Province Tourist attractions in Aydın Province Kuşadası Zeus

See also

References