Σπηλαιο Επτά Παρθενων

Spilaio Epta Parthenon - Cave of Seven Virgins - Cave of Nymphs

Useful Information

Location:	Island Kalymnos. To the south west, on the slopes of Mt Flaskias, close to Pothia. Only 1 km from Kalymnos. (36.962085, 26.970226)
Open:	no restrictions. [2021]
Fee:	free. [2021]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=24 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Ιωακείμ Μάλιας (); Μύθοι και Θρύλοι της Δωδεκανήσου (Myths and Legends of the Dodecanese)
Address:	Municipality Tourist Office, Municipality of Kalymnos, Pothia, Kalymnos PC 85200, Dodecanese, Tel: +30-22430-29299. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1942	George Th. Frazis writes a drama named The Traitor after the legend.
07-JAN-1943	drama first performed.

Description

Σπηλαιο Επτά Παρθενων (Spilaio Epta Parthenon, Cave of Seven Virgins) is a small cave located at the northern side of the Kalimnos valley. The cave is long known and archaeological remains have been discovered in the cave. Inside is a small lake with stone stairs leading into the water. The cave was renamed in the 19th century after a local legend, a story about seven maidens who, threatened with capture by pirates, took refuge in the cave and were never seen again.

In this cave several objects, most likely offerings, have been excavated. They are now on display in the archaeological Museum of Kalymnos. It seems the cave was a place of worship in antiquity.

The cave has a huge entrance portal and two chambers, one 14 m long and one 10 m long. Unfortunatley continuing landslides make a visit to the cave dangerous, and visitors should be very careful. Some sources tell, the cave was closed, which seems to be an attempt to keep people away to protect cave and visitors.

The legend, retold by the teacher Ioannis Amorginos, in the Kalymnos Pulse, Vol. 2, Issue 5.

One morning, during the days of the Pirates, seven girls from Chorio took their dirty clothes and set off for Pothia, to go to the sea to wash. Before they even approached the beach, they saw foreign ships entering the port. People they met said that those ships were pirates and that the pirates were going out to rob the island. Everyone was fleeing.

The poor girls were horrified and they immediately turned around and looked for a place to hide. When they reached Flaska, they saw a cave entrance and entered. The cave was very dark and very long, but in their panic they crouched and even crawled, until they finally reached the end of the cave. They stayed for many hours in the cave, but finally they decided to return to the entrance and have a cautious look out, if the pirates were gone.

But when they tried to go back, they were not able to find the way out. When they sought shelter in the cave, they were in a panic and none of them had remembered the way. As the cave is very winding, and of course none of them had a lamp with them - after all, they were going to do the laundry - they could no longer find the exit. The unlucky girls were not able to find the exit, so they stayed in the cave forever. When the story became known, the cave was renamed Cave of the Seven Virgins.

This legend is of course absurd and does not stand up to closer scrutiny. Thus, one would first wonder whether later researchers found the remains of the maidens, which does not seem to be the case. It is also extremely difficult to penetrate far into the cave without light and in panic; after all, without light you have the same problems on the way in as on the way out. And then the cave is winding, but even without water you have at least two days to escape from the rather small cave, and even in the dark you only have to walk along one wall. If you don't have the bad luck to pick a pillar, and walk around this pillar all the time, you can easily reach the exit. According to another variant of the story, the corsair captain ordered the entrance to the cave to be bricked up, and so the seven virgins died of hunger and thirst. This sound a little more realistic, but still, why should the corsairs invest a lot of work to kill innocent virgins. An effort that would have been much more lucratively invested in looting valuables, or at least in raping the maidens.

Based on this legend George Th. Frazis wrote a drama named The Traitor in 1942. It was first performed on January 7, 1943 at the High School Auditorium in Tarpon Springs. In the preface the author mentions, that this cave was previously called Drakospilio (Dragon Cave), because according to popular belief, a dragon lived in the cave. This was actually a mistake, Drakospilio is another cave which is located above the church Holy Trinity at Pothia, on the opposite side of the valley. And in the play The Traitor, author Frazis had the corsairs light a fire in the entrance to the cave, causing the death of the seven virgins.

A shocking revelation was made by the well-known Kos historian Ioakeim Malia, who wrote a book named Myths and Legends of the Dodecanese. In Chapter 6 he tells the legend of the Seven Virgins, and he reveals that one of them was actually married and thus not a virgin. He found an early photograph or daguerrotype showing seven girls, six wearing a white skirt and one wearing a black one. Like in many European countries, the white skirt was reserved for unmarried girls in traditional dress, while married adults wore black skirts. Asked by a journalist if the cave should be renamed, he proposed Το σπήλαιο των 6 παρθένων και της μίας παντρεμένης (The Cave of Six Virgins And One Married). The locals were quite upset with this blasphemy and the mayor of Kalymnos assumed a slander on the part of Kos and an attempt to discredit the virgins in order to harm tourism on Kalymnos. But the mayor of Kos declared his ignorance of the matter and claimed not to know Mr Malia. As a compromise, he proposed to visit the cave together with the mayor of Kalymnos, in order to examine the matter and at the same time to reduce tensions.

Like always there are more legend. Here it's the classical meme of the Smile Far Connection Legend. According tro this legend a passage starts behind the small lake, so low that it is necessary to crawl, which emerges at the road to Vathi.

And there are legends that the cave is haunted, some say by the souls of the dead virgins. On a nearby cemetery, according to testimonies, the cursed rise from their graves. The Greek tv station HellasFM even made a 30 minute documentary about the ghost hunters in the cave. Quite funny, how adults cringe at every noise and hear ghostly voices in the static of the radio. Well, everyone has the inalienable right to make a fool of himself.

If you are still undeterred and want to visit the cave, we strongly recommend good equipment. The cave passage is low and you have to bend down for long stretches, ledges are just predestined to bump your head on them. We therefore strongly recommend a helmet with a headlamp and a spare lamp, and sturdy footwear is also strongly advised with the scree on the floor.