| Psychro Cave | |
|---|---|
 Floodlit stalagmites and stalactites in the cave’s interior | |
  Location in Greece | |
| Location | Crete, Greece |
| Coordinates | 35°09′46″N 25°26′42″E / 35.1629°N 25.4451°E |
Psychro Cave (Greek: Σπήλαιο Ψυχρού) is an ancient Minoan sacred cave in Lasithi plateau in the Lasithi district of eastern Crete. Psychro is associated with the Diktaean Cave (Greek: Δικταῖον Ἄντρον; Diktaion Antron), one of the putative sites of the birth of Zeus. Other legends place Zeus' birthplace as Idaean Cave (Ἰδαῖον Ἄντρον) on Mount Ida. According to Hesiod, Theogony (477-484), Rhea gave birth to Zeus in Lyctus and hid him in a cave of Mount Aegaeon. Since the late nineteenth century the cave above the modern village of Psychro has been identified with Diktaean Cave, although there are other candidates, especially a cave above Palaikastro on Mount Petsofas.[1]
- ^ MacGillivray, Alexander, and Hugh Sackett. “The Palaikastro Kouros: the Cretan God as a Young Man”, p. 167, British School at Athens Studies, vol. 6, 2000, pp. 165–169. JSTOR. Accessed 22 Feb. 2021