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THE KAVERIO

A troubled, wandering soul must find peace, find refuge, in a sacred and protected place.  Ypsipyli seeks shelter in the sanctuary of the Kaverio. She gazes out at the sea and is deeply stirred by the violent, yet liberating breath of the winds. Feeling as if she has been initiated, she becomes strong and proud once again.

The Kaveri, mysterious spirits, identified by many with the “great gods” of the Mysteries of Samothrace, arise from the depths of the earth and from the depths of their mother, the sea. They violently shake the earth, they spread fire. Short with huge phalluses, they are associated with the god Hephaestus and are linked to the steel industry.

The Kaveri of Lemnos are said to be descendants of Hephaestus and Kaverio, a sea deity. The couple gave birth to Kadmilo and then he brought to life three Kaveris, who gave birth to three Kaveri Nymphs. The Kaveri of Lemnos protected the craftsmen and sailors.

Their worship is linked to the Kaveri Mysteries, of Pelasgian, Phrygian or Phoenician origin, which were performed in the Sanctuary of the Kaveri and included initiation ceremonies organized in five parts: purification, delivery of the ceremony, supervision, binding of wreaths, perfection and bliss. Those who were initiated gained power and became invincible. The initiations lasted for 9 days at a specific time of the year and during the ceremonies the only fire that was lit in the area was transferred to Lemnos from the sacred island of Delos. Faith and devotion to the Kaveri and the ceremonies in their honor contained an element of fear, as their wrath was considered horrible and they were particularly punitive.

The first appearance of the worship of the Kaveri on the island of Lemnos dates back to the 8th century BC and continued up until Roman times. The excavation of the sanctuary was carried out by the Italian Archaeological School of Athens in the 1930s and 1980s and brought to light three sacred ceremonies of different periods, offerings, dedications, inscriptions, vases, which were connected with religious life and with what was performed in the sanctuary.

The project “Restoration of the Archaeological Site of Kaveri on Lemnos”, which was completed in 2020 and was included in the Operational Program “North Aegean 2014-2020” of the North Aegean Region, gave new life to the archaeological site and extended its visitation range.   

THE CEREMONIES

During the excavations three ceremonial constructions (“telesteria”) of different chronological periods were unearthed.

I.             Archaic Telesterion: Placed in the 7th century BC. It is an irregular rectangular building (6.5 x 13.5 m) with double row of brick benches where the initiates would have sat. There is also a rectangular foundation with a circular projection, a kind of altar or ‘step’, and a raised circular floor flanked by steps. It is thought to be older than the widely-known Telesterion of Eleusis.

II.           Hellenistic Telesterion: It was built around 200 BC, probably due to an imminent visit of Philip V of Macedonia. It is a 46-meter long building with twelve Doric columns. It consists of a large central space, divided vertically into three sections by two rows of Ionic columns. A corridor running perpendicular to the building separated the sanctuary from a series of rooms, the sanctuaries, which closed it from the north. It was destroyed by fire in Roman imperial times, between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.

III.           Late Roman Telesterion: A hall, 17 m. long, divided into three sections by two rows of five columns, with thrones along the south wall. The central hall is separated from the sanctuary by a corridor. It looks like an attempt to rebuild the Hellenistic ceremonial hall on a smaller scale. Perhaps the destruction of the structure and the fateful end of the sanctuary was caused by the destructive fury of the early Christians in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD.

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