See Naples and Live... More – 6: The Antro, The Intro And The Outro

Acropolis at Cumae        Photo©Nigel Summerley

Cumae (formerly known as Kimi) is reckoned to be the first Greek settlement on the west coast of what was later to become Italy.

Today it's a short suburban train ride west from Naples just a few minutes beyond Pozzuoli (see previous blog).

The ruins at Cumae are more extensive than at Pozzuoli, with the star attractions including its acropolis, a temple of Apollo and the Antro della Sibilla.

As with so many stories of ancient Greece/Rome/Naples, nothing is known for certain about the Cumaean Sybil, apart from the fact that she was a legendary prophesying priestess of Apollo, similar to the one at Delphi but said to be more powerful.

She presided over the the gateway between life and death, which has long been associated with the area to the west of Naples – the volcanic lands of the Phlegrean Fields and Lake Avernus (see this blog 5 December 2020, An Odyssey in the Year of the Plague – 11: 15-21 September 2020) were closely connected with the Underworld and entrances to Hell.

The Antro, although referred to as the Sybil's Cave, is a bit grander than that suggests. In fact, to quite a degree, it fits the description given by Virgil of the place where Aeneas visited the Sybil before going down into the kingdom of the dead.

Entrance to the Antro della Sibilla        Photo©Nigel Summerley

The entrance to the Antro is decidedly – and most likely deliberately – vaginal. It seems mysterious yet inviting, but as I stepped over the threshold, I heard a woman's voice in the gloomy distance asking me to go back out.

"I'm filming," she shouted.

I thought she was being a bit unreasonable but did as she asked. It was only after she finally emerged and I then walked down into the long and vacant gallery that I appreciated what she had been trying to do.

The Antro is pretty impressive on the way in, but even more so when one reaches the far end, turns and then begins to return towards the light. That is what this latterday Sybil had been proclaiming she had to capture on video.

Into the Antro       Photo©Nigel Summerley

The Antro is more than 130 metres long with countless side galleries and "windows" to the outside. 

And it's certainly a lot grander than the alternative location – the Sybil's Cave (see this blog 28 November 2020, An Odyssey in the Year of the Plague – 10: 8-14 September 2020) by the shores of Lake Avernus.

View from the interior of the Antro       Photo©Nigel Summerley