Davelis Cave is a well-known cave in Penteli, a mountain to the north of Athens, Greece. Davelis Cave was brought to light around the 5th century BC. The surrounding area was used as a marble quarry by the builders of the Acropolis, and the cave was discovered by chance, during works for the extraction of marble.The cave's name comes from the wide belief that an infamous 19th century brigand called Davelis (real name Christos Natsios) used the cave as a hideout. This fact, though, is not verifiable historically. The myth says that Davelis hid his treasure inside the cave. The official name of the cave is simply "Cave of Pendeli".
In Antiquity, the cave was a place of worship for the followers of Pan and the nymphs. During the Middle Ages, it was used by Orthodox Christian hermits, and later a small church was built at the entrance of the cave, featuring an unusual double layout: one part devoted to Saint Spyridon and one to Saint Nicholas. This unusual layout has led to the construction of the church being associated with Gnostics. The cave is also believed to have been (and possibly still is) used by other religious groups, mainly occultists. Many times during its history, the cave has been used as a shelter for civilians.
In 1977, construction works started at the cave. It was not clear who was behind it. It must have been top U.S. governmental pressures to the Greek government. The exact nature or target of those works never became known, and the works ceased a few years later, in 1983. A widely publicised rumour claims that the aim of the works was to create a nuclear weapon storage facility in the cave. However, the few completed parts of the works (that are deserted and easily accessible to the public, today) make this claim seem very unrealistic.
More realistic scenarios suggest that the site would be a radar base or a communication base (similar bases of the Greek Army and the US Army exist in other parts of the mountain). One thing is for sure: Experiments took place in the cave or in the artificial tunnels around it.
The cave has been associated with paranormal activity since the ancient times, this being the main reason behind its use as a place of worship. The mystical character of the cave continues to fascinate people even today, and dozens of urban legends connected to the cave exist. However, no definitive proof of any paranormal activity in or around the cave exists.
Many people visit the cave and exercise themselves in climbing. The entrance of the cave is one of the most famous climbing routes in Greece.
I had almost given up searching for the cave. I couldn't find that dusty road on my GPS, since it was out of bounds. I drove up and down the hill once and when I returned to "civilization" I asked for directions... Luckily, the second time I found my exit to the dirt road, but had to leave my car away from the main road leading right to the cave (wrong dusty road again...). So I almost run to the cave with the night almost chasing me and thanfully I found a couple of walkers in front of me headind to the same direction.
We reached the cave almost as the sun withdrew its light and I headed into the cave. Hmm, ok I saw nothing! A couple of flashes and I entered the church. I shot some more photos there not seeing what I was shooting, since it was already very dark outside. I run out, a couple of tripod shots later I started running to my car since it was already too dark to walk outside as I barely saw where I was going. But then I turned left and I saw a magnificent view of Athens. I Had to shoot this no matter what! Screw the dark, the cold night and the road ahead of me. This is what I wanted at that time.
I placed my tripod and took a couple of shots there, then I turned around. It was completely dark! Argh!! I took out my mobile phone and checked the battery, since I knew I had already been using it as a GPS Navigator and it was running out. I had some battery left! I turned on the on-board flashlight and used it to light my way to the car, not rushing like before. The battery lasted longer than I had estimated, the GPS Navigator managed to take me home without dying on me! I want to go back someday to take the photos I could not take because of the lack of time...
source: Wikipedia
