Safe Return Doubtful

This morning I drove down to the tip of the Mani peninsula. From where the road ends it’s a wild four kilometre hike on a rocky path to Cape Tainaron.

Here, the eastern Laconian Gulf meets the Messenian Gulf from the west. It took its name from the mythical son of Zeus, Taenarus, who built a town named Taenarum after himself. At this rocky promontory, a cave network was believed to be an entrance to Hades; the gate to the Underworld.

This gate was guarded by Cerberus, a vicious beast that prevented the dead from escaping and the living from entering the world of the dead. Cerberus had three heads of wild dogs, a dragon’s tail, and the heads of various snakes all over his back.

In his twelfth labour, assigned to him by King Eurystheus, Heracles (Hercules by his Roman name) was ordered to descend to the Underworld, kidnap and bring Cerberus to the surface. He asked Hades’ permission to capture the beast. The lord of the Underworld replied that Heracles could take Cerberus with him as long as he used no weapons and didn’t hurt him.

Heracles used just his bare hands and overpowered the beast. He dragged it out of the Underworld and brought it to Eurystheus.

Orpheus also traveled down to Hades to bring back to life his beloved wife, Eurydice, through this cave. Hades himself told Orpheus that he could take Eurydice with him but under one condition; he should not look at her before coming out of the cave, because he would lose her.

Unfortunately, only a few feet away from the exit, Orpheus lost his faith as he could not hear his wife’s steps, so he turned to see… Eurydice was immediately sent back to the Underworld forever.

If it all sounds familiar and not from reading the Myth, it was bastardized as a Disney animated film called Hercules in 1997. Though the film did attract quite a lot of criticism for altering the original so much just to suit Hollywood’s needs.

Aside from all that, it’s a very special place to visit, and especially so at this time of year; clear skies, a pleasant 16C and just two other visitors on the path, a young g Polish couple on a short break from their work in Athens. It is also the southernmost point of mainland Greece.

I deliberated whether to stay at the car park, and in the end decided to shift a few kilometres to the sheltered bay of Porto Kagio. I met two cyclists on the way, and stopped for a chat. They were stationary, and having done such journeys so many times, always like to check whether they may need anything I could help with. So many people have done that for me in the past. They were a couple from Latvia, and planning to camp at the Cape.

Porto Kagio is just a handful of houses, mainly built in the Mani stone tower style, on a sheltered beach on the sheltered, eastern side of the mountain. To get from one end of the village to the other it is necessary to drive along the beach. I have had a walk along it a couple of times now, and I don’t think there is anyone here at all. it’s is a superb place to stop at right now, though with the many signs indicating parking restrictions, it does seem that with its holiday accommodation and two fish restaurant tavernas it would be very busy for most of the year.