But my prime interest in the place was the Ploutonion in the nearby Roman ruins. No the Romans didn’t invent the nuclear bomb. This was something much earlier, though still pretty deadly.
The story started with a cave which had many dead animals at its entrance. The Romans came to the conclusion that this must be the entrance to the underground dwelling of the dead. The Greeks called this Hades. The Romans personified these things and so they named it after the god of the dead, Pluto. Hence the building they put up around it was called the Ploutonion, or something like that.
If you look at the picture of the statues they are supposed to be Pluto, Cerberus and two snakes. The snakes are supposed to be terrifying but look like large snails to me.
Anyone who has seen Harry Potter will know that Cerberus was a three headed dog but this ancient version looks more like a three faced dog, which makes more sense if you think of it since it would enable him to guard close to 360 degrees!
One of the interesting things about the Ploutonion cave was that only the initiate could enter to make offerings.
The people who managed to escape death were those who entered the cave flat on their belly since what was killing the animals was carbon monoxide seeping from below. CO is lighter than air so just like today if you wanted to deal with the underworld it was best to be a crawler.
Me at Pamukkale.
The pregnant cat that lapped up the waters.
Exotica Turkish Disney.
Pluto, Cerberus and two snakes.
The road to Hades, Roman style.
Jonathan Brind