Diktaean Cave
A sacred cave on Crete's Mount Dikte where Zeus was hidden as an infant to protect him from Cronus.
The Story of Diktaean Cave
When Rhea gave birth to her youngest child Zeus, she hid him in the Diktaean Cave on Crete rather than hand him to Cronus, who had swallowed all his previous children. She gave Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he swallowed without question. In the cave, young Zeus was nursed by the goat Amalthea, whose broken horn became the first cornucopia. The Kouretes — young warrior-priests — clashed their weapons and danced around the cave to drown out the infant god's cries so Cronus would not hear him. This cave was a major pilgrimage site throughout antiquity.
Children
{Zeus (hidden here)}
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Fun Fact
Excavations in the Diktaean Cave found votive deposits spanning from the Minoan period through the Roman era — nearly two thousand years of continuous religious activity.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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