Cennetağzı Caves are located in Ereğli district of Zonguldak province in Turkey. The region is known as the ancient Acheron Valley. The Hellağzı Caves, which are mentioned in the archaeological sources of the ancient period, have been the subject of Greek mythological legends. It is said that the legendary 3-headed dog Kerberos lived in this cave. The caves are among the first worship centers thought to have been used for secret worship and worship during the times when Christianity was prohibited.
Ereğli, the coastal town of Zonguldak, is among the cities where the most striking events of Greek mythology took place. The region is among the frequent destinations of local and foreign tourists with its mythological stories, secret places of worship from the Roman period. Cennetağzı Caves are visited by thousands of tourists every year. Caves are among the places that appeal to the world in terms of religious tourism and cultures.
Characteristics of Cennetağzı Caves
The Nefesağzı Caves, which operate as a ruin site affiliated to the Ereğli Museum, consist of 3 caves lined up side by side. Caves are areas used as “spring of spring”, which means “holy water”.
The floor of the first cave, which is organized in two parts, is paved with original plant and geometric motif mosaics. A small apse was opened on the eastern wall of the second section and stepped steps are located in front of it. This cave, which was used as a secret place of worship in the first years of Christianity, is a very old Christian church. The cave has been given a monumental shape with 2 columns that open outwards while preserving its original state.
The second cave is popularly known as Koca Yusuf Cave. The cave is located on a slope of 12 meters high by the roadside. Passing through a narrow entrance on the slope and descending the 3-step vertical stairs, the cave continues for 1.5 kilometers into the mountain. Due to the rocks falling from the ceiling in the 1960s blocking the road, it is possible to go to a depth of 350 meters inside the cave. Covering an area of approximately 400 square meters, the man-made cave is supported by two elephant legs.
The third cave is the one with the largest surface area. The floor of the cave is completely covered with water. This man-made cave served as a water cistern for the first and second caves.
The Mythological Story of the Cennetağzı Caves
Heracles (Hercules), in Greek mythology, symbolizes the invincible strength of man to resist and attack nature. Heracles was given 12 duties by King Eurystheus. The last and most difficult of these quests is the abduction of the hellhound Kerberos from the land of the dead ruled by Hades, the god of the underworld. Until that day, no mortal has ever returned from this country.
Heracles went to Ereğli with the Argo Shippers, who set out to search for the golden fleece. With the help of the Olympian gods Hermes and Athena, he succeeded in bringing the three-headed hellhound Kerberos to the surface. But when King Eurystheus saw Kerberos, he was terrified, so Heracles released him back to the land of the dead. It is said that the place where Heracles descended to the land of the dead to kidnap Kerberos was the Hellağzı Caves. It is known that these caves were one of the most important oracle centers of the first age.
According to another story told about the caves; The daughter of the chief of the city fell in love with a young man who was his servant. The young people who ran away from home together hid in the boy-girl room in the Cennetağzı Cave. Hell’s demons also protect them against the dangers that may come from outside. Tekfur, who could not enter the cave because of the demon, called his daughter and young servant to be stone. Thereupon, the young people who hid in the cave were cut into stones there.
Columns, mosaic flooring and oil lamp sockets in the Hellağzı Caves indicate that the cave was used for a long time for worship purposes. It was used as a secret worship center by the first Christians during the period when paganism was dominant and Christianity was forbidden. In the ruins found in the cave, there are motifs bearing traces of the first Christian period. The discovery that the region has rich deposits of coal, thousands of years after the story of the capture of the legendary 3-headed dog Kerberos told about the cave, shows an interesting similarity in terms of Hell connotation.
