Avernus was an ancient name for a
volcanic crater near
Cumae (Cuma),
Italy, in the region of
Campania west of
Naples. Part of the
Phlegraean Fields of volcanoes,
Avernus is approximately in circumference. Within the crater is
Lake Avernus (').
Role in ancient Roman society
Avernus was believed to be the entrance to the
underworld, and is portrayed as such in the ''
Aeneid'' of
Virgil. According to tradition, all birds flying over the lake were destined to fall dead, hence the lake’s name was transferred to Greek as ‚ or "Birdless (lake)". This was likely due to the toxic fumes that mouths of the crater gave off into the atmosphere. In later times, the word was simply an alternative name for the underworld.
On the shores of the lake is the grotto of the
Cumaean Sibyl
The Cumaean Sibyl was the priestess presiding over the Apollonian oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony located near Naples, Italy. The word ''sibyl'' comes (via Latin) from the ancient Greek word ''sibylla'', meaning prophetess. There were many sibyls ...
and the entrance to a long tunnel (
Grotta di Cocceio, c. ) leading toward Cumae, where her sanctuary was located. There are also the remains of temples to
Apollo and
Jupiter.
During the
civil war between
Octavian and
Antony Antony may refer to:
* Antony (name), a masculine given name and a surname
* Antony, Belarus, a village in the Hrodna Voblast of Belarus
* Antony, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, United Kingdom
** Antony House, Cornwall, United Kingdom
* Antony, ...
,
Agrippa Agrippa may refer to:
People Antiquity
* Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa
* Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century
* Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century
* Agr ...
tried to turn the lake into a military port, the
Portus Julius. A waterway was dug from
Lake Lucrino
Lucrinus Lacus or Lucrine Lake ( it, Lago di Lucrino; nap, Laco 'e Lucrine) is a lake in Campania, southern Italy. It is less than one kilometre to the south of Lake Avernus and is separated from the Gulf of Pozzuoli by a narrow strip of land. A ...
to Avernus to this end. The port's remains may still be seen under the lake's surface.
'
The term ' (plural ') was also used by ancient naturalists for certain lakes, grottos, and other places which infect the air with poisonous steams or vapours. The
Cave of Dogs
The Cave of Dogs (Italian: ''Grotta del Cane'') is a cave near Naples, Italy. Volcanic gases seeping into the cave give the air inside a high concentration of carbon dioxide. Dogs held inside would faint; at one time this was a tourist attracti ...
in Italy was a famous example.
The most celebrated of these, however, is Lake Avernus.
They were also called mephites.
Mephitis was the Roman goddess of noxious vapors, who protects against malaria. The adjective "" means "foul-smelling" or "malodorous".
See also
*
Ploutonion
A ploutonion ( grc, Πλουτώνιον, lit. "Place of Plouton") is a sanctuary specially dedicated to the ancient Greek god Plouton (i.e., Hades). Only a few such shrines are known from classical sources, usually at locations that produce pois ...
, "grotto of
Plouton
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pluto ( gr, Πλούτων, ') was the ruler of the Greek underworld. The earlier name for the god was Hades, which became more common as the name of the underworld itself. Pluto represents a more posi ...
", a Greek term for a mephitic sanctuary
References
External links
* ''
Cyclopædia'' (1728) article
Averni.
''Lake Avernus with the Temple of Apollo and a Distant View of Cape Misenum''(1819), a very faint pencil sketch by
Joseph Turner (see also:
Cape Misenum
Cape Miseno (Italian: ''Capo Miseno'', Latin: ''Misenum'', Ancient Greek: ''Μισήνον'') is the headland that marks the northwestern limit of the Gulf of Naples as well as the Bay of Pozzuoli in southern Italy. The cape is directly across fr ...
)
Roman mythology
Volcanoes of Italy
Underworld
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