Aornum Explained

Aornum (Ancient Greek: Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Ἄορνον) was an oracle in Ancient Greece, located in Thesprotia in a cave called Charonium (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Χαρώνειον ἄντρον or χάσμα) which gave forth poisonous vapours.^[1] The name of the cave, "Charon's Cave", reflects the belief that it was an entrance for Hades, the Greek underworld.^[2] In a version of the myth, Orpheus travels to Aornum to recover his wife, Eurydice, from Hades.^[3]

See also

• Leibethra
• Pimpleia
• Yomotsu Hirasaka

External links

• Greek Mythology Link, Orpheus

Notes and References

1. The Oracles of the Ancient World: A Comprehensive Guide (Duckworth Archaeology) by Trevor Curnow, 2004, page 184,"... outside it, to the N, there is a place called Aornum, with a sacred cave called the Charonium which emitted deadly vapours...""
2. The Greek Myths (Volume 1) by Robert Graves, 1990), page 112: "... He used the passage which opens at Aornum in Thesprotis and, on his arrival, not only charmed the ferryman Charon..."
3. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Paus.+9.30.4 Pausanias, Description of Greece, Boeotia9.30.1