Plutonian Cave of Eleusis: according to the legend, it holds the passage that Persephone used to travel to and from the underworld!

The City of Eleusis sits above the homonymous bay and at the end of the Sacred Way, the legendary road from Athens to Eleusis, and its sacred district was one of the most important religious centers in Greece from the 16th century BC until the 4th century.
During this period, many religious festivals were held there, attracting pilgrims from all over the known world, and the most popular festival was known as the Rites of Eleusis or Eleusinian Mysteries, held annually in September, so important that it was listed as an official event on the Athenian calendar.

During the festivities, participants asked the Goddess Demeter for a successful harvest as, according to legend, Hades once traveled through a cavern located in the sacred district to abduct Demeter’s daughter Persephone, whom he had fallen for.
A distraught Demeter asked Zeus for assistance, however, he declined and, in an attempt to convince him otherwise, she caused a lengthy drought during which time many people starved.
Seeing this, Zeus intervened and forced Hades to return Persephone to Demeter but, as a condition, it was agreed that Persephone was to stay in the underworld with Hades during the winter, as she was only allowed to return above ground during the spring.

Still today, located atop a set of carved stairs, near the north entrance of the sacred district and directly across from the Sanctuary of Demeter, is the cave Hades and Persephone used, where a curved staircase leads to its haunting interior. The dark indentations and enigmatic cracks etched into the cave’s rear walls led the ancient Eleusinians to believe these were symbols of passages to the underworld.
It also has odd vegetation growing out of various crevices, creating unusual wind patterns.
Where these narrow passageways lead is anyone’s guess, but it seems most locals state they have no desire to find out….

Images from web – Google Research