The Kabeirion on the Greek island of Lemnos was a sanctuary maintained by the ancient city of Hephaestia, which was 2.5 km to the southwest as the crow flies, on the other side of Tigani Bay. The city was named after the god Hephaestus, and their sanctuary was dedicated to the Cabeiri, a group of deities who may have been connected to the god, although it is also believed they were originally worshiped by the indigenous inhabitants of the Aegean. Other sanctuaries dedicated to the Cabeiri have been excavated on the nearby island of Samothrace as well as just west of the ruins of Thebes on the mainland.
The Telesterion was the main building of the sanctuary. A telesterion was the central hall of an ancient Greek sanctuary in which worshipers were initiated into the cult and rituals were performed. On the northern plateau of the site is the base of a telesterion built in Hellenistic times, around 200 BCE, and destroyed a few centuries later.
30 meters from the Hellenistic Telesterion are the ruins of the oldest telesteirion, probably built in the 7th century BCE, as well as the larger telesteirion built on top of it in late Roman times (3rd century CE), which replaced the even larger Hellenistic structure mentioned above.
Nearby are also the ruins of other structures from various epochs which were part of the sanctuary complex, including the communal dining areas (hestiatoria).
In front of the sanctuary, at the base of the cliff next to the sea, is the so-called Cave of Philoctetes, where local tradition has it that the Homeric hero Philoctectetes lived for a decade, from the time he was left on Lemnos with a festering snakebite wound by his companions on their way to lay siege to Troy to the time they came back for him after hearing a prophesy that only the weapons of Heracles (which Philoctetes wielded) could end the Trojan War.
Tips for the Visitor
Like Hephaestia, its sister site on the other side of Tigani Bay, Kabeirion is a ways away from any towns or even villages (and don’t let the hotel complex next door fool you — the place has been abandoned and crumbling for years.) If you don’t have your own transport, and if you don’t happen to be coming from one of the villages in the northeast part of the island, you’ll probably need get a taxi to take you there.
The Cave of Philoctetes can be reached via a small path down to the shore from the site. If you’re bold enough to go inside, you can either swim inside through the large opening or enter using the smaller hole next to it. Most of the inside of the cave is seawater, but there is a dry area inside as well if you don’t want to get wet.
Like all the archaeological sites in Lemnos which have ticketed admission, the site is open 08:30-15:30 daily except Tuesdays and costs 5 euro.
Location Map