Necromanteion of Acheron: The mythical entrance to the Underworld

Worshippers were not just seeking predictions of the future here. They arrived in search of a way to communicate with the souls of their dearly departed.

When Homer recounts Ulysses’ descent into the Underworld in order to obtain an oracle from the blind seer Tiresias for his return home, he records the location of the Necromanteion with remarkable accuracy, where the River Acheron merges with its tributaries, Kokytos and Pyriphlegethon, on the bank of Lake Acherousia. According to legend, Lake Acherousia was the entrance to Hades; although it no longer exists, as it was drained during the 1950s, the place retains its mystical aura intact.

The Necromanteion was built during the Hellenistic period (late 4th-early 3rd century BC) and was later expanded to accommodate the ever-increasing number of pilgrims, operating continuously until it was burned down by the Romans in 167 BC. The complex layout of the site, with warehouses for the offerings and multiple rooms for accommodation and preparation leading to the main sanctuary, served the ritual perfectly, a series of tests intended to put worshippers into a vulnerable state that would facilitate hallucinations: physical and mental purification, a strict diet, the consumption of special herbs and sacrifices, combined with the priests’ chanting, the darkness and the suggestive atmosphere of the endless corridors.

The priests, however, left nothing to chance. In order to ensure the effectiveness of their rituals, they would present human effigies – “idols” of souls – to the worshippers, with the help of mechanisms similar to those used in the ancient theatre! Even without this special set-up, it is certain that the Necromanteion will give you chills, especially when you visit the underground crypt carved into the rock, where the dark palace of Persephone and Hades was located.

However, we should also consider the possibility that this monumental complex was a fortified farmhouse of the Hellenistic period. This interpretation is reinforced by the numerous agricultural tools and iron fittings discovered on location, which may not belong to a lifting mechanism for the display of human effigies, but to seven small catapults.