Ag Ioannis Cave, Antiparos Island, Greece 27 Aug 2024

Stalagmites and stalactites that are millions of years old in the middle of Antiparos Island, Greece, 8 km from Antiparos town (Chora), the main port. It is also called the Cave of Agios Ioannis church. It is the only vertical cave in all of Europe with a depth of approximately 85 meters. Inscriptions on the walls of the cave are by prominent visitors dating back to the Neolithic period, including Alexander the Great, and the lyric poet Archilochus of Paros and Lord Byron. In 1673, Marquis de Nointel, French ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, visited the cave for three days with numerous companions and celebrated mass on Christmas Day in one of the cave's chambers. Nointel, like many who inscribed their names, were plundering the ancient ruins on Paros and other Greek islands and territories, so this cave is a repository of the historical record of other nations stealing Greek's treasures over the centuries.