Gouves, Greece and partially restored Knossos in the early 20th century. A more comprehensive exploration was done by French and Greek archaeologists in the 1960s. They found a considerable number of bronze and ceramic votive offerings, the oldest of them dating from the earliest Minoan periods, suggesting the cave was an important sacred shrine dedicated to a female fertility deity, presumably Britomartis. The cave was still used in Classical Greek and Roman eras, when the fertility goddess Artemis or her Roman equivalent Diana replaced the Minoan deity. Gouves, Greece Gouves () is a town and former municipality in the Heraklion regional unit,
Piraeus Artemis and one of Apollo, it's thought that the cache may be from Delos, the divine twins' birthplace. Both Artemis statues are thought to be Hellenistic due to the hairstyle and stance, and both show a full-bodied Artemis with a long skirt that covers her legs. While the Artemis A figure is similar to the others in the collection and larger than life, the Artemis B statue is somewhat smaller than life-size. Artemis, a virgin goddess who kept away from men and civilization, signifying the wild aspect that was always apparent in Ancient Greek culture, came to be worshipped as a