Skotino cave A more comprehensive exploration was carried out 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. Skotino cave The Skotino cave () is one of the largest and more impressive caves among the many caves found in Crete. The
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