#pluto's gate

By AlMare - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1773283

Pluto was the ruler of the underworld in Greek mythology. He was known as Hades, but as time progressed, Hades became more used as the name of the underworld than the god. He represented the positive aspects of the underworld, as well, as well as being conflated with Plutus, the god of wealth, because of the chthonic origin of mineral wealth. He was revered as a stern ruler and loving husband to Persephone, with whom he was monogamous. He was also sometimes called Zeus of the Earth or Zeus Chthonios, and was important to agriculture. Sanctuaries dedicated to Pluto were known as ploutonion and visitors would seek healing and prophetic dreams. These were also connected with Persephone, Cybele, and Apollo.

By Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany - The Plutonium (Pluto's Gate), a sacred cave believed to be an entrance to the underworld and the oldest local sanctuary, Hierapolis, Phrygia, Turkey, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55185949

One of these ploutonion was known as Pluto's Gate or the Gateway of Hades. Located in Hierapolis, which is near Pamukkale, Denizli Province, Turkey. It is located near the Oracle of Hierapolis, dedicated to Apollo, which is tied to to a fault line through the area. The age of the shrine is unknown, but the city of Hierapolis was founded in 190 BCE. Pluto's Gate is located in a small cave, large enough for only one person to enter at a time, though entering could be suffocating. Before the cave, an enclosure of 2,000 square meters was blocked off to keep priests and visitors safe from the gases while they could purchase animals to check if the cave was safe to enter. Early in its history, a castrated priest of Cybele, the Galli, would climb through the cave, holding their breath between pockets of oxygen to prove they were immune.

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2005622/gate-hell-used-god-death

Archaeologists digging in Turkey have found the guardians of the "Gate to Hell" -- two unique marble statues which once warned of a deadly cave in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, near Pamukkale.

Known as Pluto's Gate -- Ploutonion in Greek, Plutonium in Latin -- the cave was celebrated as the portal to the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology and tradition. It was discovered in March by a team led by Francesco D'Andria, professor of classic archaeology at the University of Salento.

Italian archaeologists have excavated an ancient cave in Turkey that they believe was thought to be the entrance to the underworld in Greek and Roman legends and found it still lethal.

Short video here.

More on "gates of hell".

By Claudine Zap, The Sideshow, April 2, 2013 It sounds like something out of a horror movie. But Italian scientists say that the "Gate to Hell" is the real deal--poisonous vapors and all.

The announcement of the finding of the ruins of Pluto's Gate (Plutonium in Latin) at an archeology conference in Turkey last month, was recently reported by Discovery News. Francesco D'Andria, professor of classic archaeology at the University of Salento in Lecce, Italy, who has been excavating the ancient Greco-Roman World Heritage Site of Hierapolis for years, led the research team.

D'Andria told Discovery News he used ancient mythology as his guide to locate the legendary portal to the underworld. "We found the Plutonium by reconstructing the route of a thermal spring. Indeed, Pamukkale' springs, which produce the famous white travertine terraces originate from this cave."

Scribes like Cicero and the Greek geographer Strabo mentioned the gate to hell as located at the ancient site in Turkey, noted Discovery, but nobody had been able to find it until now.

"Pluto's Gate" has been documented in the Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, which noted in its description of ancient Hierapolis, "Adjoining the temple on the SE is the Plutoneion, which constituted the city's chief claim to fame. It was described by Strabo as an orifice in a ridge of the hillside, in front of which was a fenced enclosure filled with thick mist immediately fatal to any who entered."

Strabo (64 B.C.- 24 B.C.) wrote, "This space is full of a vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground. Any animal that passes inside meets instant death. I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell."

The portal to the underworld seems just as bad for your health today. The professor said, "We could see the cave's lethal properties during the excavation. Several birds died as they tried to get close to the warm opening, instantly killed by the carbon dioxide fumes."

Though not as fiery as the Google Maps “gate to hell” spotted earlier this year, Italian scientists believe they may have found the famed “gate to hell” known as Pluto’s Gate. The site was believed to have been built on top of a cave that emits toxic gas, which was believed by the Greeks and Romans to be the entrance to the underworld, where Pluto, god of the underworld, resided. The temple at the site is thought to have been destroyed by Christians in the 6th century.

According to a Discovery News report, Italian archaeologists at the University of Salento believe they have found the cave in Turkey. After retracing the route of a thermal spring, the scientists found a cave with ruins – including columns bearing inscriptions referring to the gods Pluto and Kore.”

A “gate to hell” has emerged from ruins in southwestern Turkey, Italian archaeologists have announced.

Known as Pluto's Gate -- Ploutonion in Greek, Plutonium in Latin -- the cave was celebrated as the portal to the underworld in Greco-Roman mythology and tradition.

Historic sources located the site in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, now called Pamukkale, and described the opening as filled with lethal mephitic vapors.