The garden grotto: its origin in the ancient Greek perception of the natural cave

摘要

The garden grotto, an artificial, decorative simulation of a natural cave, has been a recurring feature in the history of the Western garden.1 Its origin can be traced through classical sources to ancient Greece in which natural caves were adapted, and simulated caves constructed, to serve as multivalent places of habitation and recreation as well as of religious ritual. In a climate that experiences intense, dry summer heat, the cool, damp shade of a cave was much appreciated and widely used, the Greeks' familiarity with the cave being confirmed by Plato's use of an allegory of a cave to explain his concept of reality.2 Although there is little archaeological evidence of the ancient Greek perception and use of caves and the visual evidence is slimand limited mainly to representations on sculptural reliefs, there is an abundance of literary sources. They indicate that the cave was associated in the Greek mind with a secluded, pastoral setting, with a flow of water, with curious rock formations, and with a sense of the immanence of deities, especially of nymphs, that was enhanced by appropriate statuary, paintings or evocative inscriptions.