Sacred promontory

Not to be confused with sacral promontory.

Sacred promontory or sacred cape or holy promontory or cape was a name assigned by the ancient Greeks and Romans to salient promontories extending into large bodies of water at strategic locations, typically containing a temple ^[1] to the god of the sea.^{[ citation needed ]} The English translates^{[ clarification needed ]} Latin sacrum promunturium and ancient Greek ἱερὸν ἀκρωτήριον (hieron akrōtērion).

Some sacred promontories were:

• Cap Corse, northern Corsica
• Cape Fiolente, Crimea (vicinity of Sevastopol)
• Cape Gelidonya, southern coast of Turkey
• Cape Kyllini, located in Kastro-Kyllini, Elis, Greece
• Cape St. Vincent, southern Portugal ^[2]
• Holyhead, Wales
• Carnsore Point, or possibly Hook Head, Wexford, Ireland
• Pallene, Chalcidice, northern Aegean Sea
• Sagres Point, southern Portugal
• Sounion, near Athens
• Triopium promontorium in Turkey ^{[ citation needed ]}

See also

• Promontorium Sacrum (disambiguation)

References

1. Semple, Ellen Churchill (1927). "The Templed Promontories of the Ancient Mediterranean". Geographical Review. 17 (3): 353–386. Bibcode:1927GeoRv..17..353S. doi:10.2307/208321. ISSN   0016-7428. JSTOR   208321.
2. Allen, James Sloan (1992). "Reflections at the Edge of the World". The Sewanee Review. 100 (4): 565–582. ISSN   0037-3052. JSTOR   27546612 . Retrieved 16 February 2025.