Arkoudospilios (the bear cave ) or the holly Mary cave is located in the Akrotiri region of Chania, 2km north of the gouverneto monastery inside the gorge “avlaki”, which the cave connects to the katholiko monastery.The cave is known for the rock in the shape of a bear and has been used in antiquity as a place for worship dedicated to Artemis.

The cave is an old river basin that does not exist anymore and consists of a big chamber with numerous but old embellishments and black , because of fire, rooftop.There is a smaller second chamber accessible only through a very narrow passage.After the chamber the cave is continued but the human body is impossible to pass through such a small width.

The name of the cave comes from the stalagmite that has the shape of a bear that stands on its two feet ready to drink water in front of the entrance of the cave.The “bear” is ready to drink some water from a little pond there.According to the myth,the holly Mary turned the bear to stone to stop her from stealing the precious ,for the monks that lived in the cave, water .

Inside the cave, have been found embossed inscriptions with Apollo and Artemis.According to archaeologists, in antiquity, the cave used to be a sanctuary dedicated to Artemis that was transformed in a bear. Today, it is a chapel dedicated to holy Mary ( the bear) .The chapel is celebrated on the 2 nd of February with a great number of natives spending the night praying inside the cave, lighting big fires.That's why the roof of the cave is black