Santuário de Panóias

The Sanctuary of Panóias, also called “Fragas de Panóias”, is one of the most unique and enigmatic Portuguese rock monuments. It was built in the transition from the 2nd to the 3rd century by the Roman senator Gaius Calpurnius Rufinus. It is dedicated to the infernal deities, led by Serapis, and to the deities of the Lapiths, an ethnic group indigenous to the region.

The sanctuary is an enclosure in which there are three large rocks, where several cavities of various sizes have been excavated and where access stairs have also been built.

On the rock at the entrance to the enclosure several inscriptions have been carved – three in Latin and one in Greek – describing the ritual performed, the gods to whom it was dedicated and who dedicated it.

On the first rock the victims were sacrificed, the blood was sacrificed, the victims were incinerated, the meat was eaten, the name of the highest authority in the underworld was revealed, and finally the purification took place; On the second rock the initiation was repeated, but to a higher degree; and on the third rock, the highest point of the sanctuary, the main act of initiation took place: death, burial and resurrection.

There is thus evidence in Panóias of a rite of initiation into the mysteries of the divinities of hell. Applied in a specific and precise place, the prescriptions are identified as part of the sacred law.

The topography of the site played an important role in its selection, as it wasn’t chosen by chance, but after specific studies and criteria had been established.

Until a few years ago, the rock sanctuary was abandoned, despite being unique on the Iberian Peninsula and having been recognised as a national monument for almost a hundred years. However, since 2001 it has been re-evaluated and some infrastructure has been built with the aim of increasing the value of this monument. Today it has an Interpretation Centre and audio-guided tours (in Portuguese, French, English and German).

Address: 5000-751 Vale de Nogueiras, Portugal

Website: culturanorte.gov.pt/patrimonio/santuario-de-panoias/

Telephone: (+351) 259 336 322