16 Real-World Places Steeped in Mythology

There are some stories that have a way of sticking around. Tales and characters from ancient mythology are still with us today through books, movies, and television shows that they have inspired in the thousands of years since the stories were first shared. And in the real-world locations that inspired some of these stories, or were named after them, the lines between myth and reality can feel blurred. 

In the open fields of Snugborough, Ireland, sits a Neolithic passage tomb that once sheltered two lovers. Darby’s Bed was a refuge for Diarmuid and Princess Gráinne, who were fleeing a warrior seeking to marry Gráinne. The craggy edge of a limestone cliffside in Sochi, Russia, is believed the be the location where Prometheus was punished for giving fire to humanity in Greek mythology. From a cavern said to be an entrance to the underworld to a cave where Hercules once slept, here are 16 places with a rich connection to mythology.