The Ear of Dionysius
A tall cave in Sicily shaped like an ear carries every whisper to the top. Legend says a tyrant used it to spy on his prisoners.
What was reported
In an ancient limestone quarry at Syracuse in Sicily is a tall, narrow cave about 23 metres high, curving inward like the shape of an ear. Sounds inside are greatly amplified, and a whisper near the floor can be heard clearly near the top of the opening.
The painter Caravaggio is said to have named it in 1586, after the legend that Dionysius, a tyrant of ancient Syracuse, used it to listen secretly to the conversations of prisoners kept below.
Explanations offered
The cave was probably cut by ancient quarry workers, and its shape and smooth walls give it strong acoustic effects. There is no evidence it was designed for eavesdropping, and the legend appears long after Dionysius's time.
- When
- Named in 1586
- Where
- Syracuse, Sicily, Italy
- Witnesses
- Visitors and acoustics researchers
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.