Mount Lykaion, on the border between the present prefectures of Arcadia and Messenia, holds a special place in the mythology and history of the land of Arcadia. On its highest peak, Prophitis Ilias, which is identified with the ancient Kretea, myth has it that the mother of Zeus, Rhea, sought refuge to escape being killed by Kronos. For this reason, in antiquity Lykaion was the sacred mountain of the Arcadians. On it summit was the famous altar of Zeus, while in its foothills Lykosoura was built, which according to Pausanias was one of the most ancient cities in Greece, where the Lykaia festival was organized in honour of Zeus Lykaios. The first excavations on the mountain were carried out in the late nineteenth century. In recent years (2004 onwards) a research programme is in progress, under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, in collaboration with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, co-directors of which are Dr A. Karapanagiotou and D. Romano and M. Voyatzis (Arizona University). Many students from Greek, European and American universities take part in the excavations, which have uncovered most of the buildings and sanctuaries referred to by Pausanias, such as the altar of Zeus, the stadium, the hippodrome, but also parts of the ancient city with baths and water cisterns. The altar of Zeus was identified on the southernmost summit of the mountain, at a site affording a panoramic view of the entire Peloponnese. It is an ash altar that was formed from the remains of sacrifices, from pitch-black earth full of charcoal, residues of burnt animal bones (sheep, pigs, cattle, goats, birds) and small finds (bronze figurines, vases, silver coins).
The sacrificial pyre was almost 50 m in diameter. Worship of Zeus is traced back confidently to Mycenaean times, while finds from recent investigations document use of the space from as early as the fifth millennium BC. The sanctuary enjoyed an important heyday in Geometric, Archaic and Classical times, and was in operation into the Hellenistic period. To the east of the altar stand two columns, upon which it is said that two gilded eagles, attributes of Zeus, stood. In the so-called Lower Sanctuary, the Xenonas, a monumental stone staircase, the hippodrome and the stadium have been revealed. Close by, at the locality Loutra, is a large building complex of rectangular plan, which includes an impressive stone-built cistern surrounded by small rooms, in one of which stone bathtubs were found. At the highest point of the hill, at the locality Anemorrachi, a small cistern has been uncovered, which is most probably related to the Agno spring, near to which – according to Pausanias – a ritual was celebrated in which the priest of Zeus Lykaios propitiated the nymph Agno, to invoke rain in periods of protracted drought.
Image source: Archive of the Mount Lykaion Research Programme – Dr. A. Karapanagiotou
