Origins of Ancient Greek god older than Archaeologists thought

Origins of Ancient Greek god older than Archaeologists thought
1/28/2008 5:18:00 PM - Dragana Kovacevic
Zeus's famed altar at Mt. Lykaion may not have always been his,
according to recent archaeological findings from Greece.


A team of Greek-American archaeologists working the famed Sanctuary of
Zeus have discovered pottery remains that indicate the site was a
place of worship long before the early Greeks began offering
sacrifices to their most celebrated god.


Instead, archaeologists now believe the site was used for ancient
dedication ceremonies as early as 5,000 years ago - at least 1,000
years before the known worship of Zeus began.


At Zeus's Altar


Situated at 4,500 feet above sea level on Mt. Lykaion, the site offers
one of the most famous Zeus shrines in ancient Greece. It features an
ancient hippodrome (an open-air stadium with an oval course for horse
and chariot races), and buildings related to the ancient athletic
festival that rivalled the neighbouring sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia.


The site provides a picturesque view of Arcadia, thought to be Zeus's
domain, and is known to have served as an important Pan Arcadian as
well as Pan Hellenic sanctuary that attracted pilgrims, athletes and
dignitaries from all over the Greek world between 700 to 200 BCE.


"Mt. Lykaion, Arcadia is known from ancient literature as one of the
mythological birthplaces of Zeus, the other being on Crete," says Dr
David Gilman Romano, a Senior Research Scientist at the University of
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and a co-director
of the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project.


"The fact that the ash altar to Zeus includes early material dating
back to 3000 BCE suggests that the tradition of devotion to some
divinity on that spot is very ancient. The altar is long standing and
may in fact pre-date the introduction of Zeus in the Greek world. We
don't yet know how the altar was first used, and whether it was used
in connection with natural phenomena such as wind, rain, light or
earthquakes, possibly to worship some kind of divinity male or female
or a personification representing forces of nature."


These finding creates a vastly different account of the history at the
Altar and the site.
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Origins of Ancient Greek god older than Archaeologists thought