The sanctuary of Zeus Lykaios, Arcadia (Arkadia), central region of Peloponnese.
By Heinrich Hall
Heinrich Hall
The sanctuary of Zeus Lykaios was one of the central shrines of ancient Arcadia (Arkadia), the mountainous central region of the Peloponnese. The Arcadians considered it the birthplace of Zeus.
Zeus was a mountain-god and many Greek regions identified their tallest peak that way. During the Late Iron Age and the Early Archaic era, when Greek city-states were forming and when contacts within Greece deepened, ways were found to synchronise different local narratives and deities, and Crete was broadly accepted as the god’s birthplace. The Arcadians never quite played along with that.
That said, the place is fascinating. Its taller peak (there are two), over 1,400 m (4,600 ft) above sea level, is the site of an ash altar, meaning a mound made up of ashes from many burnt sacrifices accrued over centuries. It certainly goes back to the ‘Geometric’ Early Iron Age, but probably even to the Bronze Age, as indicated by recent excavations.
In a valley on the high slopes below the peaks, a large ancient sanctuary (part of it in the picture I’m posting) has been excavated, most recently by American scholars. It comprises many buildings, stoas (colonnades), fountain houses, shrines, statue bases and a hippodrome (a custom-built track for horse-races, the only such site identified architecturally in Greece). People went there, probably as part of an annual festival, to worship and to compete in honour of Zeus.
It’s impossible to understand ancient Greece without the Peloponnese. And although it was often marginal, it’s likewise impossible to understand the Peloponnese without Arcadia. I’m not going to say that it’s impossible to understand Arcadia without Lykaion, because (ancient) Arcadia is hard to understand for many more reasons.
One of my life-long efforts is to understand ancient Arcadia. And to share my understanding with those who are interested. If that seems interesting to you, follow me here and join me. If you’re eager to explore ancient Arcadia, contact me.
