Cult of Zeus Coin

Early writings suggest that Mycenaean cult members sacrificed animals — and possibly even humans — before feasting. Romano and his colleagues haven’t found any human bones at the site, but indicated they would not be surprised if they did.

The mountaintop site “is quite different in nature” from other lower elevation cult locations throughout Greece. In terms of the Mycenaean culture, marked by epic conquests dramatized by the poet Homer, cult meeting places were usually rooms or buildings connected to palaces. They often contain frescoes, statuettes and votive offerings.

The recent discoveries support the writings of Pausanias, a second century B.C. Greek historian who described “the birthplace of Zeus” at Arcadia in his multi-volume Description of Greece. Other early historians claimed it was in Crete on Mt. Ida.

Pausanias wrote, “On the highest point of the mountain is a mound of earth, forming an altar of Zeus Lykaios, and from it most of the Peloponnesos can be seen. Before the altar on the east stand two pillars….On this altar they sacrifice in secret to Lykaion Zeus.”

In addition to searching for human remains on the mountaintop, the archaeologists continue to look for a shrine to Pan — god of mountain wilds — that historical texts suggest might be nearby.

Burnt animal bones, petrified lightning and a bronze male hand grasping a silver lightning bolt have all been unearthed at the mountaintop site of a Mycenaean Greek cult whose members gathered around an “open fire altar,” according to University of Pennsylvania Museum archaeologists.

The evidence suggests the cult worshiped Zeus, the “king of gods” in Greek mythology, more than 3,200 years ago at the top of Mt. Lykaion in Arcadia. Full story from Discovery