Articles

Mount Lykaion, Greece: The Search for Zeus

Dr. David Gilman Romano, Senior Research Scientist in the Penn Museum’s Mediterranean Section and Mt. Lykaion Project Co-Director, offers this presentation of provocative new finds from the current excavations by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the University of Arizona, and the Greek Archaeological Service. In particular, the ash altar of Zeus at Mt. Lykaion in Arcadia has revealed new clues about the origins of the cult on the mountaintop sanctuary. According to Greek mythology, Zeus, the father of the Greek pantheon of gods and goddesses, was born on Mt. Lykaion. Mycenaean dedications found at the altar this summer continue to shed light on what may be the earliest beginnings of Zeus in mainland Greece.