Source: Penn Museum,
JANUARY 2009—In the third century BCE, the Greek poet Callimachus wrote a 'Hymn to Zeus' asking the ancient, and most powerful, Greek god whether he was born in Arcadia on Mt. Lykaion or in Crete on Mt. Ida.
A Greek and American team of archaeologists working on the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project believe they have at least a partial answer to the poet’s query. New excavation evidence indicates that Zeus' worship was established on Mt. Lykaion as early as the Late Helladic period, if not before, more than 3,200 years ago. According to Dr. David Gilman Romano, Senior Research Scientist, Mediterranean Section, University of Pennsylvania Museum, and one of the project’s co-directors, it is likely that a memory of the cult's great antiquity survived there, leading to the claim that Zeus was born in Arcadia.
Dr. Romano will present his team’s new discoveries—and their implications for our understanding of the beginnings of ancient Greek religion—at a free public lecture, The Search for Zeus: The Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project, Tuesday, January 27, 6 p.m. in the Rainey Auditorium of the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Reservations (suggested) may be made online through the Museum calendar (www.museum.upenn.edu), or by calling 215/898-4890.
New evidence to support the ancient myth that Zeus was born on Mt. Lykaion in Arcadia has come from a small trench from the southern peak of the mountain, known from the historical period as the ash altar of Zeus Lykaios. Over fifty Mycenaean drinking vessels, or kylikes, were found on the bedrock at the bottom of the trench along with fragments
of human and animal figurines and a miniature double headed axe. Also found were burned animal bones, mostly of goats and sheep, another indication consistent with Mycenaean cult activity.
“This new evidence strongly suggests that there were drinking (and perhaps feasting) parties taking place on the top of the mountain in the Late Helladic period, around 3,300 or 3,400 years ago,” said Dr. Romano.
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/news/fullrelease.php?which=369 ---------------------------------------------------
sorry about the all-caps thing; it was a cut-and-paste from the original article. Didn't mean to shout... :blush:
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