Brève n° 260
Nouvelle
du 27 janvier 2009. NEW EVIDENCE FROM EXCAVATIONS IN ARCADIA, GREECE, SUPPORTS
THEORY OF THE "BIRTH OF ZEUS"—AND THE WORSHIP OF THE FATHER OF GREEK
GODS—ON MT. LYKAION. 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. In
mainland Greece there are very few if any Mycenaean mountain-top altars or
shrines. This time period — 14th-13th centuries BC — is approximately the same
time that documents inscribed with a syllabic script called Linear B (an
archaic form of the Greek language) first mention Zeus as a deity receiving votive
offerings. Linear B also provides a word for an 'open fire altar' that might
describe this altar on Mt. Lykaion as well as a word for a sacred area,
temenos, a term known from later historical sources. The shrine on Mt. Lykaion
is characterized by simple arrangements: an open air altar and a nearby sacred
area, or temenos, which appears to have had no temple or other architectural
feature at any time at this site. Evidence
from subsequent periods in the same trench indicate that cult activity at the
altar seems to have continued uninterrupted from the Mycenaean period down
through the Hellenistic period (4th – 2nd centuries BCE), something that has
been documented at very few sites in the Greek world. Miniature bronze tripods,
silver coins, and other dedications to Zeus including a bronze hand of Zeus
holding a silver lightning bolt, have been found in later levels in the same
trench. Zeus as the god of thunder and lightning is often depicted with a
lightning bolt in his hand. Also
found in the altar trench was a sample of fulgurite or petrified lightning.
This is a glass-like substance formed when lightning strikes sandy soil. It is
not clear if the fulgurite was formed on the mountain-top or if it was brought
to the site as a dedication to Zeus. Evidence for earlier activity at the site
of the altar, from the Final Neolithic and the Early and Middle Helladic
periods, continues to be found. The
Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project is a collaboration between the
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in
Philadelphia, the University of Arizona, and the Greek Archaeological Service
in Tripolis, Greece. Project directors are Dr. Romano, Dr. Mary Voyatzis of the
University of Arizona, and Dr. Michalis Petropoulos, Ephor of Prehistoric and
Classical Antiquties of the Greek Archaeological Service in Tripolis. The
project is under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies in
Athens. Investigations at the Sanctuary of Zeus also include excavations and
survey of a number of buildings and monuments from the lower sanctuary where
athletic contests were held as a part of the festival for Zeus in the Archaic,
Classical and Hellenistic periods. These include a hippodrome, stadium, stoa,
bath, xenon (hotel building) and fountain house. The Project, which began in
2004, will continue in the summer 2009. Further information about the research
project can be found at the project website:
http://corinth.sas.upenn.edu/lykaion/lykaion.html Support
for the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project comes from a number of
foundations including the Karabots Foundation, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation,
the 1984 Foundation, the Niarchos Program for the Promotion of the Hellenic
Heritage at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as from numerous individual
donors. The
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 3260 South
Street on the University of Pennsylvania's campus in Philadelphia, is dedicated
to the study and understanding of human history and diversity. Founded in 1887,
Penn Museum has sent more than 400 archaeological and anthropological
expeditions to all the inhabited continents of the world. With an active
exhibition schedule and educational programming for children and adults, the
Museum offers the public an opportunity to share in the ongoing discovery of
humankind’s collective heritage. The Museum can be found on the worldwide web
at www.museum.upenn.edu. DATE DE PUBLICATION EN LIGNE : 22 AVRIL 2009