Mount Lykaion

Mount Lykaion is a mountain in Arcadia [1]. Lykaion has two peaks: Stefani to the north and St. Ilias to the south where the ancient altar of Zeus is located [1]. Mount Lykaion was sacred to the god Zeus Lykaios [1]. The extensive sanctuary lower down the mountain played host to athletic games held every four years, the Lykaia [1]. The hippodrome at Mount Lykaion is located in a valley below and to the northeast of the altar, and is said to be the only extant hippodrome from Greek antiquity [1]. It measured 250 x 50 m and was used for the equestrian events of the Lykaia [1]. An excavation in 2007 revealed pottery fragments and signs of activity in the ash altar from as early as 3000 BC [1]. Pottery and finds such as miniature tripods, knives, and statuettes of Zeus holding an eagle and a lightning bolt show that there appears to have been a continuous use of the altar from the Mycenaean period, approximately 1500 BC to the Hellenistic period [1].